(LifeSiteNews) — An agnostic tech millionaire who promotes what he describes as a “do not die” outlook sat down for a contentious though respectful conversation about God, artificial intelligence, and politics with Tucker Carlson this week.
Bryan Johnson was born nearly five decades ago, but thanks to a hyper disciplined diet and exercise routine he has the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the lung capacity of an 18-year-old.
“I’ve reduced my speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years,” he told a stunned Carlson. “I now age in a more generalized way … 7.6 months for every 12 months that pass.”
Ep. 89 Bryan Johnson is a very smart, very rich, very well-meaning man who wants to live forever. That sounds like a terrible idea. This is one of the most interesting debates we’ve ever had. pic.twitter.com/XN8BPLvc3b
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 5, 2024
Johnson, 48, grew up a Mormon in Utah. He told Carlson he came to distrust authorities in his church after realizing non-Mormons were also good people. “I don’t know what to trust in reality outside of things that I find more stable, like physics and math.”
A software engineer by trade, Johnson, who says there is no “evidence” God exists, sold his digital processing company Braintree to PayPal for $800 million in 2013. His self-described “age escape philosophy” occurred to him when he was a younger man struggling with poor eating habits. He was chronically depressed for a decade at the time. He told Carlson that he wanted to do something to help mankind overcome its “self-destructive” behaviors in this “new era” for the human species.
Carlson described Johnson’s outlook as “a little spooky,” informing him that “every other living person who’s reached the conclusion that you’ve reached has been crushed and humiliated in the end and we laugh at them.”
Johnson said he isn’t “the least bit” fearful that God will strike him down for trying to “defeat death.” He did admit, however, that it is “likely inevitable that I will die the most ironic death” like choking on broccoli. Still, he believes the $2 million he spends every year to monitor his health will help mankind in the future. He says he wants to create a country with like-minded people who share his “do not die” perspective.
Johnson’s eccentric behavior gained nationwide attention last year when his teenage son agreed to provide him with blood transfusions. Johnson also gave plasma to his father, who is in his 70s. Johnson told Carlson that his father’s aging slowed to that of someone in their 40s as a result.
“Okay, so now we’re getting into the theories about taking the blood of children,” Carlson commented. “There’s a lot of theories about what happens behind the scenes with people,” Johnson replied. “Yeah. And not all of them seem baseless, I guess,” Carlson retorted.
A theme brought up throughout their conversation was the importance of God and how religion has already answered many of the questions Johnson is trying to tackle.
“I don’t think that any philosophy that doesn’t include God can improve my spiritual health,” Carlson said. “If there’s no acknowledged power beyond people, or only the power that we create through these machines and they’re giant data centers … there’s no way to say anything is wrong or right in an absolute sense.”
Johnson continually rephrased Carlson’s remarks and insisted that the two agreed on quite a bit. But Carlson argued that they didn’t, and that “the most obvious explanation” for human behavior is “we’re being acted on by demons, and this is how every religion I’m aware of has described it, correctly in my opinion.”
Carlson also noted that “if you don’t agree with that, then you need to substitute another explanation in its place in order to proceed in the hope that we can change. Otherwise, we’re just in this cycle with more powerful technology that allows us to do the same evil things, but at a greater scale.”
At one point, Johnson oddly asked Carlson, “Am I not a demon?” To which Carlson replied, “Are you not a demon? You don’t seem like one. My demon assessment abilities aren’t great.” Johnson then wondered: “Have we correctly labeled ourselves angels or the good guys and incorrectly labeled the demons the bad actors?”
Johnson is not alone in his fanatical behavior. Many ultra-wealthy individuals have taken a heightened interest in longevity in recent years. According to the New York Post, PayPal founder Peter Thiel is an investor in Unity Biotechnology, which researches age-related diseases. Google co-founder Larry Page helped co-found Calico labs, which seeks to “understand the biology that controls aging and life span.” Stem cell injections, human growth hormones, and other cutting-edge medical practices are also being pushed by transhumanists like Elon Musk and Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum.