Funding a 2nd Lifetime
The Society's new 25 year biobank storage/access can leverage life insurance
A program considered by the HU Society introduces the ultimate longevity platform:
25 years (extendable) of storage of whole blood DNA inside a world class biobank
Nitrogen vapor vitrification (not liquid immersion)
Access sample at any time for $200
Specimens are specially configured for human reproduction viability
Included with the Society membership fee (One ETH).
The HU Society supports the 25 year span because it gives Ectogenesis some decades of leeway, to develop and be recognized as a concurrent technology. This 2nd lifetime will depend on the hard logic of the steps we take during this life to guarantee our next one with adequate funding.
The following requirements will entail funding them, of course:
1) Biobanking will afford us a time machine—good for some decades—until ectogenesis is a mature and accepted technology for human reproduction.
2) Blockchain certainty will ensure that smart contracts dedicated to personal DNA stewardship will be observed to the letter, including ID verification of the infant.
3) The Humanist Union Society—being dedicated solely to the execution of its members’ instructions—is the ‘Oracle’ overseeing all events onto and off the Ethereum blockchain. It is our lifeline between cycles.
So the HU Society is our envelope for the overall process. Now how can we fund these steps, toward the day when we are truly reborn on this virgin planet?
As your HU moderator, I must demur to AI and ChatGPT more than my own, limited expertise. As usual, Chat doesn’t disappoint, and lays it out for us:
My first Prompt for Chat, looking for help from the insurance industry:
Cite the differences between life insurance products such as 'universal life', 'whole life', 'term life' and 'life assurance'.
ChatGPT replies “The different types of life insurance products, such as universal life, whole life, term life, and life assurance, cater to various needs and preferences. Here's a summary of their key differences:
Term Life Insurance:
Duration: Provides coverage for a specific term, such as 10, 20, or 30 years.
Payout: Only pays a death benefit if the policyholder dies within the term.
Premiums: Generally lower than permanent life insurance, making it a cost-effective option for temporary coverage.
No Cash Value: Does not accumulate any cash value over time.
Whole Life Insurance:
Duration: Covers the policyholder for their entire life, as long as premiums are paid.
Payout: Guaranteed death benefit.
Premiums: Higher than term life insurance, but are fixed and do not increase over time.
Cash Value: Builds cash value over time, which can be borrowed against or withdrawn.
Universal Life Insurance:
Duration: Lifelong coverage.
Payout: Provides a death benefit.
Premiums: Flexible, allowing policyholders to adjust their premium payments and death benefit within certain limits.
Cash Value: Accumulates based on the interest rate set by the insurer, which can vary.
Investment Element: Some universal life policies include investment options, allowing policyholders to potentially increase the cash value through investments.
Life Assurance:
Duration: Essentially the same as whole life insurance, providing coverage for the life of the policyholder.
Payout: Guaranteed death benefit.
Premiums: Generally higher, reflecting the lifelong coverage and investment component.
Cash Value: Often includes an investment component, allowing the value of the policy to grow over time.
Use: Commonly used in estate planning due to its guaranteed payout.
Each type of life insurance product serves different financial goals and needs. Term life insurance is typically chosen for its affordability and specific coverage period, making it suitable for people who need coverage for a defined time (e.g., until children are financially independent or a mortgage is paid off). Whole life and universal life insurance are more suited for long-term financial planning, offering lifelong coverage and the ability to accumulate cash value. Life assurance, with its guaranteed payout and investment component, is often chosen for wealth transfer and estate planning purposes.
When choosing a life insurance product, it's important to consider factors like financial goals, coverage needs, premium affordability, and whether an investment component is desired. Consulting with a financial advisor can help in making an informed decision that aligns with your personal circumstances and financial objectives.
CONCLUSION 1
Option 4 — Life Assurance — seems appropriate because the funds are paid in full following death, and become the funding for our smart contract(s) on Ethereum. However this option is said to be 5-10 times as expensive as term insurance, in effect little more than a forced savings plan.
Option 1 — Term Life Insurance OTOH is affordable to most people, with annual payments of <$500 for $500,000. See a summary of term life insurers for the USA.
Term insurance allows anyone to affordably be covered for the cost of regeneration/ectogenesis, up to the age of 70. If we die before that age, we are funded for rebirth if we have completed arrangements with the HU Society, who will oversee our instructions (as our Oracle) and execute our smart contract(s) on the Ethereum blockchain.
Beyond the age of 70, we must alternatively have equity by then in a home, business, or independent funds to commit to smart contracts, as incentives toward fulfillment.
The point of this analysis is that DNA stewardship, from our $500 investment in a DNA sample through to our funded regeneration— can affordably be budgeted up to age 70. Even if you die suddenly by accident or disease before then, your next life cycle is almost guaranteed—financially. This will likely improve your disposition during this first cycle, and all those funds being directed toward gestation technologies will bring that science to maturity within a few decades.
My next prompt was to ask Chat what it thinks of our whole proposition, as follows:
How can we combine an Ethereum smart contract, to fund a life insurance death benefit, for eventual ectogenesis of that same individual?
ChatGPT replies:
Combining an Ethereum smart contract with a life insurance policy to fund the ectogenesis (artificial development of an organism outside the womb) of the insured individual is a highly specialized and innovative concept. This would involve integrating blockchain technology with traditional insurance and biotech fields. Here’s a conceptual framework for how this might work:
Smart Contract Development: First, a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain would need to be developed. This contract would contain the logic and conditions for the disbursement of funds upon the death of the insured individual. The contract would need to be programmed to recognize verified proof of the individual's death and initiate the process for ectogenesis.
Linking Life Insurance Policy: The life insurance policy would need to be structured in such a way that the death benefit is directed towards the smart contract. This could involve the insurance company being aware of and agreeable to the contract's terms, ensuring that the death benefit is paid out in Ethereum (or converted to Ethereum) and transferred to the smart contract.
Ectogenesis Protocol Integration: The smart contract would need to be integrated with a medical or biotechnological protocol for ectogenesis. This integration would ensure that upon activation, the smart contract allocates funds to a designated medical facility or biotech company responsible for initiating the ectogenesis process.
Legal and Ethical Considerations: Given the nature of this arrangement, it's crucial to consider legal and ethical implications, including regulatory compliance in both the insurance and biotech domains, and consent issues related to posthumous reproduction and use of genetic material.
Security and Privacy: The design of the smart contract must ensure the highest standards of security and privacy, given the sensitive nature of the data and transactions involved.
Execution and Oversight: There would need to be a mechanism for overseeing the contract's execution, possibly involving legal and medical professionals, to ensure that the terms are carried out appropriately and ethically.
It's important to note that this concept is quite novel and would require extensive collaboration between blockchain developers, insurance companies, legal experts, and biotechnologists. Additionally, the regulatory environment for such an arrangement is likely to be complex and may vary significantly between jurisdictions.
Given the complexity and novelty of this idea, it's highly recommended to consult with professionals in the fields of blockchain technology, insurance law, and biotechnology to explore the feasibility, legalities, and ethical considerations of such an undertaking.
CONCLUSION 2
So there it is—the main requisite can be term insurance—as AI suggests. But why would the HU Society go outside its own purview and operations to the insurance industry, to participate in its operations financially?
I can think of some key issues that term insurance resolves, especially at scale:
It removes accidental death, dementia, incapacitation etc. as barriers to our planned rebirth. Once the four arrangements are in place, we eventually wake up in a (well-funded) infancy. This makes it easier to ‘step down’ from difficult end-of-life circumstances, which often cost more in medical bills than a handsome smart contract might. Contemplating your incipient childhood is a happier prospect than death—it is how humans will adapt to aging, infirmity and death.
A major biobank that the HU recommends, e.g. has more than 1000 funeral homes as affiliates. DNA stewardship may soon displace cemetery burials as the final fate of individuals, thus funeral homes will have one more service to sell. Since they already suggest DNA preservation as a genetic reference for succeeding generations, expect them to offer our pioneering window on ectogenesis as a family upgrade.
If wealthy families today take pains to pass their property down to their offspring, they may pause to extend their own destiny first. Any and all parties can embark on this voyage, of course—across all ages, regardless of ‘wealth’.
In summary, at age 45 a 25 year term insurance policy is affordable <$75/mo and if the member is the sole beneficiary, that $500K benefit is a sweet reward off the blockchain for the Gestation industry, and for the born infant, if death occurs before its expiry. Anyone can arrange term insurance, and biobanks are quiet security once your sample is conferred. After age 70, the need remains to fund the smart contracts, by other means.
It’s conceivable that our Society could develop a similar financial product in-house, but we could say the same about biobanks. In this developing chapter of human reproduction, it may be prudent to view life insurance as enabling and underwriting life’s continuance, as our HU’s central function. Let the professionals do the paperwork.
Your comments are much appreciated, feel free to consult any time on your personal interest or requirements.
- Dwight