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Forget AI. America’s Healthcare System May Kill Us First.
While Silicon Valley worries about artificial intelligence wiping out humanity, millions of older Americans are facing a far more immediate threat: surviving long enough to afford retirement.
I was talking with a friend recently about retirement when the conversation took a depressing turn. He was looking at health insurance premiums of roughly $1,000 a month, coupled with a $10,000 annual deductible. That’s $12,000 a year just for the privilege of having insurance, with the possibility of spending another $10,000 before receiving the full benefit of the coverage he’s already paying for.
Twenty-two thousand dollars in potential annual healthcare expenses. Not for some luxurious concierge medical service or a private hospital suite overlooking the ocean. Just ordinary American health insurance, the kind you’re supposed to buy so a serious illness doesn’t wipe you out financially.
And then, on October 29, 2026, I came across a Yahoo Finance article titled “A former Google engineer is so sure AI will destroy humanity he’s stopped saving for retirement.” The article profiled Nate Soares, a former Google and Microsoft engineer who has stopped contributing to his retirement savings because he believes artificial intelligence will probably destroy humanity before he ever needs the money.
