'Can't think of a worse curse': Elon Musk on immortality as world population tops 8 bn

The world population has reached the eight billion mark, just 12 years after it reached seven million in 2010. According to the United Nations’ estimates, the world will add another billion about 14 years from now in 2037 and the global population will reach a peak of 10.4 billion during the 2080s. 

Several countries, however, especially those in Europe will witness a steep drop in population in a few decades from now. While this may sound distressing to many, Elon Musk believes that living forever is a curse and that the replacement of population is necessary for the advancement of society.

“I can’t think of a worse curse than living forever,” Musk tweeted in reply to a post explaining the algorithmic fate of the universe. The post, shared by a Twitter user named rainmaker showcased the universal timeline divided into four different eras and where the universe currently stands in cosmic terms. 

'Living longer will delay advancement'

During a recent interview with Insider in March this year, Musk said that humans who live longer would cause 'asphyxiation of society' and thus stall its advancement. "I don't think we should try to have people live for a really long time," the billionaire said adding, "the truth is, most people don't change their mind. They just die. So if they don't die, we will be stuck with old ideas and society wouldn't advance."

This, however, sounds paradoxical to his latest concern as he has said on multiple occasions that our planet does not have enough people. "We need people for Mars," Musk once tweeted reiterating the ultimate objective of his aerospace company SpaceX. In his interview with Insider, the SpaceX CEO said that he is not afraid of dying but wants to be healthy and survive long enough to watch people land on Mars. Back in June this year, Musk even said that our planet has enough resources to sustain a far bigger population than the existing one. 

As for the world population, it is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and is expected to remain at that level until 2100. According to the UN, India and China emerged as the biggest contributor to the increased population with 177 million and 73 million, respectively.