Futurist Jamie Metzl: Through gene editing ‘we will increasingly direct our own evolutionary process’

In this talk from last month’s South by Southwest (SXSW), an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, and music festivals, futurist Jamie Metzl explored the latest technological breakthroughs in human life extension and their big picture implications. While immortality remains the stuff of fairy tales, Metzl explains the science of extending human healthspan, what people can do today to make sure they are preparing themselves for a healthy future, and how new technologies will revolutionize how we think about and experience not just aging but also biology more generally. 

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Metzl is a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He previously served as Executive VP of the Asia Society, Deputy Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senior Coordinator for International Public Information at the U.S. State Department, Director for Multilateral Affairs on the National Security Council, and as a Human Rights Officer for the United Nations in Cambodia.