[ExI] Essential Upload Data

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 14/05/2020 23:00, Re Rose wrote:
> You can have raw data, like back in 2000 when we had the human genome. 
> remember that? There were coffee table bvooks with the sequence 
> printed out. But the sequence alone - raw data - was meaningless. We 
> are still learning, 20 years later, how to interpret it. By no means 
> can that data be used to reconstruct a human *unless* you have tons of 
> other information.
>

I think this is an exaggeration, to say the  least. A full copy of a 
genome is far from meaningless, even if we don't yet know how to 
interpret it. Yes, tons of other information is needed to do that 
(without which the genome itself is useless, but not meaningless), but 
this information is different from the information in the genome, in 
that it applies to *all* genomes, as far as we know, so once it is 
figured out, suddenly any and all stored genomes can be understood.

This is the same with stored brain data. Even if we had it, we wouldn't 
yet be able to make use of it, but once we figure out how, that 
knowledge will apply to all stored brain data-sets, and suddenly we'll 
be able to do uploading.
Of course, we still don't even know how to get the brain data in the 
first place, but it's being worked on right now, so there are three steps:

1) preserve the brain so that the information is not lost
2) extract the information (probably the hardest part) and store it (the 
easiest part)
3) use the stored information to recreate the mind

As far as we know, so far we can do number 1. Probably. But if you know 
of extra necessary information that all the people involved in actually 
doing this don't, please let us know what it is.

Several groups are working on number 2, and so far we probably have very 
little clue how to do number 3. That will involve figuring out the 
procedures that will apply to all uploads, so once we know that, 
uploading will become a practical proposition (assuming number 2 is 
cracked by then).

-- 
Ben Zaiboc

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