We Don't Have to Die: Cryonics and Uploading | Allison Duettmann

New episode with Allison Duettmann, the CEO of the Foresight Institute. Foresight has spent the past 40 years backing frontier science too early or too interdisciplinary for legacy institutions. Foresight has helped inspire and organize 10,000+ scientists, technologists, philanthropists, investors, students, thinkers, pioneers, and dreamers, including the early 2000s space community where Elon Musk and Steve Jurvetson discussed the importance of commercial space and reusable rockets. Foresight’s  Feynman Prize went to Fraser Stoddart and David Baker 9 and 20 years before each won a Nobel. Today, Foresight is one of the main communities where neurotech pioneers gather and explore the frontiers of BCI, connectomics, simulations, and uploading.Allison also founded the Existential Hope movement, rooted on the conviction that we must imagine flourishing futures — in the tradition of ambitious science & sci-fi — as a precondition for building them. She is one of the best people thinking deeply about the future, coordinating humanity to imagine and achieve good outcomes, and working to accelerate the technologies and adoption that will get us there. We go deep into all of that in this episode: how neurotech could let us connect far more directly than language allows; how BCIs are meaningfully improving people’s lives today; why connectomics and whole-brain emulation can keep humans compatible with Superintelligent AI; why uploading can give us a path to exploring ourselves and living vastly richer and more fulfilling lives than a single ~80 year narrative arc allows; the amazing possibility of living billions of years; and how nanotechnology could reshape the physical world, address our sustainability and energy challenges, and build the infrastructure to lift us off planet and explore the universe. This is a ton and goes to show how deeply and broadly Allison thinks. I’m very excited to have her on the podcast, as I think she explains things clearly and bridges huge divides with care, vision, and rigor. Hope you enjoy!Sections00:00:00 Introduction00:01:25 What is Existential Hope?00:04:06 Visions of the future: nanotech, longevity, neurotech, AI00:08:04 From existential risk to building better futures00:16:15 How far away is nanotechnology?00:24:26 Is a superintelligent AI a tool, or a new form of life?00:37:33 How neurotech could connect minds far beyond language00:41:56 Whole brain emulation: from C. elegans and FlyWire to the human “holy grail”00:45:16 The connectome problem: a complete wiring diagram isn't enough00:47:19 Why it's so hard to attract talent to emulation01:03:04 Longevity, cryonics, and the case for living billions of years01:22:24 How close are we to never having to die? 01:43:13 How Foresight operates to advance frontier science01:54:06 From philosophy to Foresight: how a three-month stay became 10 years in SF02:03:04 Allison’s vision for an optimistic future Episode Links:YouTube: https://youtu.be/knM7yHFH67oSubstack: https://www.juanbenetpodcast.com/p/we-dont-have-to-die-cryonics-reanimationLinks From the Podcast EpisodeGuest + OrganizationsAllison Duettmann: foresight.org/people/allison-duettmannForesight Institute: foresight.orgExistential Hope: www.existentialhope.comExistential Hope World Gallery: https://worlds.existentialhope.com/world-gallery/Foresight Fellowship / programs: foresight.org/engageFeynman Prize in Nanotechnology: foresight.org/prizesMythos Ventures: www.mythos.vcReferenced External Papers & Projects:Whole Brain Emulation: A Roadmap - Sandberg & Bostrom (2008): https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a6880196-34c7-47a0-80f1-74d32ab98788/files/s5m60qt58tARIA Manufacturing Abundance: https://aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces/manufacturing-abundanceLess Wrong: https://www.lesswrong.com/The Bitter Lesson - Richard Sutton (2019): www.incompleteideas.net/IncIdeas/BitterLesson.htmlCausal Learning: Psychology, Philosophy, and Computation - Gopnik & Schulz: academic.oup.com/book/36085FlyWire (fruit-fly connectome): flywire.aiOpenWorm / C. elegans connectome: openworm.orgWormatlas: https://www.wormatlas.org/Max Hodak: https://science.xyz/Until Labs: https://www.untillabs.com/Adam Marblestone & Convergent Research: https://www.convergentresearch.org/Videos & DemonstrationsFunding the Commons 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX7k8dahPZ0&list=PLhuBigpl7lqvngC9oNecjfWMqFucr5GvGWoman hearing for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsOo3jzkhYADBS tremor surgery (spiral drawing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsON79DZlW0Cystic fibrosis: Progress Through New Treatments Graph: https://www.continued.com/respiratory-therapy/articles/cystic-fibrosis-a-comprehensive-overview-112Books & Media:The Nexus Trilogy - Ramez Naam (2012-2015): https://angryrobotbooks.com/?s=nexusPermutation City - Greg Egan (1994): https://www.gregegan.net/PERMUTATION/Permutation.htmlThe Beginning of Infinity - David Deutsch (2011): https://www.thebeginningofinfinity.com/Gaming the Future - Allison Duettmann, Mark S. Miller, Christine Peterson (2022): https://foresight.org/gaming-the-future-the-book/Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology - K. Eric Drexler (1986): https://web.mit.edu/cortiz/www/3.052/3.052CourseReader/3_EnginesofCreation.pdfAge of Em - Robin Hanson (2016): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-age-of-em-9780198754626The Edge of Sentience - Jonat...