I think cryonics is a great idea and should be part of health care. However, $50,000 is a lot of money to me and I’m reluctant to spend money on life insurance, which except in the case of cryonics is almost always a bad bet.
I would like my brain to be vitrified if I am dead, but I would prefer not to pay $50,000 for cryonics in the universes where I live forever, die to existential catastrophe, or where cryonics just doesn’t work.
What if I specify in my (currently non-existent) cryonics optimized living will that up to $100,000 from my estate is to be used to pay for cryonics? It’s not nearly as secure as a real cryonics contract, but it has the benefit of not costing $50,000.
Alcor recommends not funding out of your estate, because in the current legal system any living person with the slightest claim will take precedence over the decedent’s wishes. Even if the money eventually goes to Alcor, it’ll be after 8 months in probate court; and your grey matter’s unlikely to be in very good condition for preservation at that point.
I know they don’t recommend this, but I suspect a sufficiently good will and trust setup would have a significant probability of working, and the legal precedent set by that would be beneficial to other potential cryonauts.
This sounds like a great practical plan if you can pull it off, and, given your values, possibly an obviously correct course of action. However, it does not answer the question of whether being vitrified after death will be seen as correct upon reflection. The distinction here is important.
I’m not sure if cryonics organizations would support that option, as it would be easier for potential opponents to defeat. Also, it wouldn’t protect you against accidental death, if I’m understanding correctly, only against an illness that incapacitated you.
I think cryonics is a great idea and should be part of health care. However, $50,000 is a lot of money to me and I’m reluctant to spend money on life insurance, which except in the case of cryonics is almost always a bad bet.
I would like my brain to be vitrified if I am dead, but I would prefer not to pay $50,000 for cryonics in the universes where I live forever, die to existential catastrophe, or where cryonics just doesn’t work.
What if I specify in my (currently non-existent) cryonics optimized living will that up to $100,000 from my estate is to be used to pay for cryonics? It’s not nearly as secure as a real cryonics contract, but it has the benefit of not costing $50,000.
Alcor recommends not funding out of your estate, because in the current legal system any living person with the slightest claim will take precedence over the decedent’s wishes. Even if the money eventually goes to Alcor, it’ll be after 8 months in probate court; and your grey matter’s unlikely to be in very good condition for preservation at that point.
I know they don’t recommend this, but I suspect a sufficiently good will and trust setup would have a significant probability of working, and the legal precedent set by that would be beneficial to other potential cryonauts.
This sounds like a great practical plan if you can pull it off, and, given your values, possibly an obviously correct course of action. However, it does not answer the question of whether being vitrified after death will be seen as correct upon reflection. The distinction here is important.
I’m not sure if cryonics organizations would support that option, as it would be easier for potential opponents to defeat. Also, it wouldn’t protect you against accidental death, if I’m understanding correctly, only against an illness that incapacitated you.