TLDR: I flew to Oregon to investigate Nectome, a brain preservation startup, and talk to their entire team. They’re an ambitious company, looking to grow in a way that no cryonics organization has before. Their procedure is probably much better at saving people than other orgs, and is being offered for as little as $20k until the end of April — a (theoretical) 92% discount. (I bought two.) This early-bird pricing is low, in part, due to some severe uncertainties, in both the broader world and in Nectome's ability to succeed as a business.

Meta:

I'm Max Harms, an AI alignment researcher at MIRI and author.
This deep-dive only assumes functionalism and a passing familiarity with cryonics, but no particular knowledge of Nectome.
I have been a cryonics enthusiast for my whole adult life, and that is probably biasing my views, at least a little. I want Nectome to succeed.
That said, I am also a rationalist, and I have worked very hard to set aside my wishful thinking and see things with cold objectivity.
Throughout the essay, I've attached explicit probabilities for my claims in parentheticals. You can click these probabilities to access Manifold markets so we [...]

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Outline:

(02:04) 1. The Problem

(05:43) How to Fix Cryo

(10:50) 2. The History

(10:53) The Brain Preservation Foundation

(15:51) Media Missteps

(18:51) The Long, Slow Science of Getting the Details Right

(20:49) 3. The Team

(24:19) Nectome Needs More Businesspeople

(27:14) 4. The Plan

(30:04) MAiD Services

“Nectome: All That I Know” by Raelifin

LessWrong (30+ Karma)