[ExI] Destructive uploading.

[The Avantguardian]

----- Original Message -----
> From: Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com>
> To: The Avantguardian <avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com>; ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> Cc: 
> Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 4:58 AM
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Destructive uploading.
> 
> On 10 September 2011 16:42, The Avantguardian
> <avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Unless you have proof that the mind is a classical physical system then it 
> is an assumption that the mind can be represented by classical information...
> 
> I have no "proof" that a diesel engine is a "classical physical
> system", whatever this may be, but if it works it is not an assumption
> that its reproduction is good enough.

Touche, Ami.

> BTW, should we ever improbably discover that biological brains make
> any especial use of quantum effects, and this is an unwarranted
> assumption given that they are even poorer at typical quantum
> computation tasks than a PC, this would simply mean that quantum
> processors are not only feasible, but trivial, and that in order to
> emulate biological brains with acceptable performances it is best to
> include a quantum coprocessor in your architecture. What's the big
> deal?

It would be more expensive with a quantum coprocessor and take longer until first deployment if it is even on our Everett branch. :-(

What with all the doom and gloomers running the markets, we might be lucky to be able maintain our infrastructure in the decades ahead.

>> You are not just information; you are information in context, in 
> runtime, constantly interacting with everything around you.
> 
> The context is still only information. Let us assume, eg, that
> emulating a brain would not be enough to give place to a convincingly
> anthropomorphical ethology. Now, since much of our complexity resides
> in our nervous system, to emulate an entire body along with its
> sensorial channels would not add really much to our chore...

I am sorry but simulated or not, I would not "feel" the same without my balls or my adrenal glands.
 
>> I am suggesting that if the mind is simply classical information, it would 
> have likely been adequately explained by now by the likes of Euler, Boltzman, 
> Turing, or Shannon.
> 
> I think that Wolfram shows well enough that while the Principle of
> Computational Equivalence shows us that all systems are basically
> equivalent, the idea that "classical information" is easy to deal with
> exclusively depends on a selection bias. Most of reality, biological
> or not, is in fact quite intractable...

Unless you meant to say "tractable", I tend to agree.

>> No it would only still be Niagra Falls if people didn't start calling 
> it "Reagan Falls" or something equally arbitrary. Same would probably 
> go for your upload. If someone hacked into your upload and did a search and 
> replace on your memories and substituted Fred for every occurance of John, would 
> you still be John Clark or would you then be Fred Clark?
> 
> A Rose by Another Name. What an upload is and whether an upload is an
> upload is represents ultimately a sociological, not a scientific or
> philosophical issue.

You are probably right but as an attorney, would you allow an upload to amend the Last Will and Testament of the deceased natural person?