The Japanese elderly in their 100s – they don’t really have much to go about in their lives. They just kind of exist. Most of the time I just saw them being close to asleep in onsens. One of them even scolded me for accidentally taking his spot and stuff at the taps once (I’m sorry!) – still I managed to make friends with some while watching TV in a sauna that day.

I look at the elderly with admiration for them having reasons to ignore their health issues and keep on going. Enjoying the little things? Sure, as long as the environment permits. But that is where I see a problem for myself.

It is not a very good outlook for the world the elderly is leaving us with. All the comfort we’ve achieved as the humankind in the past century alone, now seeing the volatility in income of recent years across the developed world, paired with serious disruption caused by agentic AI in particular (get on it now). The world is not ready for what’s about to come, so I ask myself:

With us as species ruining the fuck out of everything around us, from littering on the streets to literal space debris, what’s there to strive for when our lifestyles don’t help in changing our world’s course whatsoever? Does my existence in this world contribute to making the planet a better place, or am I selfishly extending my lifetime to be a consumer for just a little longer?

We should absolutely not underestimate the impact that AI is already bringing to the world around us. I see billboards in the U-Bahn that have AI-generated artwork on them. The nail salon I go to blasts AI-generated summer house music compilations from YouTube. Oftentimes my conversations with customer service never make it past the chatbot.

For all the convenience it brings to a consumer, it takes away in making a living from the people whose intellectual property contributed to a certain LLM’s efficiency. Even worse than that is the environmental impact this ongoing industrial revolution is causing, and the people calling for fossil fuels to power the change won’t live to see the consequences of it.

But I will. And many of you reading this are likely to see them too. All I’m trying to say is that we really really need to lock in and force ourselves onto renewables. Yes, there will be a temporary increase in our carbon footprint just because of all the mining involved alone. But after that we can move on to proper mechanisms of recycling. None of this is rocket science anymore.

Until we as humankind decide to commit to and actually deliver on this commitment, I genuinely don’t see any justification for the longevity trend. Like honestly, what do you expect to achieve with that? Are you conscious about the consequences of your longevity for the world? Why not live now when tomorrow isn’t guaranteed (without being self-destructive)?

As long as you don’t make it about religion, please get in touch via hello@jev.fyi – would love to discuss and perhaps I need a different perspective. Much appreciated 🙏🏻

I understand if the above text further paints me as a pessimist, but I do not think that calling out what I see as a little naive kind of thinking in the face of such massive change can’t live together with the optimism and hope for the future where people will, in fact, lock in.