[ExI] Bodies

[Lee Corbin]

Ben writes

> Why do people assume that this is an either-or thing? That after
 > uploading, you somehow lose the ability to interact with the world
> you 'left' (you won't leave it at all, really, your brain will just
 > be made of someting different, and be much better at communication).

Hmm, perhaps because of the popular focus on RPGs? Many folks
probably see our yearnings for being uploaded as escapist.
Now our *discussions* about all this are, yes, escapist :-)
---that's for sure---but not the aim itself.

> I think that's a good way of looking at it: migrating your consciousness
 > into a better brain.

Yes, exactly.

> I think it's important to appreciate that by the time we have the 
 > technology to implement uploading, we'll be capable of building a
 > much better version of our current meat-bodies, made of 'super-meat',
 > or nanobots, or utility fog, or whatever.

Yes, but since you and I appear to be talking *very* long term,
why the emphasis on bodies? As I said to Natasha, sure, over
the short term we have little choice; I should add, moreover,
that I GREATLY APPRECIATE what my 50 trillion cells do for
me every day.

But while you might want to continue to feel that you had a
body, why on Earth would anyone really be satisfied with
something so vulnerable (and probably compute limited)?

> I just don't understand the attitude that uploading somehow
> represents a /narrowing/ of choice, instead of a vast broadening of it 

Again, it's probably just a failure to communicate what we
mean.

Lee