Intelligence Squared Could Silicon Valley Billionaires Cure Aging? With Aleks Krotoski
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Feb 20, 2026 
Aleks Krotoski, award-winning broadcaster and academic who wrote The Immortalists, explores Silicon Valley’s quest to defeat aging. She examines tech moguls’ biohacking regimens, blood-plasma and drug experiments, and the rise of transhumanist and longtermist movements. Conversations probe the cultural, social and ethical stakes of treating death as a solvable technical problem.
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Tech Billionaires Treat Ageing As A Fixable Bug
- Silicon Valley treats ageing as a technical problem to be solved, driven by its financial and political power.
- Aleks Krotoski warns that their engineering mindset often overlooks social and ethical consequences.
Technology Shapes Social Norms And Policy
- Silicon Valley's power isn't just financial; it shapes social and political norms through embedded technology design.
- Krotoski warns their bubble reinforces ideas without adequately considering unintended harms.
The Limits Of Reducing Humans To Data
- Technologists often reduce humans to information and measurable signals, equating mind with data.
- Krotoski argues this misses subjective consciousness and internal mental life.