“If you live the next ten years, you'll live another 50”: a renowned immunologist's prediction on the power of AI

If you manage to live the next ten years, you'll live another 50 because we'll solve aging.” With this statement, Derya Unutmaz, an internationally renowned immunologist and OpenAI collaborator, summarizes the impact that, in his opinion, artificial intelligence will have on medicine and human longevity.

His vision, backed by decades of research in immunology and biotechnology, positions AI as the driving force of a revolution that promises to cure currently incurable diseases and reverse aging within just two decades.

Unutmaz, currently a researcher at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and one of the ten scientists chosen by OpenAI to test its most advanced models, maintains that humanity is facing an unprecedented turning point. “This could be the greatest discovery since the beginning of civilization,” he stated in an interview with Jon Hernández on his YouTube channel @la_inteligencia_artificia, convinced that AI will radically transform biology and human health.

According to his analysis, the speed of technical advances and the convergence between AI and biotechnology They open the door to an era in which diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's will no longer be insurmountable threats.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine is reflected in tools such as GPT-4 Pro, AlphaFold, and ESM-3. Unutmaz emphasizes that these models have enabled the design of innovative therapies and resolved scientific questions that would have previously taken years of work. AlphaFold predicted the three-dimensional structure of all human proteins in a single day, a task that previously required decades. ESM-3, meanwhile, anticipates molecular interactions in real time and facilitates the development of safer and more effective drugs.

This transformation is due to AI's ability to analyze and model biological complexity on an unprecedented scale. Dr. Unutmaz points out that the creation of digital twins, virtual simulations of organs and body systems, will allow therapies to be tested and personalized in a virtual environment before administering them to patients. "With a digital twin, it would be possible to simulate how a drug interacts with a person's cells and organs, anticipating its effects without physical testing," Unutmaz said.

This approach, coupled with personalized medicine, reduced the risks and costs of developing new drugs. For Unutmaz, aging is “the mother of all diseases,” and AI will help identify and correct the molecular flaws that prevent self-repair. “There is no physical limit to life in biology. If we fix flaws in biological systems, we could sustain life indefinitely,” Unutmaz maintains. He believes that aging is not an inevitable destiny, but rather a process susceptible to intervention through genetic manipulation and metabolic rebalancing.

The concept of biosingularity, coined by Unutmaz himself two decades ago, describes the moment when the convergence of AI and biotechnology will radically transform human biology. “Once we reach that biosingularity, the sky will be the limit. We could literally cure cancer in one week and then heart disease the next,” he says.

This vision is based on the idea of longevity escape velocity, popularized by Ray Kurzweil, according to which scientific advances will allow human lifespan to be extended at an accelerated rate, to the point of reversing aging and returning an 80- or 100-year-old to the biological state of a young adult.

AI Beyond Medicine

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) will extend beyond medicine, transforming the social and economic structure. Unutmaz warns that automation will eliminate numerous jobs, even in high-skilled sectors, and poses challenges for employment and wealth distribution. However, the researcher is optimistic: he envisions a society of abundance, where robots and AI do all the work, freeing people to focus on the essentials of life.

Unutmaz emphasizes that ensuring equitable access and preventing technological advances from benefiting only an elite must be a priority. Issues such as privacy protection and preventing malicious use require immediate attention. He points to the importance of adapting healthcare systems and regulatory frameworks, as well as democratizing access and reflecting on the future of education and work.

Policy planning to manage the transition to an AI-driven society will be key. Unutmaz emphasizes the urgency of preparation: “What we do now will determine whether we benefit from the discoveries that will change history,” he stated, suggesting that staying alive and healthy in the next decade could be decisive for achieving unprecedented longevity.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence demands a coordinated response from governments, institutions, and society. According to Unutmaz, only through collaboration and debate about its ethical and social implications can we ensure that AI drives collective well-being. This transformation represents both a challenge and a unique opportunity to redefine the human future.