Uncanny Valley | WIRED Kara Swisher Is Trying To Live Forever
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Apr 16, 2026 
Kara Swisher, veteran tech journalist known for sharp Silicon Valley reporting and a longevity docuseries. She explores why billionaires chase extended life, separates real science like GLP-1s and AI drug discovery from hype, questions performative self-experiments and philanthropy, and considers practical approaches like preventive health, social connections, and ethical issues around digital immortality.
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Billionaires See Longevity As A Hack
- Tech billionaires treat longevity as a hackable engineering problem rather than a public-health challenge.
- Kara Swisher points to massive investments from Ellison, Musk, Bezos and others and notes a tendency to reduce the brain to a computable object.
Brian Johnson's From Thinker To Public Self-Experimenter
- Brian Johnson transformed from a thoughtful AI commentator into a public-facing longevity performer measuring intimate metrics and doing dramatic experiments.
- Kara describes his Code conference appearance, later chest-baring, plasma transfers and self-experimentation with family members.
Prioritize Preventative Public Health Over Fancy Hacks
- Do prioritize preventative, population-level health measures over flashy individual hacks to improve longevity.
- Kara highlights Korea's school nutrition, early strength training and universal health care as practical drivers of longer lives.