Some people in the EA community are interested in cryonics, and a few have signed up for it themselves. At some point, others in the EA community will encounter one or more of these people interested in cryonics.

Maybe you’ll see a post about cryonics on LessWrong, or maybe someone references cryonics in an EA Facebook group. And if that’s the first time you hear or read about cryonics actually being taken seriously, alarm bells might be going off in your head. You might think, “Why do some of the most thoughtful, rational, and altruistic people have an interest in cryonics? Isn’t cryonics just for rich people afraid of death, who are willing to spend money on something so speculative?”

Someone who encounters one of those people might get a misleading impression of the EA community — both because cryonics is speculative (whether it’s “effective” is impossible to tell for now), and because it isn’t obviously altruistic. I want to clear up this confusion by explaining how I see the connection between the EA community and cryonics.

First off, I empathize with those who are skeptical about cryonics. I was in similar surprise when I first met another EA who was into cryonics. But if you listen to someone explain the science and arguments for cryonics well, or read up enough about the topic, you can understand more about why some EAs are into cryonics.

First, a caveat

As far as I can tell, only a small minority of people in the EA community think or care much about cryonics. I don’t mean to speak for them, or for anyone else in EA — these are my impressions from my own experience. And I think it would be very rare to find someone who believes that signing up for cryonics or donating to a cryonics non-profit is as cost-effective as other ways of saving or improving lives, such as donating to GiveWell’s top charities for helping current people or working on existential risk reduction for the longer term future.

EA community members who are into cryonics generally think of it as coming from their 'personal' budget. After all, you shouldn't feel obligated to spend all your spare money/time on EA work. It’s fine to spend money on your personal health, or causes that are close to your heart; people who spend money on cryonics generally do so for one of these reasons.

Why some EAs are into cryonics

People in the community who care about or invest in cryonics tend to see it...

Cryonics