Stuart Armstrong, pictured

human ageing, which has already seen ideas that once also seemed marginal, such as slowing down or even reversing the ageing process, becoming increasingly mainstream.

Scientists have also shown that tiny animals such as nematode worms can be deep-frozen and then revived. The idea of doing the same for humans has captured the popular imagination.

‘Better than the alternative’

Scientists, however, have generally dismissed the idea of cryonics for humans as being far beyond anything that is currently achievable.

But that’s not the case with Bostrom who, besides being director of the FHI, also has a background in physics, computational neuroscience and mathematical logic, and is writing a book about superintelligence. He says, “Look back at what has happened over the past 100 years, and how many features of today’s world somebody from 1913 would have failed to

with wife Miriam, and Anders Sandberg have both signed up to have their heads frozen at the Aclor facility in Arizona. Stuart also plans to take out a policy to cover his child when she’s born