Computer scientist and futurist Ray Kurzweil believes humanity will achieve “longevity escape velocity” in just four years. In March 2024, Ray Kurzweil—former Google engineer and prominent AI-centric futurist—told multiple outlets that he believed humanity would achieve longevity escape velocity by 2029. But critically, ‘life expectancy’ is not ‘length of life,’ and the concept of longevity escape velocity is focused on the former. And if the past has anything to say about the future, those advances will likely continue to extend average life expectancies. But as enticing as the idea of longevity escape velocity is, it’s still just a prediction for now.