I wonder why we can assume that everyone gets a longer life. Despite a whole section on “distribution” the math is always that everyone has a longer life. But is this probable? Likely? Possible? So many things seem to stand in the way:
Differential access to post-AGI medical advances,
Elite capture of life-extension technologies,
National or geopolitical exclusion,
Class stratification in longevity,
Delayed diffusion of therapies,
Political economy of distribution.
It would be reasonable—or at least equivalent—to suggest that the only people who live 1400 years are the billionaires. 3,000 people. Making the math work out to an average life expectancy of 40.00005 years. Do we still want to risk it all?
As a participant in the course, I heartily recommend it. In my view, the Y&S book is just the “table stakes” in this course: the real value lies in the excellent structure that Luc and his team have created. I’ve been involved in online learning since before the web (yup, we were online before the web… gopher, anyone?) and this course is both fulfilling and elegantly simple. It doesn’t try to do everything, it does what is required and it does it well. The discussion questions are thoughtful, the framing of the material from the book is just right, and the “AI Tutor” that you can engage with while studying is a rare gem. Like your best graduate school seminar leader. I’d take the course again just to wrestle the Y&S questions with him/them. The conversations with the tutor set you up very well for the real fun part: small group (zoom) discussions, once a week. Definitely highly recommended.