Who needs perks such as free food, massages and even free beer for a year? Google soon might be able to offer workers something much rarer–if that is even the word for it–namely, life extension.
Todd Carlisle, Google staffing director, hinted at an event this week that this might be a future scenario. A ZDNet piece reads between the lines to tie that idea to Google’s hiring of Ray Kurzweil, a vocal proponent of an idea called the Singularity, described as “the coming together of man and machine.” The result of Singularity is purportedly vast amounts of knowledge and immortality. Kurzweil believes people will be able to upload their thoughts and memories into computers and eventually develop “life extension technologies” that could allow people to live indefinitely.
Meanwhile, a piece at Forbes poses the idea that perhaps Google Glass is the manifestation of Singularity and explores what that could mean for various aspects of life, including bringing about a “fully digital, fully connected world.”
Would retaining staff be easier if you could offer folks the possibility of living longer? (Or perhaps jobs at your company just make it seem that way.)