450
submitted 8 months ago by roon@lemmy.ml to c/programmerhumor@lemmy.ml
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] xantoxis@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

So, I'm curious.

What do you think happens in the infinite loop that "runs you" moment to moment? Passing the same instance of consciousness to itself, over and over?

Consciousness isn't an instance. It isn't static, it's a constantly self-modifying waveform that remembers bits about its former self from moment to moment.

You can upload it without destroying the original if you can find a way for it to meaningfully interact with processing architecture and media that are digital in nature; and if you can do that without shutting you off. Here's the kinky part: We can already do this. You can make a device that takes a brain signal and stimulates a remote device; and you can stimulate a brain with a digital signal. Set it up for feedback in a manner similar to the ongoing continuous feedback of our neural structures and you have now extended yourself into a digital device in a meaningful way.

Then you just keep adding to that architecture gradually, and gradually peeling away redundant bits of the original brain hardware, until most or all of you is being kept alive in the digital device instead of the meat body. To you, it's continuous and it's still you on the other end. Tada, consciousness uploaded.

this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
450 points (95.0% liked)

Programmer Humor

32753 readers
26 users here now

Post funny things about programming here! (Or just rant about your favourite programming language.)

Rules:

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS