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Sam Altman, the eccentric CEO of OpenAI, has done something unbelievable: he paid to have his brain digitally preserved after death! The bold bet involves the company Nectome, which promises digital immortality, but demands an unthinkable price — the death of the client. A controversial and futuristic procedure that could redefine the science and ethics of human life!
Sam Altman, eccentric billionaire and CEO of OpenAI, may be a household name thanks to the success of the company behind ChatGPT. However, long before he became known worldwide, Altman was involved in a curious and bold investment in the field of technology. In 2018, he made a significant payment to ensure that, after his death, his brain would be digitally preserved, as part of a pioneering and controversial process.
Sam Altman's unusual investment in 2018
Altman paid about $10 to get on the waiting list at Nectome, a company focused on digital brain preservation.
According to Nectome's proposal, an individual's digitized brain could eventually be "reanimated" or transferred to a new body, allowing for a form of digital immortality.
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Although the concept sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, in 2018, OpenAI's CEO believed that this possibility could become a reality in the future.
The proposal by the company Nectome generated controversy, as it involves a procedure that, although legal, is deeply controversial.
To preserve the brain, the company essentially has to “kill” the patient. According to Robert McIntyre, co-founder of Nectome, the process is considered “100% fatal.”
In an interview with MIT Technology Review, he explained that the experience is similar to physician-assisted suicide.
This is because the brain preservation procedure can only be initiated immediately after death.
What does it take to become immortal?
Nectome offers a brain preservation service that, in simple terms, aims to keep a person's brain intact until the technology needed to “revive” it becomes available.
The procedure requires the brain to be removed from a body shortly after death and treated with chemicals and cryogenics techniques. This is to ensure that the brain and its neural connections are preserved in a way that allows for possible uploading to a digital system in the future.
The process described by Nectome involves using a machine to replace blood with embalming fluids that preserve brain structure.
McIntyre stated that this process is an advanced version of embalming, capable of preserving not only externally visible details, but also the internal connections of the brain, that is, the neural connections.
Legal and ethical controversies surrounding the procedure
While the process has been described as groundbreaking, it is not without controversy. Since the procedure requires the death of the patient to begin, many question the ethics and legality of the practice.
However, under California law, where the company is based, physician-assisted suicide is permitted in cases of terminal illness, which gives Nectome legal backing to perform the brain preservation technique, as long as the patient is aware of their choice.
Still, the procedure raises moral and ethical questions. Lawyers consulted by the company confirmed that the process is legal, but also warned of the complexity of the ethical aspects, especially with regard to informed consent and the vulnerability of patients.
Nectome's investments and recognition
Nectome is no ordinary company in the technology sector. It was selected to be part of the startup accelerator Y Combinator, known for funding innovative and bold ideas.
This support resulted in an investment of $120 and three months of mentoring, which helped to consolidate the company's position in the market.
Additionally, Nectome received an $80 grant from the Brain Preservation Foundation, an organization dedicated to brain preservation.
The award was given to McIntyre and his partner Greg Fahy for their research into brain preservation. Their research involved preserving a pig's brain, with impressive results.
The preservation was so successful that scientists were able to observe the brain's synapses with an electron microscope, a major achievement in the field.
This demonstrates that Nectome has a solid scientific approach to its practices, although application in humans is still a long way off.
The Future of Brain Preservation
In 2018, Sam Altman expressed confidence that it might one day be possible to upload a human brain into a digital system.
He believed that in the future, his brain preserved in Nectome could be transferred to the “cloud” and possibly reanimated or somehow returned to life.
However, the concept of preserving a human brain for future digital reincarnation is still very speculative.
Nectome does not currently offer an actual brain “upload,” but works with advanced brain preservation technology.
The company's goal is to ensure that if this type of technology becomes viable in the future, preserved brains are ready for digital reinterpretation.
This raises an important question: what would happen to the human mind after such a complex process of brain scanning?
The answer to this question remains unknown, but the idea of preserving memory and identity is generating philosophical and scientific discussions.
Criticisms and concerns about the technique
Ken Hayworth, president of the Brain Preservation Foundation, said Nectome's technique has potential but also raises concerns.
He believes that while brain preservation is valid, the process of creating a “connectomic map” of the brain — mapping neuronal connections — would be extremely complex and currently impossible to accomplish.
This complexity raises doubts as to whether the technique can really allow a true reinterpretation of human consciousness.
Additionally, Hayworth warns that the company could begin selling the brain preservation procedure before an ethical and medical consensus is reached.
The central concern is that Nectome could encourage vulnerable people to choose this process without adequate ethical discussion, considering the risks of assisted suicide to preserve the mind.
The future of digital immortality
While the brain preservation procedure proposed by Nectome is fascinating and involves promising technologies, there are still many unresolved questions.
Sam altman, as one of the first investors to enter this field, demonstrates the confidence that some have in the potential of this innovation. However, the reality of achieving “digital immortality” still seems distant.
Brain preservation, although an advanced scientific area, still needs to overcome significant technical and ethical challenges.
Meanwhile, the future of initiatives like Nectome’s continues to raise more questions than answers, leaving the world in suspense about the limits of science and human consciousness.
