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virtual afterlife

Debate Information

I just read this thought provoking essay

Endless fun

The question is not whether we can upload our brains onto a computer, but what will become of us when we do

https://aeon.co/essays/the-virtual-afterlife-will-transform-humanity?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=563eddea0f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-563eddea0f-69455209

"Imagine a future in which your mind never dies. When your body begins to fail, a machine scans your brain in enough detail to capture its unique wiring. A computer system uses that data to simulate your brain. It won’t need to replicate every last detail. Like the phonograph, it will strip away the irrelevant physical structures, leaving only the essence of the patterns. And then there is a second you, with your memories, your emotions, your way of thinking and making decisions, translated onto computer hardware as easily as we copy a text file these days."

It really brings a few key questions:

1) When will such reality be possible?  I would say within 30-100 years

2) Due to ethical considerations, "should" and "can" it be regulated?  I would say that at some point it will evolve to become the new reality with some people preferring to just exist in that World.  Some levels of regulation will be needed, but would be extremely difficult to control once Technology is available.

3) How do we know that our current existence is not an advanced simulation?   I would say that a notion of "simulation" can vary and it's certainly a possibility as we just don't currently understand the scale of Universe.

4) What is communication protocol between people in virtual reality and digital? What are implications of troll afterlife accounts om Twitter and Facebook? I think it will be totally bizzare to communicate with your digital trolls, but if truly it will exist then it will evolve to become a new norm.

5) Does afterlife similation even need physical objects like streets and cities? At first it will likely be there to make digital clones comfortable, but subsequently it may get accepted that we don't even need that stuff.

6) Digital personality morphing - "In the real world, two people can share experiences and thoughts. But lacking a USB port in our heads, we can’t directly merge our minds. In a simulated world, that barrier falls. A simple app, and two people will be able to join thoughts directly with each other. Why not? It’s a logical extension. We humans are hyper-social. We love to network. We already live in a half-virtual world of minds linked to minds. In an artificial afterlife, given a few centuries and few tweaks to the technology, what is to stop people from merging into überpeople who are combinations of wisdom, experience, and memory beyond anything possible in biology? "
Hmm..that will be a whole new dimension of possibilities...


  1. Live Poll

    Will such a reality be possible within 30-100 years?

    10 votes
    1. Yes
      80.00%
    2. No
      20.00%
  2. Live Poll

    Due to ethical considerations, "should" and "can" it be regulated?

    10 votes
    1. Yes
      70.00%
    2. No
      30.00%
  3. Live Poll

    How do we know that our current existence is not an advanced simulation

    10 votes
    1. We just don't, but I believe it's likely to be
      70.00%
    2. No
      30.00%
  4. Live Poll

    can digital and real life peoole communicate?

    10 votes
    1. Sure
      100.00%
    2. No
        0.00%
  5. Live Poll

    Does afterlife similation even need physical objects like streets and cities?

    10 votes
    1. Yes
      20.00%
    2. No
      80.00%
  6. Live Poll

    Will Digital personality morphing take place?

    10 votes
    1. Yes
      70.00%
    2. No
      30.00%
Live Long and Prosper



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    Arguments


  • lexmanlexman 48 Pts   -  
    I prefer to think that I am more than just a video game character, and thats what gives us a higher sense of purpose.
  • SuperSith89SuperSith89 170 Pts   -  
    I really don't think it will ever happen.  Going off a Biblical foundation, the spirit is what is alive in us.  Without it, there is no living on earth.  It would be fruitless to waste money on it as the brain is literally nothing with no soul or spirit.  I really have no proof for you, other than ghost videos for the existence of spirits, so this is faith based.
    MasterofPun
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    I think that downloading a persons intellect and consciousness onto a computer is highly likely to happen.

    Given the exponential rate of technological advancement, this will probably happen sooner, rather than later.

    @SuperSith89 ;

    Blind faith and a belief in an archaic religious pseudo-theory is unlikely to inhibit the progress of technological advancement.

    I would also suggest that; as a consequence of the unstoppable progress of material evolution.  Human dominance on Planet Earth will inevitably be superseded by sentient non-organic devices.
    Pogue
  • agsragsr 881 Pts   -  
    We are on a dangerous path of tech advancement that may very well figure out something along the lines of this essay.  
    I think though that it's really important to have people like @SuperSith89 who will help us maintain humanity and will keep the human race balanced 
    Live Long and Prosper
  • CuriousGeorgeCuriousGeorge 109 Pts   -  
    Really interesting concepts.  Sounds more like scifi, but so much changes quickly that it may very well be possible.
    I don't think we live in a simulation personally as it would be really unlikely to simulate human spirit and independent  thought.
  • love2debatelove2debate 186 Pts   -  
    If we let the logic play out, and the ultimate destination is morphing of personalities then human existence will be shifted so much that it won't be recognizable.  I hope it doesn't happen in our or our children lifetimes
  • SuperSith89SuperSith89 170 Pts   -   edited February 2018
    @Fredsnephew Well that argument  isn't just about people believing it, but based off the fact that it exists.   Of course believing in something would not inhibit progress.
  • MasterofPunMasterofPun 34 Pts   -  
    In my opinion, uploading consciousness/peresonality onto a computerized system looks to be a technological impossibility. The most advanced computers the world has ever designed in its rough 6000 years of existence 

    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36575947

    Not even this mammoth machine could fathom all of the neural connections, patterns, schemas, and mental imaging patterns required to map out the brain of one human (this is a guess - not a fact). 

    Additionally, I define myself as a spirit/soul with a body. If these are parted, the spirit is with God awaiting a perfected body. The body is dead. I'm uncertain how I could be uploaded to a computer system - and really - would it be me? Or would it just be my brain? Or my personality? All confusing topics!  :)
    All in all, this is a fun topic to imagine and I'm sure there are people who have put a lot of thought into this.
  • FredsnephewFredsnephew 361 Pts   -  
    In my opinion, uploading consciousness/peresonality onto a computerized system looks to be a technological impossibility. The most advanced computers the world has ever designed in its rough 6000 years of existence 

    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36575947

    Not even this mammoth machine could fathom all of the neural connections, patterns, schemas, and mental imaging patterns required to map out the brain of one human (this is a guess - not a fact). 

    Additionally, I define myself as a spirit/soul with a body. If these are parted, the spirit is with God awaiting a perfected body. The body is dead. I'm uncertain how I could be uploaded to a computer system - and really - would it be me? Or would it just be my brain? Or my personality? All confusing topics!  :)
    All in all, this is a fun topic to imagine and I'm sure there are people who have put a lot of thought into this.

    I think you're underestimating the rate at which technological evolution is progressing.


    Introducing "God" into the equation is very dodgy ground. This is merely your personal acceptance, that the theoretical proposition of God is factually correct.
  • MasterofPunMasterofPun 34 Pts   -  
    @Fredsnephew

    I never claimed to understand the rate that technology is progressing... maybe I do underestimate it. I'm not hear to debate the factual existence of God - that's for another debate subject. My perception of what a person is probably different from most other peoples - but that's part of the debate. I just brought my perception to the table.
    agsr
  • stormyboistormyboi 13 Pts   -  
    I believe that a future afterlife will soon be possible, I just may not partake in it. I believe there is an actual afterlife.
    agsr
  • THEDENIERTHEDENIER 78 Pts   -  
    A virtual afterlife may not be an afterlife at all. A copy of any given person will be generated, but their consciousness cannot transfer. In fact, this idea is demonstrated perfectly by the swampman paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampman. Even if our exact neural network is copied digitally, it is only a copy, not our original consciousness. For the sake of argument, lets say you copy my brain (trust me, its not worth copying), then we activate that copy of me digitally while I am still alive. I can't be conscious in 2 places at once, and I will in effect have a digital twin: one who is exactly like me, yet not me. This circumstance would be the exact same after death. A new version of you would live, but not you. I hope I have given you some insight, and I look forward to hearing your replies.
  • NopeNope 397 Pts   -  
    THEDENIER People have breaks in consciousness every time they go to sleep. What makes creating a exact digital copy of your brain and activating it moments after you die any different?
  • THEDENIERTHEDENIER 78 Pts   -  
    @Nope The difference is in the fact that when you go to sleep and wake up, you still possess the exact same body and physical brain. When your brain is copied into a computer, you no longer possess that brain, and therefor your original consciousness dies. I strongly encourage you to check out the link I posted, here it is again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampman. I hope this clears things up for you.
    cdog1950
  • NopeNope 397 Pts   -  
    THEDENIER
    But if consensus is created by a system why should the physical element matter?
  • THEDENIERTHEDENIER 78 Pts   -  
    @Nope consciousness is created by a certain arrangement of neural pathways, and can therefore be exactly copied, but as 1 factory making 2 cars is not making the same car, but 2 identical cars, just because 2 consciousness are identical does not imply them being 1.
    P.S. Sorry for the late reply, I have been very busy.
  • AmericanFurryBoyAmericanFurryBoy 531 Pts   -  
    This would be really fun. I could play COD endlessly, dying over and over but ultimately staying alive.
    Not every quote you read on the internet is true- Abraham Lincoln
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