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Welcome To Life
31–40 of 188 posts
Re: Welcome To Life
#32Very entertaining and interesting concept. BUT.. are people really so pessimistic about technology and the future that the main thing that comes to mind when they think of digital immortality is.. this? Your virtual body can be anything you want. You can't die as long as your digital code is backed up somewhere. If you can't see the bright side of that stuff, there is some kind of psychological issue.
It has both effectively infinite possibility for goodness and infinite possibility for badness. Your virtual body can be anything you want... as long as you control the execution parameters. This is not guaranteed! What if $YOUR_LEAST_FAVORITE_COMPANY is the one in control? Or worse? Even the option of suicide can be removed from you. If Hell does not exist, there is a non-zero chance Man will make it for himself.
Indeed, if things are just left alone I would not even say the default state is that you'll be in control of your own code. It will be a company that develops this technology first, since the alternative is inconceivable, and they will have their own agenda. There's a lot more possibilities that could emerge than just a happy utopia.
Re: Welcome To Life
#33Very entertaining and interesting concept. BUT.. are people really so pessimistic about technology and the future that the main thing that comes to mind when they think of digital immortality is.. this? Your virtual body can be anything you want. You can't die as long as your digital code is backed up somewhere. If you can't see the bright side of that stuff, there is some kind of psychological issue.
The ability to see a bad side, and the inability to see the bright side are two different things.
Of course digital immortality is inestimably cool. There are so many amazing and obvious positives that we can even imagine on this side of the singularity.
However, if we only think of the positives, without considering the negatives, then we run the risk of stumbling blindly into a dystopia created by the few who did think of the negatives (and how to profit from them), or by optimists who failed to plan for a suboptimal outcome.
From another point of view, fiction about a perfect utopia is boring. You need some imperfection in order to provide the requisite tension to make a story.
Re: Welcome To Life
#34Very entertaining and interesting concept. BUT.. are people really so pessimistic about technology and the future that the main thing that comes to mind when they think of digital immortality is.. this? Your virtual body can be anything you want. You can't die as long as your digital code is backed up somewhere. If you can't see the bright side of that stuff, there is some kind of psychological issue.
I'm pessimistic about this type of technology because it isn't "you" that we are talking about; it's a copy of you; you still get to die, and I don't think that knowing a copy of your mind exists will be of any real comfort.
Re: Welcome To Life
#35I'm not excited about this future. Whatever is uploaded isn't me, it is merely like me--a copy. Anything that is theoretically capable of running while I'm still alive is just a copy--it isn't me.
Re: Welcome To Life
#36While it does make for some entertaining fiction, and may provide some benefits to the living, I do not believe that 'uploading' is a desirable experience.
In fact, I don't believe that one can experience it at all. Imagine the procedure (for a conscious person): your brain is connected to a computer interface and a copy of your mind is taken. Great. Now there is a digital copy of your mind. So what? You still get to die.
Consciousness is mortally bound to the physical body, and will die along with it regardless of how many mental copies are made.
I much prefer the idea of human metamorphosis. I want to inject nanorobots into my body which will transform it gradually, cell by cell into an improved synthetic one. In this way, immortality and superhumanity can be achieved without loss of continuity. I imagine the experience would be one of waking up a little better (stronger, smarter, etc.) every morning until the cells are all upgraded.
I don't read enough these days because of chronic eyestrain, but if you are aware of anything dealing with this concept of human metamorphosis, fiction or otherwise, I would appreciate a link. It's something I would like to read about (if it's even been dealt with), someday when I have time (and don't have a headache).
Re: Welcome To Life
#37Very entertaining and interesting concept. BUT.. are people really so pessimistic about technology and the future that the main thing that comes to mind when they think of digital immortality is.. this? Your virtual body can be anything you want. You can't die as long as your digital code is backed up somewhere. If you can't see the bright side of that stuff, there is some kind of psychological issue.
I'm pessimistic about this type of technology because it isn't "you" that we are talking about; it's a copy of you ; you still get to die, and I don't think that knowing a copy of your mind exists will be of any real comfort.
Exactly. It baffles me that even very smart people can't see this bug. If it can theoretically exist separately while you are alive, it can't be you.
For example, if You and Digital You (tm) were alive at the same time, I could put you in one room, and Digital You in another, and smash Digital You without You having any idea. You could live your whole life not knowing if Digital You was "alive."
Whatever your definition of me is, it seems like me dying should have an effect on me.
Re: Welcome To Life
#38While it does make for some entertaining fiction, and may provide some benefits to the living, I do not believe that 'uploading' is a desirable experience. In fact, I don't believe that one can experience it at all. Imagine the procedure (for a conscious person): your brain is connected to a computer interface and a copy of your mind is taken. Great. Now there is a digital copy of your mind. So what? You still get to…
I disagree. Your individual consciousness will diverge of course (you are just a meat machine) but your computer copy will continue on and your ideas, ideals, and personality would continue.
Writing this I just had a major existential crisis because I realized that at the exact point of divergence there is a point where 'you' are both alive and dead at the same time, Schrodinger's Tomb.
I agree with you in that I think a gradual change is less crisis inducing even though it equals out to the same thing. I think that I'd get a brain backup anyway, just in case.
Re: Welcome To Life
#39I'm not excited about this future. Whatever is uploaded isn't me, it is merely like me--a copy. Anything that is theoretically capable of running while I'm still alive is just a copy--it isn't me .
What makes you so sure of that? What is the important difference between the copy and you, assuming that they behave identically?
How much "like" you would a copy have to be before it caused you ontological distress?
Re: Welcome To Life
#40While it does make for some entertaining fiction, and may provide some benefits to the living, I do not believe that 'uploading' is a desirable experience. In fact, I don't believe that one can experience it at all. Imagine the procedure (for a conscious person): your brain is connected to a computer interface and a copy of your mind is taken. Great. Now there is a digital copy of your mind. So what? You still get to…
Greg Egan's short story Closer has people implanted with a device, a "jewel", that learns to mimic the behaviour of their brain - to the point where people actually choose to switch from their biological brain controlling their body to their jewel....