Recently, you have probably come across images showing what people might look like at 100 years old: a current portrait placed alongside an AI-generated version of themselves decades into the future. At first glance, it seems little more than a technological novelty. Yet the distance between “now” and “100” suddenly becomes visible, almost tangible, and that shift in perspective matters far more than it appears.
We usually discuss longevity in terms of systems: pensions, healthcare, and demographics. But the real challenge is personal. How do we help people genuinely imagine themselves growing older over decades that our culture has never prepared them to envision? Science is beginning to offer compelling answers as to why this question is anything but rhetorical.
A study published in March of this year by Becca Levy and Martin Slade challenges one of the most deeply rooted assumptions about aging: that old age is inevitably and predominantly a period of decline and diminishing abilities. Over a period of up to 12 years, the researchers followed more than 11,000 participants through the Health and Retirement Study, one of the largest longitudinal studies of Americans over the age of 50.
The findings are striking. Among participants aged 65 and older, 45.15% showed improvements in cognitive function and/or physical performance over the course of the study. To put this into perspective, the U.S. Department of Health considers an improvement rate of 11.5% to be meaningful for public policy purposes. This study found nearly four times that figure. Extrapolated to the U.S. population, the authors estimate that more than 26 million older adults are currently improving rather than declining.
What predicts that improvement? Precisely what the study’s title suggests: positive beliefs about aging. Individuals who believe that aging can bring gains, rather than only losses, are more likely to experience improvements years later, walking faster and thinking more clearly. Levy’s previous research had already demonstrated that negative beliefs about aging are associated with Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. The version of ourselves we imagine at 80 or 90 is therefore more than a comforting fiction. It appears to shape, in measurable ways, the body and brain we will eventually have.
If what we believe about our future carries biological consequences, the obvious question becomes: how can we help people genuinely believe that reaching the age of 100 can be a positive experience? That question inspired Longevity AI by Fidelidade, a digital platform developed by Fidelidade, a partner of the Center on Longevity Leadership at CATÓLICA-LISBON SBE, as part of the company’s longevity strategy.
Led by Mafalda Honório, Fidelidade’s Head of Longevity Marketing, the project uses artificial intelligence to transform information about an individual’s habits, routines, and lifestyle into a visual and audio journey to the age of 100. The experience includes personalized images, a tailored narrative, and, ultimately, a video in which participants both see and hear themselves decades into the future. “It is difficult to prepare for a future we cannot imagine,” says Mafalda Honório. “Longevity AI by Fidelidade was created to make that future feel more real.” The real challenge, she emphasizes, is not technological. It is helping people build an emotional connection with their future selves by imagining a life that is significantly longer than anything previous generations were ever prepared for.
This is precisely the mechanism suggested by Levy’s research. Once the future becomes visible, it also becomes educational. It ceases to be an abstract demographic concept and instead becomes personal, emotional, and actionable. The issue is no longer simply living longer. It is being able to envision ourselves within that longer life and recognize that today’s decisions, regarding finances, health, and career, literally shape who we will become.
The platform’s impact is already extending beyond national borders at a pace that reflects the growing relevance of the topic. In just two weeks, Longevity AI by Fidelidade was presented in three different settings across two countries: during the Longevity Leadership executive program at CATÓLICA-LISBON SBE; at the Professional Women Network Global Summit, celebrating its 30th anniversary in Lisbon; and in London at the Silver Marketing Association Summit and Awards 2026, where Mafalda Honório received the Highly Commended – International Recognition award for her work in the field of longevity.
Perhaps the simplest lesson from all of this is also the most uncomfortable. We continue to prepare ourselves, financially and emotionally, for lives lasting 70 or 80 years, while an increasing body of scientific and market evidence points toward much longer life trajectories. The real question is not whether we will live to be 100. It is whether, today, we are capable of imagining ourselves there and acting accordingly.
References:
Levy, B. R., & Slade, M. D. (2026). Aging redefined: Cognitive and physical improvement with positive age beliefs. Geriatrics, 11(2), 28.
Amélia Rita Monteiro, Professor at Católica-Lisbon SBE