Computers have already surpassed humans in computing power and intelligence. But machines are not absolute evil. They are open to people, you can upload your consciousness in them and live in a collective of digital creatures.
You have to give up the body. That's not a big price to pay when you consider the short lifespan and fragility of our meatbags. Also, your leg, for example, could never play football the way Messi's leg plays. Plus: immortality. What are you going to do?
How realistic is this?
Of course, we are far from such a leap. We have never dreamed of downloading all consciousness into computers. But definitely, if the people working on it. Earlier this year, renowned futurist (and Google CTO) Ray Kurzweil made a conservative estimate that humans will be able to digitize their brains by 2045. And you know, if Google says it will happen, there is no reason not to believe it. As for the singularity, the futurist predicted it by 2011. A spoon of tar. Other prophets claim that uploading the brain to a USB flash drive will never be possible.
Ethical issue
You will have to decide how much you love your body and whether you want to leave it. Once you upload your consciousness, there is most likely no turning back. You also have no idea what to expect from life in a computer, which means you have to come to terms with the fact that the very concept of "consciousness" can change as soon as you are fully digitalized. If your friends and family don't download with you, you will have to give up your usual way of communicating with them. Or accept that you will never see them again. But if you do decide, then you will get additional benefits - you will be smarter, faster and better than a person.
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What do ethicists say?
So far, the law does not in any way limit the possibility of loading the brain with ethics. But those who think about it point to "Theseus 'ship" or "Theseus' paradox", which sounds something like this.
Theseus is known to us from Greek mythology as the killer of the Minotaur. For years, the Athenians made sacrifices to the Minotaur, a half-human, half-bull living in the labyrinth of Knossos. Once Theseus went through the maze and killed the Minotaur.
The ship on which he returned was preserved for a long time. When parts of the ship needed repairs, she was rebuilt board by board. Suppose in the end every board was replaced. Was this ship still the original ship? There is a strong case that yes, there was: when the first plank was replaced, the ship was still Theseus' ship. When the second board was replaced, and then the ship remained Theseian. Replacing one plank with another cannot transform a ship from one to another. Even if every plank was replaced and not a single piece of the original ship remained, this ship was still Theseian.
Suppose that each of the planks removed from Theseus' ship was restored, and a new ship was made from these planks. Will it be Theseus' ship? Again, yes: this ship is made up of the same parts as Theseus' first ship, and each board is in its place.
If this happened, it turns out that Theseus returned from Knossos on two ships. One ship would be a ship that replaced each part, and the other would be Theseus' ship that was dismantled, rebuilt, and then reassembled in parts. Theseus have two ships.
However, Theseus sailed on only one. Which of the two?
With regard to our situation, if we load our consciousness into a computer, remove the physical brain and body, will we remain human? And here you have to ask: what makes a person a person? Some argue that intelligence and creativity, but there is no practical answer to this question. According to the American Museum of Natural History, our brains play a much bigger role:
“All species on Earth, including humans, are unique. However, our intelligence and creativity are superior to those of any other animal. For a long time, humans communicated with language, created and appreciated art and music, and invented sophisticated tools that allowed our species to live and flourish, albeit often at the expense of other species.
We owe our creative success to the human brain and its ability to think symbolically. While some other species can solve problems and communicate with each other, only humans use symbols to describe the real world with completely new realities from the realm of fantasy. Although people have not lost their selfish motives, symbolic thinking has opened our minds to spirituality, empathy, morality and morality."
Will we still have all this when we find ourselves inside the car? And should we worry? Maybe by the time it will be possible to “digitize” it will no longer be so important to remain human. It's time to move on.
What do you think? Do we need to leave our fragile bodies behind and step into a brave new world of existence inside a computer? Or loading consciousness will deprive us of the right to be called human?