I will sign off to have my body put into cryostasis when I die.
If by the time I’m 60, technology isn’t advanced enough to help me live longer, I will sign off to have my body put into cryostasis when I die.
The field of cryonics is not exactly new. People have been signing off for their deceased bodies to be frozen since the late 60s. They do this in hopes that technology will advance enough in the future to the point where they can be revived and reintegrated into society, where any illnesses they had suffered from would be cured, and their bodies could be deaged or made to live much longer. After all, technology is rapidly evolving, and many futurists predict we are likely see these solutions within our lifetimes.
Among these futurists is Max More, who heads the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona. In Alcor’s cryonics facility, the bodies and heads of 199 humans who opted to be cryopreserved lie inside tanks filled with liquid nitrogen. I actually hope to go there, for my upcoming documentary on transhumanism.
People have different reasons for wanting have their bodies preserved. Ted Williams, a famous baseball player, was put into cryostasis in 2002 when he died at age 83, in the hopes that he and his family could be reunited in the future. In 2016, a 14-year-old girl from the UK diagnosed with a rare form of cancer asked to be put into cryostasis.
Personally, I like to live my life to the fullest. I have so many ideas in my head all the time, and if I could operate multiple businesses around the clock and without sleep, I would. But we’re all just human. If cryonics can give me a second lease on life, I’m all for it. The world has a lot to see and do, a lot to experience and accomplish.
Still, I do wonder what would happen when I leave stasis after a few decades, or a century even. Everyone I know would have grown older or passed away, and the world itself would have changed. AI could be rampant, people could be cyborgs and living longer, and the line between the real world and the virtual world will be blurred. It’s a lot to take in.
Does anyone have any insights about cryonics that they can share? I’m very interested in this space.
