3 ms·

> you still die. Uh, no. > In the future the notion of what it means to be alive, and human, and dead, may be reinterpreted so that these models are considere

> you still die. Uh, no. > In the future the notion of what it means to be alive, and human, and dead, may be reinterpreted so that these models are considered to be, essentially, the same being as their original. You haven't considered that more likely, we'll become so augmented with additional abilities that the pure natural "you" will no longer feel like you even to yourself. You consciousness will outgrow your biological body even though it's rooted in it and at some point, "you" even to yourself will be mostly machine anyway so when the biology finally dies off, it will still be the original "you" left in the machine. Losing the biology will make it no less you than losing an arm. > The post-singularity upload is still a copy It simply won't be an upload, "you" will already be a cyborg mostly made of machine anyway.

krapp 14y ago
If you're talking about some kind of Ship of Theseus scenario where the brain is gradually replaced bit by bit with something more permanent then... I don't know. I wouldn't argue that someone with an artificial arm is less than a full human so logically someone with an artificial brain should be just as human. But then, the function of the arm is not to house the entirely of human consciousness, where that of the brain is. The arm isn't you, but the brain is you. To me, if you replace that, you might replicate the function but (as with the arm) it's still one thing replacing the other (and implying the first thing, being an arm, or a life, is no longer there.)
- gnaritas 14y ago
  No, I'm saying the consciousness will actually outgrown the bounds of the brain so completely that when the brain itself finally dies you won't consider it anything more than a small appendage anyway. The brain isn't going to be replaced bit by bit, it's going to be subsumed into a much larger consciousness. You seem to have this notion that the consciousness will be either in the brain or in the machine, I think that notion is fundamentally flawed, consciousness will expand to include every tool and sense available in both hardware and wetware, it cannot and will not be bound. Your sense of "self" is going to include every hardware upgrade you have; when you can Google with a thought, you will feel like part of you dies if that's turned off as it will quickly become part of your consciousness.

krapp 14y ago

If you're talking about some kind of Ship of Theseus scenario where the brain is gradually replaced bit by bit with something more permanent then... I don't know. I wouldn't argue that someone with an artificial arm is less than a full human so logically someone with an artificial brain should be just as human. But then, the function of the arm is not to house the entirely of human consciousness, where that of the brain is. The arm isn't you, but the brain is you. To me, if you replace that, you might replicate the function but (as with the arm) it's still one thing replacing the other (and implying the first thing, being an arm, or a life, is no longer there.)

gnaritas 14y ago
No, I'm saying the consciousness will actually outgrown the bounds of the brain so completely that when the brain itself finally dies you won't consider it anything more than a small appendage anyway. The brain isn't going to be replaced bit by bit, it's going to be subsumed into a much larger consciousness. You seem to have this notion that the consciousness will be either in the brain or in the machine, I think that notion is fundamentally flawed, consciousness will expand to include every tool and sense available in both hardware and wetware, it cannot and will not be bound. Your sense of "self" is going to include every hardware upgrade you have; when you can Google with a thought, you will feel like part of you dies if that's turned off as it will quickly become part of your consciousness.