Biostasis advocates know Ralph well. Not only has he served on the Alcor Foundation’s board of directors for many years, he is famous for his work in both nanotechnology and cryptography. He is the inventor of public key cryptography, creator of the Merkle–Damgård construction, which underlies many cryptographic hash algorithms, and Merkle trees, which are widely used in distributed systems.
In this conversation, Ralph explains a recent major advance in nanotechnology capabilities in the form of Inverted-Mode Scanning Tunneling Microscopy – an encouraging step toward nanofactories and fabrication of medical nanotechnology devices. He considers how AI might boost nanotechnology progress, the role of prediction markets, and the concept of information theoretic death.
The paper we discussed can be found HERE.
A more detailed review of the recent breakthroughs produced by Inverted-Mode Scanning Tunneling Microscopy can be found HERE.
Robert Freitas’ “Cryostasis Revival” is available as a PDF or as a hardcover book from Amazon.
Ralph’s paper about using prediction markets for public governance is available on his website HERE.
