"You Will Discard Your Body" Electronic Transcendence/Mind Transfer

In the near future you will discard your body -- you will literally throw it in the trash -- because you will neither want it nor need it. You will discard your biological body gladly, like you would discard an old pair of shoes today. You will be quite grateful to be rid of it.
- Marshall Brain

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What if one day technology will separate the mind from its body? When technology enables us to upload our minds into a computer, when identity, thoughts, memories become zeros and ones, when individuals will dwell in artificial realities and virtual realms, and physical restraints become obsolete?

Within the next 50 years of so, give or take a decade, humans will begin discarding their bodies as quickly as humanly possible. In the 2050 timeframe, a human body will be as passé as the horse and buggy is to us today.

...wrote Marshall Brain in his article "The day you will discard your body". The more I think of it... he might be right. A relatively new concept called "Mind Uploading" (whole brain emulation, mind transfer) has sparked interest in the science community and transhumanist movement due to groundbreaking inventions and giant leaps forward in technology and science, eventually making the hypothetical process of mapping and transferring the brain into a computer viable in the near future.

Lets look further at what exactly "Mind Uploading" is and how it could work:

What are neural protheses, whole brain emulation and mind uploading/transfer?

The concepts behind the terms neural prosthetics, whole brain emulation and mind uploading are related, and in that order their objectives are of increasing complexity. A neural prosthetic is a replacement for or augmentation of a function or component of the nervous system in general, and of the human brain in particular. Currently, a number of neural prosthetics exist that replace or improve specific functions that are most commonly sensory functions. Examples are cochlear and retinal implants, but also implanted electrodes that inhibit seizures and research toward the development of a prosthetic hippocampus. A neural prosthetic can be implemented as a hardware component, as software in a general computing environment or as a mixture of both. Independent hardware components are ideal for medical purposes, while other forms are useful in neuroscientific research. In the long term, neural prosthetics that encompass all functions and components of the human brain may enable the emulation of complete human brain function on a different, possibly non-biological substrate. That condition is described by the term whole brain emulation. Emulation strives to equal the original function of an individual brain, while simulations in neuroscience research are attempts to create a constrained set of similar effects. The transition of the functions and components of a specific human brain to whole brain emulation in another substrate is described as mind uploading. The term uploading, commonly used in information science, implies an operation similar to the transfer of information from one computing system to another.
- Randal A. Koene

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How will the implications of such a technology shape our future, inflict with our evolution and will it really render the biological body useless?

To be or not to be?

When it comes right down to it, having a physical body in a reality constrained by the limitations of the physical laws has many drawbacks. Our bodies are extremely fragile and can be damaged or killed in an instant if we are not careful, or are just plain unlucky. If anything goes wrong with a critical body part, the entire body could die. Our physical bodies are also deteriorated by aging. Either way, for now, if your body dies, your brain dies right along with it. Every human brain contains an immense wealth of information, memories, experiences and relationships. Every time a human brain dies, that incredible, unique wealth of knowledge dies with it, and is forever lost. The world is a dangerous place to inhabit in a fragile human body, and there are a lot of other problems that come with having a physical presence in a physical world. Using the bathroom, body odor, difficulty traveling, limitation of possibilities, just to name a few. Up to this point, we have had no alternative to life, besides death. Due to nanotechnology, there may come a time when people will actually have a choice between life in the "real world," an existence inside a computer generated simulation, or death.

Could it really be that at some point we will inhabit artificial bodies, escape from the chains of death, and bring about a new era of unimaginable possibilities and heightened consciousness/spirituality (almost being gods)? A transcendence or a drawback for mankind? Can consciousness and the soul be transferred into a computer in the first place? It takes a very mechanistic view to think that we are not more than our body and mind, governed solely by chemical processes and electrical signals interpreted by our brain, but maybe there is more to us than we yet have scientifically conceived or proven to be fact. Whatever it is, it will decide upon the success and the feasibility of this technology in the coming decades.

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Electronic transcendence

Mind uploading, if it turns out to be possible at all, will likely first happen in the 2040s, depending on the level of detail that is required to capture all essential information in the neuronal structure of an organic brain. Substantial computer processing power and digital information storage would be required to digitalize and run a functional analog of the brain's ~100 billion neurons. Religious and philosophical issues such as the existence of a soul and the nature of "self" will ultimately determine if any level of technological prowess will ever enable a biological consciousness to be transferred to an artificial substrate.

Once uploaded, a mind would achieve immortality, existing as pure information, disassociated from the biological body and brain. The upload would be considered a form of artificial intelligence, sometimes referred to as an "infomorph" or "noomorph." A digital mind could theoretically be backed up, copied, or restarted at various set points, raising interesting questions regarding individuality and identity.

Indeed it does raise a lot of interesting questions, would you be willing to undergo such a transformation? Blessing or curse for humanity? Freedom or enslavement?

Brain storage facilities

Given a choice between being in your virtual body and your real body, you will choose your virtual body every time. Therefore, your biological body will become irrelevant. At the same time, technology will be advancing. A variety of research efforts will be creating the ability to house your brain – just your brain – in a small container that will keep it in perfect environmental conditions. A number of companies will be advertising Brain Storage Facilities, where your brain and thousands of others are stored in hardened steel and concrete buildings that are impervious to bombs, earthquakes, hurricanes and so on.

Would love to hear what you think.

The idea of it seems feasible but I don't see it happening to a point where we leave the body. I believe the mind is just a receiver for the spirit to control the body.

Picture uploading your mind to a computer, would the body have to die or would the computer just be a copy of your mind without the spirit?

More likely we will become cyborgs and integrate computers and technology into our evolution.

Just my take on it, Nice Thread.....

i really enjoy the sounds of this topic, I look forward to seeing where the discussion goes!

Who would regulate transcendence?

Is everyone allowed to transcend, or are there those who are disenfranchised like felons who will not be allowed?

If there is no regulation and many people transcend, who will manufacture better computers from material resources?

DO you once entering a computer become part of it insomuch that you can not be upgraded to a better one later on?

If the computer gets a virus or undergoes a viral attack either from the outside or within, does the mind inside basically receive brain damage?

What are the laws and rights of the transcended, and how do you secure the virtual world from the physical universe, and or the possibility that while people live it up in fantasy land they go extinct?

Well done on putting this info together in a coherent fashion. What bothers me is the absolute certainty with which the assertion is continually made " you will chose to discard your body" in exchange for this virtual world.
What makes them so sure? How do they know I will want to do that?
What is so beautiful about being uploaded into a computer?
How could I ever see another sunset if I were to do such a thing?
How could I ever smell another flower or the scent of a woman I have feelings for?

How can they be so sure people will willingly give up all the sensory pleasures that are found only in having a human body?
They don't tell you what the virtual world will look like.
Now...if they could create a stronger , more resilient, and disease resistant human body for all of us to trade our own bodies in for, then that might be something...as we could all continue to live life on this amazing planet.
s&f for the find and the effort.

So how would we reproduce?
Who would maintain the machines?

I don't know how I feel about all that. I'd much rather have a mind/machine link while retaining my body than disgarding my body altogether in favor of a virtual one. Like a previous poster said, making our current bodies better seems like a much better idea.

What if we are already uploaded? What if we are already digital?

reply to post by JudgedCover


If what you ask is true, then that can only mean one thing.

WE GOT SCREWED!!

reply to post by JudgedCover


The funny thing is, if they succeed with the creation of artificial realities that feel, look, smell, taste and sound just like our own with no observable differences other than those that are intended, it would be an endless loop of realities within realities. And maybe artificial realities coupled with A.I. or self-aware software, as-well as uploaded minds, would give rise to new universes just as real and complex as our own. Key questions are, is our own reality the product of intelligent design? Could artificial realities compete with "the real deal"?

It's funny. I've gotten into debates with my wife and taken the side that we're basically the sum total of our memories, brain structure, etc. and that, if entered into another vessel (computer, robot, clone, what have you) that this new vessel is essentially us.

She vehemently disagrees.

I secretly agree with her to and wouldn't upload my consciousness into a machine and discard my body.

I would, however, upload my consciousness into a machine, possibly over and over again ad nauseum, and keep my body.

Originally posted by Clairaudience
reply to post by JudgedCover

 

The funny thing is, if they succeed with the creation of artificial realities that feel, look, smell, taste and sound just like our own with no observable differences other than those that are intended, it would be an endless loop of realities within realities. And maybe artificial realities coupled with A.I. or self-aware software, as-well as uploaded minds, would give rise to new universes just as real and complex as our own. Key questions are, is our own reality the product of intelligent design? Could artificial realities compete with "the real deal"?

What if this "Reality" is exactly what you are proposing and has already happened? Big what if, I know.
Still it makes me wonder sometimes hehe.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I think people overestimate what it could do. It seems slightly foolish. If you upload your brain to a cpu, its not like you're going to be going with it.

You know what's interesting about this whole deal? They are saying that this is possible and that eventually it WILL happen. Its just a matter of getting over a few technological hurdles right? So if they've shown that this can definitely possible then who's to say we're not all plugged into a computer right now? How would you know?
You can't say no, that's impossible because now we know that it isn't. What can you come up with to prove that you and I are actually living in reality itself when they are saying that reality can be mimiced and recreated within a computer wired to your brain.

Very strange to think about...

Read The ship who sang by McCaffrey. She was about three decades ahead of this one.

Bodies are crucial to existence, even if everybody got transcendent and discarded there physical bodies for a digital existence....Well then who will manage and upkeep all the computers and tech necessary for such a thing....I dont think if it happens people will discard there physical bodies just like that.... and the day you can download yourself into a computer...would in all probability also be the day you can make a cyborg body and download your self into it. It would be like something out of ghost in the shell. And you got to take into account that the brain and mind diffines its reality by the outside world, as well as the inside, our bodies and outside existence dictate how our minds perceive the world, and how our brain functions in such a world and it's physical mechanics. We literally are form and function, body and mind...Once you substitute the real senses for pseudo senses, or different senses, then the whole world changes in much more then just different perceptions. Meaning we only enjoy digital worlds, like those in video games, because they are always in comparison to our real world. But happens when virtual worlds become the real worlds, will we still enjoy it? Or will we look for some other worlds to go to beyond the virtual? In to the real worlds?

reply to post by Clairaudience


Reminds me of a ytube vid of some folk who remote viewed or imagined a future world where because of the cancer all of humanity were living digitally and everything else was dead, iirc it was about 100 years in the future.

reply to post by Thepreye


Well, all I know is that if we are already digital, then someone uploaded a trojan and a worm into my app.

Excellent. I can't wait to dump this painful useless transport vehicle.
Sign me up. I want OUT of this thing as soon as possible.

Now the most common question here seems to be: Who would maintain the machines and what would happen to the outside world if everyone got their minds digitalized?

Uploaded minds will not solely live and interact in artificial realities, they would still be linked to the physical world in order to act upon it. To build, to expand, to go beyond the borders of our solar system etc. Once mind uploading becomes possible, A.I. will progress drastically, so I can see the physical world being maintained by artificial intelligences in all kinds and forms. Uploaded minds will then have the possibility to link themselves into an artificial body to be able to have impact on the physical world. One would not be restricted to a single body, but to a whole range of different bodies for specific tasks or experiences.

Found another interesting video from the Singularity Summit...
Digital Serfs and Cyborg Buddhas:

Michael LaTorra & James Hughes lead a group discussion at Convergence 08. Digital (or data) serfdom currently exists -- and is growing -- among high-tech workers. In a future of mind-uploading, the situation could worsen into a dystopian horror. The bright alternative to this vision of servitude in dark digital mills is life as an enhanced, empowered, free individual, the Cyborg Buddha, who enjoys both technological abundance and the time to enjoy it in contemplative bliss.

Watch video on Vimeo