The first immortal man?

When and if human immortality is achieved, all I can say is be prepared for the most massive population reduction effort in history. There will be all-out chaos in the clamor to control this technology, and the most evil, cunning and maniacal minds in the world will compete for it, perhaps until there is only one human left!

So lets say this becomes the norm in 2110.. What happens if a mass virus catches hold of them?

Terminator 3 that's what.

Atleast he's on to something, hes creating what he believes

Forget the brain save my penis

He had better find a way to upload the soul. There's no app for that Let me guess...he doesn't believe the soul exists.

reply to post by Chi-and-Me


I think the soul will "hang around" and transform into whatever option it gets to reside.
Perhaps it is all up to the will of the soul itself.

I agree with previous posts about not knowing how memories are stored and even how separate our consciousnesses are from our bodies.

For those who don't believe in life after death, then this would likely be a waste of time anyways.

For those who believe that there is a separate "self" that defines each of us, then we need to determine whether all of that even exists encoded within the matrix/network of the brain. I recall reading about a suggestion that memories might be kept in the glial or supporting cells between the neurons in the brain, or something like that.

But there is the other question of how to truly determine that someone who says that they have all the memories of a person and claims to be that person and exhibits all the mannerisms associated with that person is, in fact, really that person.

I think it may be like the scene in the Avatar movie where the main character used the tree that everyone linked into to transfer himself from his human body into his native blue body. The movie showed his first-person point of view with him closing his eyes being in his old body while it is dying and he sees things getting blurry, then opening his eyes and finding himself inside his new body that can live on the planet without special equipment. That would probably be what someone would experience while being transferred to a machine that could copy and perform all of their brain functions. But how would such a person be able to prove to everyone else that they are really still themselves but in a new "body"? Still, for those of us who would be trying to determine if the machine functioning with all of the characteristics of the person is really that person, or just a machine mimicking that person, we would not be able to say that is really the same person for certain. Or would it be merely like a clone of the person as a distinct entity who has all the original person's memories, but who is a separate person? Think of identical twins who, while being genetic copies of each other, are still distinct individuals who have their own separate identities and do not share each other's consciousness.

That would be a difficult puzzle, trying to determine if a person really transferred to the new brain/body, or if it is just a new entity with memories of the prior person.

Originally posted by iforget
Forget the brain save my penis

Plasticized and sliced into micrometer slides? NO THANK YOU!!

reply to post by elevenaugust


A curious fellow indeed.

You know, my brother calls me bulletproof. I see it as we live forever by what people remember us by. If you're a forgettable type of person, you're not going to live forever.

You want to live forever? Quit trying to "upload" your brain into a computer and start "downloading" your actions in a way that affects people in a positive and lasting fashion. Works for me. People from when I was a teenager, hell even their mothers, remember me when I barely remember them. Why? Beats the hell out of me. Guess I'm a nice guy who left an impression.

I guess too that's what makes me bulletproof. Nice guys finish last because they're builtto last.

And Hayworth? Well, I hope it all works out for him.

ETA: ( It HAS been done BTW )

youtu.be...

reply to post by boncho

Here is a question for you. What if humans could remove their brains still alive but in a special casing housing them? Then transfer it over to a synthetic body packed with neuron that would connect to the Brain stem in the protective casing? Nanobots would have to wire the brain up to the synthetic body but afterwards the person is synched with the new body. Now would that person still be Themselves or different?

Yes I love Ghost In the shell. Its got some interesting ideas.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Ouch what I mean is what fun life without the good and the bad that comes with it

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by boncho

 

Essentially, you could make 1 or 100 copies of the same thing. None of which would be "you".

Debatable. The medium on which consciousness is stored is irrelevant if the consciousness can operate as normal. Just because the consciousness no longer exists and operates inside the biological human shell it was originally operating in, doesn't mean it's not the same consciousness. True, you could make more than one copy, but each of them would whole heartedly believe they were the original. It could be said all of them are "you"... what ever "you" really means.

As noted, all of these copies would believe themselves to be "you", but I suspect that none are actually "you", with the actual experience of going to "sleep" then awakening in the new body. The original "you" ceases to exist in this reality and would potentially continue elsewhere, and none of the new "you"s would be a continuation of your own consciousness. And none of the new "you"s would share their consiousnesses. It would be more like identical twins who happen to have inherited the same memories.

Originally posted by iforget
Forget the brain save my penis

I guess for some this would be the only way to save their brain.

reply to post by yuppa


Yes, Ghost in the Shell had some great concepts, but even there, the brain (and it seems the spinal cord as well) was kept alive and transferred to the newer bodies.

reply to post by LiberalSceptic


That may be possible. But I would think only a "spiritual" person or at least a "soul concious" person could make that transition. I assume Hayworth believes there is nothing after death. But I've been wrong once or twice before.

reply to post by Chi-and-Me


I agree with you. For it to work, the soul probably has to be aware of its own potential.

reply to post by davidchin

I suspect that none are actually "you", with the actual experience of going to "sleep" then awakening in the new body.

Actually, if the brain and memories were copied and uploaded moments before or after they died, they will probably have a memory of dying in their physical body, and then a blank, until they wake up in their new computerised shell. It would seem to them like they fell asleep or passed out, and then woke up some where completely different. It would most likely be extremely confusing and traumatising for the initial period of entry into the computer shell.

Originally posted by davidchin
reply to post by yuppa

 

Yes, Ghost in the Shell had some great concepts, but even there, the brain (and it seems the spinal cord as well) was kept alive and transferred to the newer bodies.

The main female character was completely artificial and even capable of transmitting her consciousness through the internet and into other mechanical bodies.

Originally posted by michaelbrux
so smart he's figured out a way to trap himself in Hell.

i think he's gonna have trouble selling this as a practical solution to mankind's desire to live forever.

indeed
the having to die 1st bit opens up quite a legal can of worms

does the virtual you get to keep your property?
does it even have rights
is one legally deed if one goes down this path?

is it even really you?

yep, a hell of ones own making
with lawyers

reply to post by DerepentLEstranger


i assume that he's completely defined the 'conscious self' and determined a way to upload this into a computer 'file'.

after having done this...then what?

does he enjoy emotional satisfaction like sex or love, even...what happens if, when, he gets horny or lonely?

does he go to a porn site...is he interacting with these lifeless videos or pictures as if they are real?

what happens if he gets hungry? can he simulate the event of eating something or does he have to remind himself that food is not real?

what happens when he wants to take a walk or is he trapped where his surroundings never change?

i think...that he would continue to desire all of the things a human animal desires, but wouldn't be able to satisfy any of them.

eventually, perhaps, he would learn to do without them, but by that time, he'd be nothing more than a machine and lacking anyway to enjoy any of the things that make us human.