Re: Uploading

den Otter (neosapient@geocities.com)
Wed, 2 Sep 1998 22:32:31 +0200



> From: Joe Jenkins <joe_jenkins@yahoo.com>
> In addition to John, I pose the following questions to anyone on the
> list who wants to respond:
>
> If non-destructive technology were available, would you choose to
> upload and keep your biological self alive or terminate it?

I wouldn't use any scanning technique to upload, since IMO the copy wouldn't be "me"; I'd rather have gradual uploading by means of computer implants, or perhaps nano-assisted neuron-by-neuron replacement of the biomass by artificial structures _while I'm conscious_ (yeah,yeah, call me old-fashioned... ;-)

> If you choose to keep your biological self alive. Would you not
> expect that eventually after many augmentations that biological/cyborg
> self would see the limitations and inefficiency of living in the
> physical world and want to upload into Homodigititus himself?

Well, in my favourite scenario that cyborg would be *me* (no copies), possibly just a "brain in a jar" hooked up via direct neural interfaces to a massive computer and support systems (with "weak" AI "agents" to assist my thinking etc.). This contraption, thanks to the power of nano soon many miles accross, would float in space (a sphere would probably be the most logical design). "I" would live in VR worlds or interact directly with the outside world trough probes and perhaps various larger (humanoid?) avatars.

> If yes, would you want this process to terminate the biological/cyborg?

The biological self, soon only a insignificant little piece of the megabrain, could be removed as soon as all its data had been copied, and my "mind" had migrated into the rest of the structure. Then it would be comparable to removing a single, obsolete brain cell.