Eliezer, thank you for writing a beautiful post. I do hope that the people of the future value my life more than the people of the present, and the fact that there is at least two people in the present who do (Eliezer and my mom ;-) ) is heartening.
I am quite convinced about cryonics in general, but I am not convinced at all that paying up right now for CI or Alcor is a smart investment. What’s the downside of just setting aside enough money for cryopreservation and choosing the best option when death looms?
Consider:
I am 27. If I die suddenly (without regaining consciousness even for a day) in the next decade it’s likely that I would die in a fashion (shot in the head, car crash) that won’t leave much of my brain to be preserved.
The chances that I’ll be in the US when I die are very far from certain (I’m a foreign citizen living in NYC currently).
If I decide a decade from now that I don’t want to cryopreserve, the fees would have been money wasted. I can’t force me-in-10-years into a decision.
Judging by the progress of modern medicine (advances in cancer treatment) and my family history (pretty good from a cardiovascular standpoint) it is very likely that my ticket out will be Alzheimer’s or another neurodegenerative disease. In that case, cryopreservation will only make sense if I commit suicide at the very onset of the disease and am frozen right away which may not be possible. If I get Alzheimer’s I may as well donate all my money to SIAI or Africa.
If the future is going to move in the direction we are hoping to, it’s not unlikely that there would be more companies offering cryopreservation with better deals (e.g. lower fees, global coverage, eternal investment trust management).
Basically, what is the upside of signing up for one specific company and paying the fees vs. knowing that I have made the decision to spend the money on cryopreservation instead of life-prolonging treatment and trusting my future cancer-diagnosed self to be brave enough to keep it?
it is very likely that my ticket out will be Alzheimer’s or another neurodegenerative disease. In that case, cryopreservation will only make sense if I commit suicide at the very onset of the disease and am frozen right away which may not be possible. If I get Alzheimer’s I may as well donate all my money to SIAI or Africa.
Consider two possibilities:
1) Alzheimers breaks long-distance communication more than it does actual information such as memories. Cf moments of lucidity. It’s not clear how true this is, though.
I was thinking specifically of the fees and not the life insurance. The Alcor fees are high enough that they’ll be worth paying only if I was fairly certain I’ll be in a freezable situation (which is likelier if I’m dying 50 years from now) and Alcor will still be the best option (which is unlikely given 50 years).
As for life insurance, I do have it right now because I don’t have the $50,000-$100,000 saved up that could be used to pay for cryopreservation. If I have the money saved up, I could afford to stop paying the premiums because life insurance has a net negative expectancy. At that point I’d rather keep exercising and eating veggies and keep the $100K in a safe mutual fund, waiting for the decision of how to cryopreserve to become more pressing.
Here’s an idea: instead of Alcor, why wouldn’t I name Eliezer the beneficiary of my life insurance policy with instructions to pay for my cryopreservation at the best affordable company available and take the remainder of the money for SIAI (as renumeration for his trouble)?
Eliezer, thank you for writing a beautiful post. I do hope that the people of the future value my life more than the people of the present, and the fact that there is at least two people in the present who do (Eliezer and my mom ;-) ) is heartening.
I am quite convinced about cryonics in general, but I am not convinced at all that paying up right now for CI or Alcor is a smart investment. What’s the downside of just setting aside enough money for cryopreservation and choosing the best option when death looms?
Consider:
I am 27. If I die suddenly (without regaining consciousness even for a day) in the next decade it’s likely that I would die in a fashion (shot in the head, car crash) that won’t leave much of my brain to be preserved.
The chances that I’ll be in the US when I die are very far from certain (I’m a foreign citizen living in NYC currently).
If I decide a decade from now that I don’t want to cryopreserve, the fees would have been money wasted. I can’t force me-in-10-years into a decision.
Judging by the progress of modern medicine (advances in cancer treatment) and my family history (pretty good from a cardiovascular standpoint) it is very likely that my ticket out will be Alzheimer’s or another neurodegenerative disease. In that case, cryopreservation will only make sense if I commit suicide at the very onset of the disease and am frozen right away which may not be possible. If I get Alzheimer’s I may as well donate all my money to SIAI or Africa.
If the future is going to move in the direction we are hoping to, it’s not unlikely that there would be more companies offering cryopreservation with better deals (e.g. lower fees, global coverage, eternal investment trust management).
Basically, what is the upside of signing up for one specific company and paying the fees vs. knowing that I have made the decision to spend the money on cryopreservation instead of life-prolonging treatment and trusting my future cancer-diagnosed self to be brave enough to keep it?
Consider two possibilities:
1) Alzheimers breaks long-distance communication more than it does actual information such as memories. Cf moments of lucidity. It’s not clear how true this is, though.
2) It may in fact be possible to undergo controlled legal death at the onset of death in some number of years. See the Oregon laws, which are likely to start to be passed elsewhere. See also http://www.evidencebasedcryonics.org/2012/05/09/revisiting-donaldson/
I want you to live too :)
If you buy life-insurance, then that isn’t wasted if you change your mind; you can potentially cash out.
I was thinking specifically of the fees and not the life insurance. The Alcor fees are high enough that they’ll be worth paying only if I was fairly certain I’ll be in a freezable situation (which is likelier if I’m dying 50 years from now) and Alcor will still be the best option (which is unlikely given 50 years).
As for life insurance, I do have it right now because I don’t have the $50,000-$100,000 saved up that could be used to pay for cryopreservation. If I have the money saved up, I could afford to stop paying the premiums because life insurance has a net negative expectancy. At that point I’d rather keep exercising and eating veggies and keep the $100K in a safe mutual fund, waiting for the decision of how to cryopreserve to become more pressing.
Here’s an idea: instead of Alcor, why wouldn’t I name Eliezer the beneficiary of my life insurance policy with instructions to pay for my cryopreservation at the best affordable company available and take the remainder of the money for SIAI (as renumeration for his trouble)?