The idea of transferring human consciousness to a computer is an old dream of many people. Many science fiction writers have written about this. This is what futurist Ray Kurzweil is dreaming of. However, a new startup backed by business incubator Y Combinator (a venture capital fund that invests in the development of new technologies) has expressed a desire to make the dream a reality. True, there is one small thing to do. A person who decides to become a client of the company and believe in "magic" will have to die first. In addition, no one gives guarantees that a part of the personality's consciousness will not be lost within the framework of the transfer process.
Nectome promotes the idea of preserving the human brain and then transferring consciousness to a machine. MIT Review calls this technology a "high-tech embalming process." It is based on "vitrification", also known as an aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation process. In simple terms, the company offers to freeze your brain with the ability to recreate a digital copy of it in the future.
Two years earlier, the team behind the project, led by co-founders Michael McCann and Robert McIntyre, had received the Brain Preservation Prize for the development and successful application of the cryopreservation method. Then the scientists thawed the brains of the rabbit and the pig, while retaining all the neural connections. In February of this year, researchers reported on the success of their method on a larger brain that was extracted from a deceased elderly woman. This was the first demonstration of the vitrification of the human brain.
In general, pre-orders for the new service are already open. You can pay Nectome to have the company carefully remove the brain from your head after you die and leave it to be preserved. Right now, the service is priced at $ 10,000, but there is the possibility of a full refund if the client changes his mind.
It is also noted that the company does not guarantee anything related to the so-called immortality. The Nectome website states that the key goal of the project is to prepare the brain for digital transplantation, although it is not clear if this procedure will be performed by Nectome itself, or if this task will be assigned to a third party.
“Our job is to keep your brain in a fairly stable state, while preserving all the memories that have accumulated in it: the especially memorable chapter of your favorite book, the feeling of cool winter air, your first freshly baked apple pie, dinner with close friends and family. We believe that within this century there will be a technology that will digitize all this information and use it to recreate your consciousness,”the company's website says.
To date, Nectome has been able to raise $ 1 million in funding, including $ 120,000 from the Y Combinator venture capital fund, and an additional $ 960,000 in a grant from the US National Institute of Mental Health. Taking into account the cost of the service, is this enough to make the dream come true?
Nikolay Khizhnyak
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