[ExI] The quick and easy path to uploading

Ben Zaiboc ben at zaiboc.net
Sun Dec 19 16:51:28 UTC 2021


On 19/12/2021 13:48, Stathis wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Dec 2021 at 11:04, Darin Sunley via extropy-chat 
> <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org 
> <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>> wrote:
>
>     To my mind, "uploading" implies a continuity of identity. I don't
>     just want to die while watching another separate mind that has my
>     memories and personality live forever in a computer. /I/ want to
>     live forever in a computer.
>
>
> It's the difference between making a copy and destroying the original, 
> as per the Star Trek teleporter, or making a copy and preserving the 
> original, as per the Star Trek teleporter when it malfunctions. In the 
> former case, you will have continuity of identity with the copy, while 
> in the latter, you have a 50% chance of having continuity with the 
> copy or the original.
>
There is no difference, assuming the 'copy' is of high-enough fidelity. 
There is continuity of identity in both cases, has to be, or the process 
hasn't worked.

It's the old story of the dividing amoeba. Which of the two daughter 
amoebas is the original, and which the copy? Does the question even mean 
anything?

Uploading doesn't just imply a continuity of identity, it necessarily 
involves it. Otherwise it isn't uploading. Whether there are one or a 
million copies of the 'original mind' doesn't matter (the whole 
terminology is confusing, in fact. Using the word 'copy' causes a lot of 
misunderstanding, I feel*). There is still continuity of identity. And 
if you just can't wrap your head around the concept of branching 
identity, well, welcome to the future.

Ben

* Tell you what, let's not 'copy' anything at all. Let's just transfer 
the pattern of a mind to one or more other substrates. Everybody happy now?

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