But would a duplicate of me feel like I live forever? Won't I just feel it's my duplicate that lives on when my biological self dies? Maybe a little more satisfying than having a pyramid "live on" but still.
As software people, we have a unique advantage over other humans when it comes to understanding the process of copying information. I invite you to look at it from that perspective.
> But would a duplicate of me feel like I live forever?
Your duplicate is you, it doesn't even matter how many of you there are at the end. Unless the initial brain upload is a destructive scan, this pertains to your biological "original" as well. How things feel like in that situation would be pretty much down to your state of mind, so no difference there to how things are now.
Also, this doesn't mean you'll live forever. Nothing is forever. It's just another form of existence, albeit there is reason to be hopeful it will be longer and individually better than a biological existence.
> Won't I just feel it's my duplicate that lives on when my biological self dies?
Again, that depends on the tech level at the time. Most likely, the first forays into this territory will be made by dead people who have their brains scanned. There will be no biological self left in that case. Once technology moves further, it may become possible to do a non-destructive scan of the brain. In that case, people will most likely opt for this technology as a backup plan (though some - including myself - may not and choose to literally fork themselves).
> Maybe a little more satisfying than having a pyramid "live on" but still.
The difference, as I said, is that it is you who lives on.
Even if you could somehow confer upon a pyramid a portion of yourself, it's still just a static monument. Transferring your mind onto a virtual machine is not just a matter of preserving it for posterity, the point is to continue living and thereby changing. The concept of you is not a static thing.
>As software people, we have a unique advantage over other humans when it comes to understanding the process of copying information. I invite you to look at it from that perspective.
Still small relief compared to the existencial angst of dying to see your copy survive.
>The difference, as I said, is that it is you who lives on.
So, if I have managed to offload a complete and working copy of your brain and memories, you'd be OK with me killing you, right?
I have an inkling that, when we finally have the means to live forever, we will realize that we actually are just a program running on a brain, and it won't matter if we die.
The Tad WIlliams Otherland series deals with these ideas. In the book, the biological original is killed the instant that the copy goes online. Thus there is no me and my twin, there is only me.
At the end of the day its my memories and knowledge that I treasure, not the meat its running on. The real question is: can we make a synthetic analog for brain goo that can run the consciousness program?
Udo|12 years ago
> But would a duplicate of me feel like I live forever?
Your duplicate is you, it doesn't even matter how many of you there are at the end. Unless the initial brain upload is a destructive scan, this pertains to your biological "original" as well. How things feel like in that situation would be pretty much down to your state of mind, so no difference there to how things are now.
Also, this doesn't mean you'll live forever. Nothing is forever. It's just another form of existence, albeit there is reason to be hopeful it will be longer and individually better than a biological existence.
> Won't I just feel it's my duplicate that lives on when my biological self dies?
Again, that depends on the tech level at the time. Most likely, the first forays into this territory will be made by dead people who have their brains scanned. There will be no biological self left in that case. Once technology moves further, it may become possible to do a non-destructive scan of the brain. In that case, people will most likely opt for this technology as a backup plan (though some - including myself - may not and choose to literally fork themselves).
> Maybe a little more satisfying than having a pyramid "live on" but still.
The difference, as I said, is that it is you who lives on.
Even if you could somehow confer upon a pyramid a portion of yourself, it's still just a static monument. Transferring your mind onto a virtual machine is not just a matter of preserving it for posterity, the point is to continue living and thereby changing. The concept of you is not a static thing.
coldtea|12 years ago
Still small relief compared to the existencial angst of dying to see your copy survive.
>The difference, as I said, is that it is you who lives on.
So, if I have managed to offload a complete and working copy of your brain and memories, you'd be OK with me killing you, right?
StavrosK|12 years ago
ux-app|12 years ago
At the end of the day its my memories and knowledge that I treasure, not the meat its running on. The real question is: can we make a synthetic analog for brain goo that can run the consciousness program?