that if you wake up in the Future, it’s probably going to be a nicer place to live than the Present.
Careful, man. If you bang too hard on this drum, people are going to start thinking “hey, why slog through the boring pre-FAI era? I’ll just sign up for cryo, head over to the preservation facility, and down a bottle of Nembutal. Before long I’ll be relaxing on a beach with super-intelligent robot sex dolls bringing me martinis!”
Suicides automatically get autopsied, so not currently an option.
Otherwise… well, it seems fairly obvious to an expected utility maximizer who believes in the von Neumann/Morgenstern axiom of Continuity, that if being cryonically suspended is better than death, and there exists a spectrum of lives so horrible as to not be worth living, then there must exist some intermediate point of a life exactly horrible enough that it is not worth committing suicide but is worth deliberately suspending yourself if you have the option.
Suicides automatically get autopsied, so not currently an option.
This seems quite unfair to sufferers of mental illness. What if a person signed up for cryonics later becomes depressed, resulting in suicide? (It could happen.)
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the near-total absence of cryonics-friendly law, but it’s still worth remarking upon.
For that matter, what if a person is depressed (or terminally ill) and wants to commit suicide, but wants to sign up for cryonics too? That’s actually my situation, and I e-mailed Alcor about it, but have received no response, to my chagrin.
Another consideration is that legal physician assisted suicide (I believe it’s still legal in Oregon) probably makes autopsy less likely. I’ll research this a bit and get back.
Also, I totally do not understand the second para of Eliezer’s comment. Also, it seems like the obvious reason that people would not commit suicide just to get suspended sooner is that most people’s life has utility greater than (future utility if revived)*(probability of getting revived). OTOH, if you’re dying of cancer, get yourself up to Oregon.
Well, yes, I assumed that was the motivation. On the other hand, Thomas Donaldson. They actually went to court with him against California to support his “suicide”. (They ended up losing. The court said it was a matter for the legislature.) And what I’m asking only amounts to figuring out the best way to avoid autopsy.
EDIT: Actually, Alcor probably wasn’t involved directly in the case. I forget where I read that they were; I probably didn’t read it. But anyway, the overall publicity from the case was positive for Alcor.
Several states allow religious objections to autopsy. The coroner can override it in some cases (infectious disease that endangers the public, murder suspected), but it’s better than nothing. The state doesn’t care what religion you are, just that you’ve signed a form stating you object to an autopsy.
ETA: The override process is pretty involved in California. It involves petitioning the superior court to get an order to autopsy.
Careful, man. If you bang too hard on this drum, people are going to start thinking “hey, why slog through the boring pre-FAI era? I’ll just sign up for cryo, head over to the preservation facility, and down a bottle of Nembutal. Before long I’ll be relaxing on a beach with super-intelligent robot sex dolls bringing me martinis!”
Suicides automatically get autopsied, so not currently an option.
Otherwise… well, it seems fairly obvious to an expected utility maximizer who believes in the von Neumann/Morgenstern axiom of Continuity, that if being cryonically suspended is better than death, and there exists a spectrum of lives so horrible as to not be worth living, then there must exist some intermediate point of a life exactly horrible enough that it is not worth committing suicide but is worth deliberately suspending yourself if you have the option.
This seems quite unfair to sufferers of mental illness. What if a person signed up for cryonics later becomes depressed, resulting in suicide? (It could happen.)
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the near-total absence of cryonics-friendly law, but it’s still worth remarking upon.
For that matter, what if a person is depressed (or terminally ill) and wants to commit suicide, but wants to sign up for cryonics too? That’s actually my situation, and I e-mailed Alcor about it, but have received no response, to my chagrin.
Another consideration is that legal physician assisted suicide (I believe it’s still legal in Oregon) probably makes autopsy less likely. I’ll research this a bit and get back.
Also, I totally do not understand the second para of Eliezer’s comment. Also, it seems like the obvious reason that people would not commit suicide just to get suspended sooner is that most people’s life has utility greater than (future utility if revived)*(probability of getting revived). OTOH, if you’re dying of cancer, get yourself up to Oregon.
It is pretty obvious that Alcor must avoid even the slightest suspicion of helping (or even encouraging) you to commit suicide.
This would be an extremely slippery slope that they really have to avoid in order to prevent exposing themselves to a lot of unjustified attacks.
Well, yes, I assumed that was the motivation. On the other hand, Thomas Donaldson.
They actually went to court with him against California to support his “suicide”.(They ended up losing. The court said it was a matter for the legislature.) And what I’m asking only amounts to figuring out the best way to avoid autopsy.EDIT: Actually, Alcor probably wasn’t involved directly in the case. I forget where I read that they were; I probably didn’t read it. But anyway, the overall publicity from the case was positive for Alcor.
Several states allow religious objections to autopsy. The coroner can override it in some cases (infectious disease that endangers the public, murder suspected), but it’s better than nothing. The state doesn’t care what religion you are, just that you’ve signed a form stating you object to an autopsy.
ETA: The override process is pretty involved in California. It involves petitioning the superior court to get an order to autopsy.
I was assuming from what Eliezer said that suicides were also in the “override” category. If not, that’s good news.