No joke! This is big news. Paris Hilton is going to be cryopreserved. I never thought I’d be posting about Hilton on Accelerating Future, but there you go. This news is via Eliezer Yudkowsky on Overcoming Bias, who broke it as follows:

“Anyone not signed up for cryonics has now lost the right to make fun of Paris Hilton, because no matter what else she does wrong, and what else you do right, all of it together can’t outweigh the life consequences of that one little decision.

Congratulations, Paris. I look forward to meeting you someday.”

I totally agree. You can make fun of Ms. Hilton all you want, but if in 100 years you’re rotting in the ground, and she has her frozen cells repaired and remetabolized by nanomedicine, guess who’s laughing now?

Here is the article from FemaleFirst:

“Paris Hilton wants to be frozen with her beloved pets when she dies.

The hotel heiress is keen to live forever and has invested a large sum of money in the world’s biggest suspended animation cemetery, Cryonics Institute.

She wants her body to be preserved and then brought back to life, along with her favourite pets, including her famous Chihuahua Tinkerbell and new mutt, Yorkshire Terrier Cinderella.

‘The Simple Life’ star said: “It’s so cool. Almost all the cells in the body are still alive when death is pronounced.

“And if you’re immediately cooled, you can be perfectly preserved.

“My life could be extended by hundreds and thousands of years.”

Earlier this week, Paris revealed her partying lifestyle left her feeling “empty inside”.

The 26-year-old blonde - who spent 23 days in jail for driving offences in June - is now determined to turn her life around and do worthy things instead of being seen falling out of nightclubs.

Paris - who is planning a visit to Rwanda - said: “Before, my life was about having fun, going to parties - it was a fantasy. But when I had time to reflect, I felt empty inside. I want to leave a mark on the world.”

Whether she’s serious or not, I don’t know, but signing up for cryonics isn’t the sort of PR stunt to do for popular support — so it was obviously her personal decision. I myself associate signing up with cryonics with long-term thinking about the future of humanity, but maybe some see it as selfishness. Your mileage may vary.

In the comments, Carl Shulman pointed out that she might have gotten the idea from a magician she worked with on The Simple Life. They have signed up for different companies, however — Hilton with Cryonics Institute, and the magician with American Cryonics.

Immortalism marches forward, now with Paris Hilton’s support. Who’s signing up next?