I sat with Johnson in late April at an event for people interested in longevity in Berkeley, California. We spoke to the bystanders after lunch (feeling like a plastic-fed breeding equipment meal for the meeting, a box of plastic-free compostable chicken and vegetables for him), he sat in perfect posture, his expression in neutral.
Earlier that morning, Johnson was wearing a worn sweatshirt and an almost certainly a seemingly expensive kind of hoodie, telling the audience what he saw as the end of humanity. Specifically, he was worried about AI. This faces the “event horizon.” He had come to Berkeley and persuaded people interested in longevity to focus on AI.
It is this particular concern that ultimately underpins his Do Die Mission. First, we must accept that humans are not ideological. Second, we must ensure that AI is consistent with maintaining human presence. He says he would not be doing his anti-death or regimen, even if it wasn’t for AI. “I’m sure we’re in an existential moment as a species,” says Johnson, who raised Mormons but then left the church. He says it takes decades to resolve aging. We will only survive long if we confirm that AI is in line with human survival.
The following Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Why are you creating a new religion?
We are in this new stage [because of advances in AI] We are trying to rethink the meaning of being human. It requires imagination, creativity and open mind, and that’s a big question. When we approach conversations as a community or as a lifestyle, there is not enough weight or strength. Religion has proven to be the most effective form of organizing human efforts over the past few millennia. This is just an empirical methodology.
How do you establish a new religion?
That’s a good question. Looking at history [examples]Buddha went through his own self-exploration process and came up with a framework. Muhammad had a story. Jesus had a story of origin… You might say Sato too [Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of bitcoin] It looks like [the founder of] Modern religion, [launched] and White Paper. Adam Smith launched capitalism with his book. The question is, what is modern religion and how does it convince you? That’s an open question for me. i don’t know yet.