Why AI advances may be about to help us live to 150 - and how society needs to change if we do: David Richards

What makes this vision more than mere speculation is the unprecedented acceleration of scientific problem-solving we’re witnessing today. Take, for instance, the breakthrough at Imperial College London recently reported on the BBC Today Programme, where AI solved a difficult microbiological conundrum in 48 hours—a problem that had baffled microbiologists for ten years. That’s a mind-boggling 1,825 times acceleration in discovery.

Professor José R Penadés and his team at Imperial College London spent years studying how some superbugs develop resistance to antibiotics. When they gave a short prompt to Google’s new AI ‘co-scientists’ tool, the system independently reached the same conclusion in just 48 hours. Penadés was so stunned by the result, he initially asked Google whether they had somehow accessed his unpublished research. They hadn’t.

As he told the BBC: “I said, ‘Please leave me alone for an hour, I need to digest this thing’. It’s not just remarkable – it’s

paradigm-shifting.

This dramatic compression of research timelines isn’t isolated. AI systems are revolutionising drug discovery, predicting protein structures in hours, designing novel molecules, and revealing hidden connections in biomedical data. This cascades across medical science. AI diagnostics now identify cancers and other conditions years before symptoms appear, shifting medicine from reactive treatment to proactive prevention. Treatment protocols are evolving from one-size-fits-all to precisely calibrated interventions based on individual biology.

Concurrently, AI accelerates research into tissue engineering, stem cell therapies, and organ regeneration – tackling the cellular breakdown that drives ageing.

Beyond diagnostics and treatment, AI is reshaping holistic health management. Wearable tech with AI algorithms offers real-time health monitoring for immediate intervention. Neural interfaces and AI-augmented cognition tools offer the opportunity to preserve mental function deep into advanced age, while AI-calibrated living environments could minimise cellular damage from environmental factors.

For the UK, this transformation provides both potential and responsibility. Our region’s research base, from medical engineering in Sheffield to healthcare robotics in Leeds, places us at the forefront. But we need to ensure these innovations align with the NHS’s founding principle of care based on need, rather than wealth. Extending lifespans demands we rethink our societal structures: education for 15 decades, not just youth; financial systems for careers that may span decades; communities supporting multi-generational well-being.

Amodei’s prediction seems plausible not just because of the breakneck speed of discovery, but the exponential nature of technology where each breakthrough builds on the last. The question isn’t if lifespans will radically increase, but whether we possess the foresight to prepare our social, economic, and ethical frameworks . The future of longevity is approaching fast. Our challenge is to make sure these extended years are marked by vitality, purpose, and equity.

The 150-year life is on the horizon; we have the potential, and perhaps the duty, to lead in creating this extraordinary new chapter for humanity.

David Richards is a co-founder and managing partner of Yorkshire AI Labs