The “bring your own code” part is interesting, but what happens if there is a mistake in my code that causes one or more of my automations to fail to run? How do you ensure that user created code is in a functional state so that the purpose of the service is fully executed? If my code breaks and I’m dead, then some potentially very important (to me) stuff doesn’t happen?
Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
31–40 of 93 posts
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#32This is really interesting. The site is very beautiful! I'm curious: let's say I'm 30 years old. How can I be sure that 'posterity.life' will be around if I live a full and long life. A _lot_ can change in fifty years. This seems like an obvious concern and I don't see it covered in your FAQ. This is not hypothetical. There are many similar (not identical) services that are no more. See SafeBeyond for one such exampl…
I wonder if the whole site could be put in a trust with legal stipulations to maintain hosting funds. The trustees would be the management teams, then potentially a corporate trustee who could keep the lights on in the event of a permanent code freeze. I think partnering with a forward thinking legal firm that specializes in estate planning would be a cool avenue to explore that further.
or maybe structure the organization as two parts, an independent trust that acts as a custodian with set aside assets to cover the running costs over the expected lifetime of the covered population , and a technology company that builds markets and operates the service on behalf of the trust (or trusts)?
kind of like how a regulated brokerage, pension fund or insurance company operates. The difficult part is credibly ensuring that the companies will follow the rules when there is no legal big stick hanging over them. Maybe you could have the company buy and issue performance bonds to the policy holders , so if the company disappears, the policy holder or their family gets a lump sum? And have the (independent) company issuing the bonds have the contractual right to display the current pricing of the performance bonds, so if the bond company starts to suspects mismanagement, the price goes up, and that has an immediate effect on the company’s standing (and is therefore likely to deter bad behavior)
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#33This is probably a product of my current mindset, but I find the tagline "Get things done from the afterlife" hilariously grim - not only should I be obsessed with "getting things done" while I'm alive, but now I need to be productive after I die!
edit: I should add that I actually like this idea, and I'll check it out further.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#34I worked with an Estate Attorney on a similar product that was geared towards shutting down other online services. We started down the path of trying to figure out which services would let loved ones assume ownership vs which would only let you deactivate the account and there were a lot of headaches along the way.
The service eventually launched, but it never got much transaction. I believe the Attorney tried to get investors at one point to fund marketing and advertising and everyone felt like it was a good idea, but was worried about adoption. The funding never came and the service was shuttered.
I still think it's a good idea if executed properly. Will have to give this a look.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#35This is really interesting. The site is very beautiful! I'm curious: let's say I'm 30 years old. How can I be sure that 'posterity.life' will be around if I live a full and long life. A _lot_ can change in fifty years. This seems like an obvious concern and I don't see it covered in your FAQ. This is not hypothetical. There are many similar (not identical) services that are no more. See SafeBeyond for one such exampl…
I see a market opening: a service to track and manage the afterlife of afterlife services.
Seeing this makes me also think... why not offer a service that will lock down all finance, identity and other related services upon the event of a perceived attack? Sure, it would be worthless if it was too sensitive. I key feature would be that it could be unlocked in 5mins or less by an account holder.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#36Excuse the harsh question, but how many people using this have actually died yet? As far as we know, you could just collect money and never trigger anything. It's also very hard to collect reviews for this service. I love the idea and I would like to have it, but I find it a hard sell to actually rely on it.
Very legitimate on the contrary. Luckily enough, none.
You can see how incentivized we are to really go above and beyond if something happens to one of our users; the loved ones we help are our best advocates.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#37This is probably a product of my current mindset, but I find the tagline "Get things done from the afterlife" hilariously grim - not only should I be obsessed with "getting things done" while I'm alive, but now I need to be productive after I die! edit: I should add that I actually like this idea, and I'll check it out further.
Hilarious and grim are two words I never imagined side by side, so just for this, I think it was worth it :)
Jokes aside, it speaks to the need that many of our users have with regards to having agency in case of death, as opposed to productivity.
Glad it caught your interest. Hope you give it a try.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#38[deleted]
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#39The “bring your own code” part is interesting, but what happens if there is a mistake in my code that causes one or more of my automations to fail to run? How do you ensure that user created code is in a functional state so that the purpose of the service is fully executed? If my code breaks and I’m dead, then some potentially very important (to me) stuff doesn’t happen?
It’s not different from a smart contract. Testing, low is the only remedy, and that can be simplified with a great toolkit, which we’ll be offering.
Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife
#40> Free 15-day trial, then $29.99/year
Time to start taking those big risks I always wanted to take. There are some real savings here if I manage to die in the next two weeks, plus I can still keep getting things done!
Will I need to keep paying to keep getting things done after I die? Can posterity automate that too? How can I cancel my service after death if it fails to deliver, or say, I, as a ghost become dissatisfied with it?