Immortality Through Computers

It is believed that human beings can achieve "immortality" by downloading their minds (which is just a bunch of electrical signals) onto a computer (mind you, this would not be any computer that exists today) and keeping it there.

To me, this does not sound extremely far fetched.

The human mind is (at it's core) an information storage unit, capable of (according to some), storing unlimmited ammounts of data. If such a computer could be designed that could hold this much data (don't ask me how), it is perfectly possible to "download" your nuerological data into a computer hardware.

But can you download your personality?
No, thus I think this wont work.
--donut3.5--

Originally Posted by Deep Sea Kraken

The human mind is (at it's core) an information storage unit, capable of (according to some), storing unlimmited ammounts of data.

Scientific data proves the human mind can store several terabytes of information.

Downloading mind's isn't very far-fecthed. People who are quadrapulegic can have microchips with electrodes stuck into their brain and plugged into computers and control them.

Until you can explain why thought exists, digitizing your brain is impossible.

Yes, but I mean do you think this would be a possibilty in the future?

I think we will have made computers that can "think" for themselves before we start downloading ourselves into them.
The thing here is that the brain does not store its information electrically. It only transmits that way.
The memories and such are stored chemically. Something that, for now, only life can do.
Now, I do think that we might reach the point where we can copy this kind of storage device for computers. This still leaves the problem of the actual transmission. How would you transfer chemicals in the brain to a computer?
Interesting proposal, though.

All in all, it sounds interesting, though I bet there'd be many objections.

Yes, though there are many similarities and partial overlapping concepts, the Human Mind and a Computer still work very differently. Until they can become 100% compatible, this isn't happening.

Immortality is impossible though, that's preserving our consciousness forever. I think that possibly the contents of the brain maybe accessable from a computer one day, but definetly not sentience. We cannot transfer our consciousness from man to machine, therefor, though the information of the brain may be saved, the person themself is not.

Originally Posted by brad.dude03

Yes, though there are many similarities and partial overlapping concepts, the Human Mind and a Computer still work very differently. Until they can become 100% compatible, this isn't happening.

Immortality is impossible though, that's preserving our consciousness forever. I think that possibly the contents of the brain maybe accessable from a computer one day, but definetly not sentience. We cannot transfer our consciousness from man to machine, therefor, though the information of the brain may be saved, the person themself is not.

Your consciousness is just how your brain interprets it's memories and experiences in solving problems.

the ability to do that is extremely out there
what is more likely is lengting our lifespans or devleoping interstellar travel and fideing aliens who look like elves presly

Originally Posted by DesKaladA

the ability to do that is extremely out there
what is more likely is lengting our lifespans or devleoping interstellar travel and fideing aliens who look like elves presly

[Off-Topic]
So that's where Elvis Presly went...

the problem is we cant explain what memories are or where they comefrom. if we could work this out potentially it would be possible. neural networks are capable of "thinking" and solving problems, whether a human mind can be applied to this is not yet known, not because of lack of techonology but because of lack of knowledge of the workings of our minds.

I'm talking about sentience. If my mind was trasferred over to a computer, I would no longer be alive, be sentient, but my memories would be there, the contents of my brain.

Memories are most likely electrical links between nuerons in your brain.

Thoughts are thought (no pun intended) to be chemical reactions.

All you would need is a way to interpret these reactions and connections.

And probably before this happens there would be some other things kinda like the Matrix, except run by people, stuff like that.

I don't see why we would have a completely virtual society... the real world would decay and fall completely to waste....

Immortality through computers is unlikely, because as far as I see there is no way a computer could be made to think. You could make an extremely advanced program that gave every outward sign of doing so, but it would not actually 'think'. Not to mention that we know no where near enough about the way the mind works. I find immortality through gene therapy - either via retroviruses or nanobots - to be a much more likely thing.

-*meow*