Technology as Savior — Not So Fast.

For the better part of human history, the healthspan of humans has been a focal point of people's desires and dreams. Thanks to massive breakthroughs in medical science over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we have managed to extend the average human lifespan beyond what any of our ancestors could've imagined possible. However, paradoxically, the extent to which these benefits would transfer to human health in the long run is a dubious matter that depends on far more than mere scientific discoveries or technological advancements. Two factors act in concert to determine average human healthspan: technological sophistication of medicine, biology and chemistry; and the lifestyle of individuals in society. So far, the direction the global society is heading towards risks overrelying on the former at the expense of the latter. If this continues, we might be looking at a future society where despite remarkable medical advances, human health would be in a no better place than it is today — potentially even worse.

Many proponents of the technological advancements in medical science, biology, and chemistry contend that modern medicine has brought with it substantial benefits in how we predict, diagnose, and treat diseases and illnesses. By and large, such an argument is valid. In fact, the benefits are so wide-ranging they are not even limited to situation-specific advances such as medical imaging or open heart surgeries, but also to internationally adopted medical procedures and hygenic standards, allowing patients of various illnesses to be treated while protecting their health and ensuring their safety.

However, the question of whether people's average health will be higher in the future compared to today really comes down to something else, far from the medical world of hospitals or the empirical environments of biochemical laboratories. As life-altering as responsive medicine is, its impact cannot be compared to that of preventative medicine: instead of treating the disease, preventing it from happening in the first place will be the determining factor in the issue of future global health standards. Air pollution, extreme weather events and uninhabitable temperatures, processed meals, sugar and salt-laden diets, the glut of microplastics in our bodies, and even mental health-related issues such as loneliness and the inability to find solace for our pain all threaten this vision of a future where overall human healthspan surpasses what we have today.

The question before us is less "Will technology advance enough so we are healthier?", but more "Will there be a global shift in lifestyle and health measures so that people's bodies are maintained in alignment with what the body naturally needs and thus spared from the agonies of disease in the first place?" It's the old tale of catching the guy dropping the eggs from the rooftop, instead of continuing to waste time trying to catch the eggs as they fall.

Only time will tell whether our undermining of our own health due to environmental and lifestyle choices will outrun even the most groundbreaking medical advancement and technological breakthroughs.