Human Computers

1. Human Computers Cormac.Power

2. Whole brain emulation • Mind uploading or a consciousness transfer is the very possible process of copying or transferring a human conscious mind from a their biological brain to a non-biological substrate. • This process is done by mapping and scanning the brain and making a full digital copy of its state along with all its chemical and electrical activity, into a computer system or a different computational device.

3. Mind uploading has been seen by Futurists as a “logical endpoint of the neuro-informatics and computational neuroscience fields. • It is also discussed in artificial intelligence research publications as the start to a strong AI. ( AI that matches or exceeds human intelligence) • Also the trans-humanist movement has proposed it as a for of life extension technology, used to extend the human life longer than its natural lifespan.

4. Its possible • Mind uploading is widely seen as a futuristic but possible technology , although many mainstream researchers remain skeptical. • But the question that a emulated brain is still human is debated by philosophers and can be seen as impossible by those who have a dualistic view of the human mind or “soul”witch is common in many religions

5. What are the benefits of Mind Uploading? Massive Economic Growth • Mind Uploading can be a huge help on our population. If our brain can work with computer power we can see by 2050 the intelligence and robotics increase greatly.

6. Intelligence Enhancement • A fast mind doesn’t mean its smarter. With mind uploading we can run step by step over such minds that just might make them more efficient

7. Escape from direct governance by the laws of physics • Mind uploading can be much clearer in a virtual world of their own. Mind uploading will be the master of a virtual environment called SecondLife. Today it can be done in a limited fashion.

8. Lifespan • In the near future, if mind uploading can be possible, then it could lead to immortality. Immortality can be a huge deal, better than life extension therapies of biological bodies.

9. Current Research • The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne along with IBM, launched the Blue Brain project in 2005, this projects purpose is to create a computer simulation of a mammalian cortical column down to the molecular level. • In 2007 at the University of Nevada a research team ran a artificial neural network “ as complex as half of a mouse brain” on a IBM blue gene supercomputer. The researchers had seen “biologically consistent” nerve impulses that flowed through the virtual cortex. But lacked the structures seen in a real mouse brain. This was the out come of the blue brain project, now that it has been proven possible to simulate a mind, as future progress is made , it wont be long till mind uploading. • IBMs Blue gene design (as mentioned before) is to simulate the electrical behavior of neurons based upon their synaptic connectivity, along with the complement of intrinsic membrane currents in the brain.

10. Early Science fiction examples • The theme of Mind up loading has been seen in countless different works of science fiction • The first example of mind uploading in fiction is in Frederick Pohl’s story “The Tunnel Under the World” a story about a Chemical factory that uses Human brains that have been put into robotic body's, but in this example instead of the brain being scanned of a living human and extracted into the computer, the minds were of the dead workers of the original chemical factory. A whole different idea that mind up loading could be used to bring one back from the dead or prevent them from dyeing. Written in 1955 • Other novels that the idea of mind uploading was used are Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “ The City and the Stars” or Isaac Asimov’s short story “The Last Question “ both written in 1956 • One of the greatest and best “Multiverse” ideas of science fiction that includes the idea of mind up loading was the book “DettaarVerkligheten” written by the famous and renowned philosopher and logician BertilMartensson. In his book people are uploaded into computers to control overpopulation are believe that they are “alive” but the reality is that they are playing elaborate and extremely advanced fantasy games. This leading into the idea that maybe being uploaded could have diverse and negative effects on the human consciousness

11. film examples whole brain emulation • The idea of whole brain emulation or mind uploading has become very popular in not only the TV and film industry , but the video game industry as well. • The TV show Red Dwarf the massive mining ship has a crew of over 2,000. To keep this 5 mile long ship operating at maximum , in the deep reaches of space it has to have a specialized and skilled crew. When someone of major importance dies on the ship there brain in transferred into the main ships computer and them they themselves are projected around the ship as a hologram, keeping them alive but not allowing them the ability to feel anymore. • The film Tron is amazing example of not only mind uploading but full body digitization. The human programmer Fynn is digitized by a artificial intelligence that already existed inside of the computer, but not integrating his mind with the computer but projecting it into a virtual world, like a videogame.

12. Modern examples of mind uploading • As science fiction branches out from novels and film into the videogame genre, Mind uploading wasn’t left behind. • In the PC game “Portal” a Rouge AI forces a human named Chell to complete and survive a system of complex and deadly tests, all based around the portal gun (a gun that makes two interlocking quantum space holes ), as the game progresses the AI now known as Gladous , mocks you and treats Chell as if she was nothing more then a lab mouse, but in the end is is realized that Gladous herself was originally human and that having her mind uploaded into the computer system and being programmed with the purposes of the computers that have now become her desires has driven her insane. This is a outcome that many scientists have taken into consideration that if the mind is uploaded could it be controlled or edited like a computer program? And what effect will that have of what was originally human? Another Idea in the anime series “ Ghost in the Shell” is that not only have the human downloaded their brains into computers , but that each person is now a android , a completely robotic body capable of living forever and sustaining mass amounts of damage and be able to survive in the most hostile of environments. Humans that still have body's that resemble humans, with skin blood, but underneath are a cold robotic system, would these people still be considered human?

13. End • So in conclusion , mind uploading is possible and isn't very far off , scientists are working on it every day and soon it will no longer be a possibility but a reality, But in the end the repercussions that can occur are still there(insanity, hacking , computer related viruses), and the possibility that when uploaded that you no longer are human still exists , so the choice is yours , when I comes along will the benefits out weight the risks?

14. Works sited • Michael Anissmov at AcceleratingFuture.com • Wikipedia Article “Whole brain emulation” • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading_in_fiction