Mind uploading

"Mind transfer" redirects here. For other uses, see Mind transfer (disambiguation).
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Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information processing, such that it would respond in essentially the same way as the original brain and experience having a sentient conscious mind.[1][2][3]

Substantial mainstream research in related areas is being conducted in neuroscience and computer science, including animal brain mapping and simulation,[4] development of faster supercomputers, virtual reality, brain–computer interfaces, connectomics, and information extraction from dynamically functioning brains.[5] According to supporters, many of the tools and ideas needed to achieve mind uploading already exist or are under active development; however, they will admit that others are, as yet, very speculative, but say they are still in the realm of engineering possibility.

Mind uploading may potentially be accomplished by either of two methods: copy-and-upload or copy-and-delete by gradual replacement of neurons (which can be considered as a gradual destructive uploading), until the original organic brain no longer exists and a computer program emulating the brain takes control of the body. In the case of the former method, mind uploading would be achieved by scanning and mapping the salient features of a biological brain, and then by storing and copying that information state into a computer system or another computational device. The biological brain may not survive the copying process or may be deliberately destroyed during it in some variants of uploading. The simulated mind could be within a virtual reality or simulated world, supported by an anatomic 3D body simulation model. Alternatively, the simulated mind could reside in a computer inside—or either connected to or remotely controlled by—a (not necessarily humanoid) robot, biological, or cybernetic body.[6]

Among some futurists and within part of transhumanist movement, mind uploading is treated as an important proposed life extension or immortality technology (known as "digital immortality"). Some believe mind uploading is humanity's current best option for preserving the identity of the species, as opposed to cryonics. Another aim of mind uploading is to provide a permanent backup to our "mind-file", to enable interstellar space travel, and a means for human culture to survive a global disaster by making a functional copy of a human society in a computing device. Whole-brain emulation is discussed by some futurists as a "logical endpoint"[6] of the topical computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics fields, both about brain simulation for medical research purposes. It is discussed in artificial intelligence research publications as an approach to strong AI (artificial general intelligence) and to at least weak superintelligence. Another approach is seed AI, which would not be based on existing brains. Computer-based intelligence such as an upload could think much faster than a biological human even if it were no more intelligent. A large-scale society of uploads might, according to futurists, give rise to a technological singularity, meaning a sudden time constant decrease in the exponential development of technology.[7] Mind uploading is a central conceptual feature of numerous science fiction novels, films, and games.[8]

  1. ^ Bamford, Sim (2012). "A framework for approaches to transfer of a mind's substrate" (PDF). International Journal of Machine Consciousness. 04 (1): 23–34. doi:10.1142/s1793843012400021. ISSN 1793-8430.
  2. ^ Goertzel, Ben; Ikle', Matthew (2012). "Introduction". International Journal of Machine Consciousness. 04: 1–3. doi:10.1142/S1793843012020015.
  3. ^ Sotala, Kaj; Valpola, Harri (June 2012). "Coalescing minds: brain uploading-related group mind scenarios" (PDF). International Journal of Machine Consciousness. 04 (1): 293–312. doi:10.1142/S1793843012400173. S2CID 6230653.
  4. ^ Fan, Xue; Markram, Henry (2019-05-07). "A Brief History of Simulation Neuroscience". Frontiers in Neuroinformatics. 13: 32. doi:10.3389/fninf.2019.00032. ISSN 1662-5196. PMC 6513977. PMID 31133838.
  5. ^ Kay KN, Naselaris T, Prenger RJ, Gallant JL (March 2008). "Identifying natural images from human brain activity". Nature. 452 (7185): 352–5. Bibcode:2008Natur.452..352K. doi:10.1038/nature06713. PMC 3556484. PMID 18322462.
  6. ^ a b Sandberg, Anders; Boström, Nick (2008). Whole Brain Emulation: A Roadmap (PDF). Technical Report #2008-3. Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University. Retrieved 5 April 2009. The basic idea is to take a particular brain, scan its structure in detail, and construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.
  7. ^ Goertzel, Ben (December 2007). "Human-level artificial general intelligence and the possibility of a technological singularity: a reaction to Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near, and McDermott's critique of Kurzweil". Artificial Intelligence. 171 (18, Special Review Issue): 1161–1173. doi:10.1016/j.artint.2007.10.011.
  8. ^ "SFE: Upload". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.