[ExI] An expert explains ‘mind uploading’

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 07/12/2023 06:13, BillK wrote:
> Could you move from your biological body to a computer?
> An expert explains ‘mind uploading’.
>
> Published: 04 December 2023
> Author  Clas Weber
> Senior lecturer, The University of Western Australia
>
> <https://theconversation.com/could-you-move-from-your-biological-body-to-a-computer-an-expert-explains-mind-uploading-218035>

"An Expert", eh?
I think we have here the phenomenon of someone who knows a lot about one 
thing, thinking that this entitles them to an authoritative opinion on 
anything else:

"But wait: what happens when the original biological-you also survives 
the uploading process? Would you, along with your consciousness, split 
into two people, resulting in two of “you” – one in a biological form 
(B) and one in an uploaded form (C)?

No, you (A) can’t literally split into two separate people (B ≠ C) and 
be identical with both at the same time. At most, only one of them can 
be you (either A = B or A = C)"

He's just assuming the answer to his question is 'No'. No logical 
argument, no empirical proof, just an opinion. Perfect example of an 
unintuitive conclusion (two of you, each just as much 'you' as the 
other) leading someone to reject the obvious. Unless, of course, he's a 
dualist, and thinks there's some ineffable unique ghostly indivisible 
thing, not subject to the laws of physics, that is the 'real' you. If 
that was true, then obviously uploading would be off the cards, and a 
whole bunch of things would need to be vigorously re-thought (to say the 
least!)

There's no reason whatsoever why someone can't split into two people. 
The fact that we haven't done it yet, and so it's a very strange idea, 
doesn't invalidate it. If you accept a materialist interpretation of the 
world, it's an inevitable conclusion. It seems to me that this concept 
is the heavier-than-air flight of our times, and we're currently at the 
stage where just about everybody rejects the idea.

Ben
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