Good point! One thing Stephen Hawking doesn't have is centuries worth of incremental advancement in technologies like say, powered exo-suits.
IMHO living for centuries with the body of a 90 year old wouldn't be so bad. (Supposedly there's a point where the body stops getting any more frail.) And as long as you can keep mortality risk to a low enough level for long enough, it's just a matter of time before youthfulness-restoring tech comes along.
> IMHO living for centuries with the body of a 90 year old wouldn't be so bad. (Supposedly there's a point where the body stops getting any more frail.) And as long as you can keep mortality risk to a low enough level for long enough, it's just a matter of time before youthfulness-restoring tech comes along.
So this leads to the kind of odd thought experiment which runs more accurately like 'imagine you have the organs and general health of a 12 year old, but are weak and debilitated and functioning at a low level (though not getting any worse); would you still find life worth living today?'
I'd say the answer is yes. Elderly suicide is more frequent than among the middle-aged or younger, so life isn't as good (not a surprising claim), but suicide is still rare, so life is still somewhat good.
IMHO living for centuries with the body of a 90 year old wouldn't be so bad. (Supposedly there's a point where the body stops getting any more frail.) And as long as you can keep mortality risk to a low enough level for long enough, it's just a matter of time before youthfulness-restoring tech comes along.