Life-Suspending Technologies, Cryonics, and Catastrophic Risks.

Area of Science:

• Existential Risk Studies
• Technological Ethics
• Climate Change Mitigation

Background:

• Catastrophic and existential risks pose significant threats.
• Generational egoism is a key factor exacerbating these risks.
• Current mitigation strategies may be insufficient to address long-term threats.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of life-suspending technologies as a security factor against existential risks.
• To analyze how technologies like cryonics can incentivize proactive risk mitigation.
• To argue for the development and adoption of life-suspending technologies.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical argumentation
• Ethical analysis
• Risk assessment framework

Main Results:

• Life-suspending technologies can create self-interested incentives for risk mitigation.
• These technologies can help overcome generational egoism, a barrier to addressing long-term risks.
• The argument for developing these technologies is defeasible, contingent on existing reasons to reduce existential risks.

Conclusions:

• Developing and implementing life-suspending technologies is a rational strategy for enhancing long-term security.
• Such technologies can complement existing efforts to mitigate climate change and other existential threats.
• Investing in life-suspending technologies is justifiable given the imperative to reduce catastrophic and existential risks.