Two Erosions Faced by Intelligent Life Forms: Brian Johnson Reveals the Nature of Aging and Inflation

Entrepreneur Brian Johnson argues that the two most fundamental enemies for intelligent life forms are not just one but two. These are inflation and aging—phenomena that seem unrelated at first glance, but to him, they are seen as “invisible taxes” that quietly erode the value of intelligent systems through the same mechanism. From this perspective, his shift from the payments industry to the anti-aging field is not merely a career change but a logical confrontation with the fundamental problems faced by intelligent life forms.

Johnson’s worldview is governed not by biology but by a physicalist framework of thinking. What is the most rational action for all intelligent life forms? His answer is clear: “Not dying.” This seemingly simple yet profound proposition explains why he focuses on three seemingly disparate areas: cryptocurrency, AI, and longevity. All of these are driven by essentially the same underlying principle.

The Essence of the “Invisible Tax”: The Intersection of Economics and Biology

Inflation quietly erodes purchasing power over time, while aging steadily deteriorates the biological capital of the body. One is an economic phenomenon, the other a biological process, but the result for intelligent life forms is the same: system decline. Johnson states, “Aging and inflation share the same philosophical foundation. Both are the slow death of an intelligent system.”

This analogy is not mere rhetoric but the underlying thought framework of all his actions. For intelligent life forms, resisting these two “taxes” is not just a personal desire but the most rational strategy to adopt as a system.

From Payments to AI: The Evolution of Intelligent Thinking

Johnson’s career is evidence of how consistent this fundamental mindset is. Raised in a blue-collar community in Utah, he realized early on that a life exchanging time for money was not what he wanted. Choosing the payments industry was a way to tackle “seed-level” problems through leverage, scale, and speed.

During his time running Braintree, he was involved as an early partner in Coinbase’s Bitcoin payment experiments. At that time, Bitcoin payments were “awkward” in user experience and not well understood, but Johnson’s goal was not ideology but infrastructure development. Braintree was “indifferent to the source of funds” and simply aimed to provide the foundational platform.

In 2013, when PayPal acquired Braintree (and Venmo) for $8 billion, it was a means to an end for him. His current project blueprint, shifting from the payments industry to the “fountain of youth,” is also on the same fundamental battleground.

Overlapping Significance of Cryptocurrency, AI, and Longevity

The convergence of these three areas pointed out by Johnson is not coincidental but inevitable. Cryptocurrency, AI, and longevity all focus on optimization, systems thinking, and exponential change. While they approach the challenges faced by intelligent life forms differently, the underlying philosophy is the same.

At the core of Project Blueprint is an innovative idea that denies human willpower. Johnson views health as an autonomous, algorithm-based process, similar to autonomous driving or automated trading systems. Data flows in, interventions are made, and the loop continues, transcending human judgment. He believes this approach is the optimal strategy for intelligent life forms to fight entropy and delay system deterioration.

Confronting an Unpredictable Future

The broader implications remain uncertain. Johnson points out that AI is fundamentally changing how systems evolve, making traditional predictability no longer feasible. This reality is already becoming apparent in education and career paths.

The challenge facing intelligent life today is not merely resisting aging or adapting to inflation but continuously self-optimizing systems amid this very unpredictability. Brian Johnson’s series of activities is not just personal exploration but a beta test for all intelligent life forms—a trial-and-error effort toward a new human version that transcends entropy.