For Whom the Death Clock Tolls
A new app, Death Clock, rated five stars in the App Store, tells you when you'll die. Just enter your age and factors like diet and exercise, and thanks to AI, you’ll discover, up to the minute, when it’s your time to kick the bucket. This is a truly terrible idea. Modern philosophers would likely have opinions on the matter. Lawyers have addressed privacy and ethical concerns. A psychiatrist would say that knowing when I’m dying would only make me needlessly anxious. As I write this post in my office, I can hear the quartz clock on the wall ticking every second. Usually, I don’t notice the sound, but as I started putting these thoughts down, the metronome-like "tick, tick, tick" began to get to me. Humans are the only creatures who realize they will die. Death is often said to give life meaning. As we grow older, we become increasingly aware of the days we have left. But having an app on my phone that constantly freaks me out is unacceptable. Gloomy. Morbid. Proponen...
