Re: Immortality and Resources

Jim Legg (income@ihug.co.nz)
Fri, 31 Jan 1997 12:53:32 +1300


> Jim Legg wrote:
> > Personally, I think cryonics is a status preserving cop-out and
> > at best can only supply some frozen post-legal clients for clandestine
> > navigation into cold-booting a dissociated personality (pun intended).

> Hara Ra : Uploading does not exist; cryonics does. I consider it a bridge
to
> better things. Like when uploading IS an option.

Cryonics "exists" as does religion but neither are satisfactory. Weak
uploading does exist today because a brain can be kept alive indefinitely
on life support systems with sensory interfaces to computers. This may well
be the best path to strong Uploading but the problems nowadays are
politically antagonistic. Circular ethical "human" definitions need
straightening out. All the rest is easy. My point, partly in thanks to
knowledge gained from the forlorn hope of early cryonic clients, is that
weak uploaders can gradually tie on stronger interfaces as biology gives
way. This approach best protects the legal status of the uploader which is
why the legal challenge has to occur now.

Identify the main stumbling blocks like this legal issue and go after them.
Incidentally, no amount of private research funding can overcome this, only
intentional political reality can. The solution is in the public will, at
which point no private research funding is be needed. The guidelines for
socialized research will permit voluntary agreement to go ahead.

Best,

Jim Legg http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~income
Man * Soul / Computer = 12 ^ (I think therefore I surf)