Thomas Schutz woke up at 6am, but rather than getting up as usual, he stayed in bed, feeling stiff and sore. It was something that had crept up on him in the last couple of months, but today it felt much worse. Even the slightest movement caused searing pain in his hips, lower back, and knee joints.

“What’s going on?” he thought as he struggled up and limped to the bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror, he froze! Staring back at him in horror was an old face with a graying beard and early signs of wrinkles. His dark brown hair had turned salt and pepper, adding a receding hairline. It had come slowly at first but today Thomas saw the full effect; it looked as if he had aged 20 years overnight.

His sources at the Ministry of Defense had mentioned vague rumors alleging that some rogue nations were experimenting with the latest development in epigenetic reprogramming, gene editing, and CRISPR technology. Not to help humans live longer and cure diseases, but to speed up ageing and age-related diseases. He had shuddered at the thought of weaponized ageing!

Understanding how diseases and ageing work has been a hyped-up research field for decades, with lots of funding and publicity. Every year saw new companies and projects working on extending lifespans, curing diseases, and claiming they could add 20 or 30 years – maybe even eternity – to your life. But in dark and hidden corners of government research labs, there were groups looking at how these same technologies and cutting-edge medical advances could be weaponized.

Thomas had always been skeptical of the rumors, treating them more like conspiracy theories. Especially when the sources added statements like: “Just look at the US Presidents and ask yourself why they age so fast!” But now he wasn’t so sure anymore. Every new technology has the potential to be subverted by bad actors, from criminals to terrorists. That’s just the risk we take with tech innovation, from virus research to artificial intelligence. We all remember the Covid debacle.

Looking at himself in the mirror again, unable to compute the years he had lost, Thomas grabbed his phone and took a couple of selfies, documenting his changed appearance. His latest trip to the war-torn Humleki region had changed from writing an inspiring article of human resilience to a war crimes exposé. Whatever had happened to the villagers there, was also happening to him and his photographer. They were all ageing way faster than normal.

No wonder he felt old before his time!

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Exponential technologies promise great benefit for society and business in the future, but equally carry the risk of being weaponized by nefarious forces, or unintentionally harming people and organizations. Our scenarios help leaders anticipate risks and challenges presented by wonderous new tech, as well as opportunities. For more on this topic, feel free to reach out to Futureworld Principal Matt Lawlor or Mindbullets editor Doug Vining.