This article was previously published in Cryonics Magazine, May, 2013

In this short article I will discuss two distinct developments in contemporary cryonics that are setting the stage of how cryonics is going to be practiced in the foreseeable future.

First, there is the recognition that the most formidable obstacle for people to make cryonics arrangements is not scientific or technological, but psychological. We know this because people tell us so. It is a form of anxiety about the future and social alienation that is even a concern for people who have made cryonics arrangements. Ignoring this and/or telling people to “toughen up” is simply not an effective response.

Second, there is an increasing interest in long-term wealth preservation among people who have made cryonics arrangements and this interest is no longer confined to wealthy Alcor members. In addition, there is also a growing interest in preserving biographical information, ranging from personal memories to tangible objects. This development can reflect a desire to prevent “disintegration” (see Keegan Macintosh’s excellent article in this magazine) during cryostasis or may be motivated by the use of such information for damage repair or validation of resuscitation attempts.

It seems clear to me that these two developments are closely associated and that Alcor can address the desire of their members to preserve biographical information, remain “connected” and make cryonics a less anxiety-inducing choice at the same time.

In the April 2013 issue of Cryonics magazine Mike Anzis contributed a useful review of very long-term storage alternatives for personal information and materials and all these options have their pro’s and con’s. I suspect that many people not only have reservations about the long-term survival of many of the organizations and companies reviewed, but also have concerns about privacy and the alignment of the goals of these entities and the objective of personal survival.

While it is unrealistic to expect that Alcor can be involved in all matters concerning personal data storage and reintegration (there is an argument for diversification and redundancy, too) it seems rather obvious that Alcor has a more substantial role to play than it does today. It needs to play a substantial role if we want Alcor to be perceived as an organization that does not just see reversible cryopreservation and rejuvenation as a technical problem to be solved, but one that will also do its best to give its patients a face, maintain the social integration of its patients, and facilitate means to protect personal assets and personal information.

I cannot do justice to the practical aspects of this objective in this short article but let me conclude with a number of specific suggestions.

We do not know whether email in its current format will still exist in the future but we do know that Alcor owns a domain name and can issue email addresses to their cryopreservation members and provide secure storage of email messages.

We do not need to speculate as much about the nature and compatibility of very long-term data storage technologies if Alcor starts offering such services and will ensure to upgrade them as times change. In addition, Alcor can allow its members to securely edit their personal information and medical records to allow for a better response in time of need.

Alcor can hardly compete with social networking platforms such as Facebook and Google+ but we can make an effort to offer individual members the opportunity to create a private or public online profile that will be retained after cryopreservation of the member, and that can perhaps even be updated by Alcor, family, and friends.

The benefits of such changes are greater than just offering Alcor members more opportunities to retain personal information, prevent disintegration, and more strongly identify with their cryonics organization. By giving our members a visible place and the tools to remain relevant we will also communicate to the rest of the world that we are serious and that we will not let our members slide into oblivion – even during cryostasis.