Mind transfer

In transhumanism and science fiction, mind transfer (also referred to as mind uploading or mind downloading, depending on one's point of reference), or whole body emulation refers to the hypothetical transfer of a human mind, body, and environment to an artificial substrate.

Related Topics:
Transhumanism - Science fiction - Mind

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In the case where it is transferred into a computer, the situation would become a form of artificial intelligence, sometimes called an infomorph. In the case where it is transferred into an artificial body to which its consciousness is confined, it would become a robot, albeit one which might claim ordinary human rights, certainly if the consciousness within were feeling (or were doing a good job of simulating) as if it were the donor (see cyborg).

Related Topics:
Artificial intelligence - Infomorph - Robot - Cyborg

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However, even if uploading is theoretically possible, there is currently no technology capable of recording or describing mind states in the way imagined, and no one knows how much computer power or storage would be needed to simulate the activity of the mind inside a computer.

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Uploading, in this sense, is a common theme in science fiction. One of the earlier instances of this theme was in the Roger Zelazny novel Lord of Light. Those with a strongly mechanistic view of human intelligence (a la Marvin Minsky) or a strongly positive view of robot-human social integration, e.g. Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil have openly speculated about the possibilities and their desirability. The fiction of Greg Egan has explored many of the philosophical, ethical, legal, and identity aspects of mind transfer, as well as the financial and computing aspects (i.e. hardware, software, processing power) of maintaining "copies." In the computer (PC/Mac + Wine/Cedega) game Total Annihilation, a multi-millenia war rages between a society mandating mind transfer, and a rebellion against it.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Roger Zelazny - Lord of Light - Human intelligence - Marvin Minsky - Hans Moravec - Ray Kurzweil - Greg Egan - PC - Mac - Wine - Cedega - Total Annihilation

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The idea of uploading human consciousness in this manner raises many philosophical questions which people may find interesting and disturbing, such as matters of individuality and the soul. Vitalists would say that uploading was a priori impossible.

Related Topics:
Soul - Vitalists

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Uploading consciousness into bodies created by robotic means is a goal of some in the artificial intelligence community. In the uploading scenario, the physical human brain does not move from its original body into a new robotic shell; rather, the consciousness is assumed to be recorded and/or transferred to a new robotic brain, which generates responses indistinguishable from the original organic brain.

Related Topics:
Robotic - Human brain

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