cheapviagra comments on Cryo and Social Obligations - Less Wrong

16 Post author: DataPacRat 27 January 2013 07:32AM

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Comment author: cheapviagra 29 January 2013 05:48:09AM 0 points [-]

If at some point a working cryonics technology is invented (eg. instant vitrification), it makes financial sense to create a new company, without enormous potential liabilities from hundreds (thousands?) of damaged frozen bodies. After a successful demonstration, existing companies without this technology are going to become bankrupt. The old bodies are useless - reviving somebody after a year of being frozen has roughly the same value as reviving somebody after a hundred - it proves to the public that it's possible. Media coverage is going to be roughly equivalent. Even if existing cryonics company were to invent this, it makes sense to create a new one, sell the technology to it for all attainable money, and dump the indebted corpse. It's standard business practice when the market changes drastically.

The year a working cryonics technology is proven to work is the year in which old frozen bodies are burned in an incinerator. Living relatives of frozen people may try to stop this, but it's going to be an exception, especially because people with close relatives probably aren't going to freeze themselves and because of time requirement. Also, while the bodies probably aren't, the freezing equipment is company property. So the relatives wouldn't have to pay for revival only, they would have to pay an arbitrary price for, effectively, a frozen body, as a body without equipment is completely dead. It's a sellers market :)

Remember: frozen people are legally dead. The don't have assets. They can't pay for their revival. They're a liability, they're literally worthless for a cryonics company.

These are the reasons why I wouldn't pay for cryonics for me, as the only possibility of revival is suicidal insanity of company's management. However, company with insane management won't last long. So the probability of being revived is basically zero. It's better to spend the money before death on fun things, or give it to someone I care about.

Comment author: drethelin 29 January 2013 06:30:19AM 4 points [-]

for Alcor at least, the board of directors is stipulated to require being signed up and also to have a relative or loved one in storage.

Comment author: [deleted] 29 January 2013 06:34:00AM 2 points [-]

It's better to spend the money before death on fun things, or give it to someone I care about.

Or work towards that cryonics killer, please.

Comment author: gwern 29 January 2013 05:17:21PM 0 points [-]

I don't think you understand the cryonics model at all.

If at some point a working cryonics technology is invented (eg. instant vitrification), it makes financial sense to create a new company, without enormous potential liabilities from hundreds (thousands?) of damaged frozen bodies. After a successful demonstration, existing companies without this technology are going to become bankrupt.

What existing companies?