[ExI] A dispassionate examination of being an upload.

John Clark jonkc at bellsouth.net
Sun Sep 19 06:08:25 UTC 2010


On Sep 18, 2010, at 8:13 PM, Alan Grimes wrote:
> 
> Now, remind me again how you think you will be able to survive as an upload?

Physically and philosophically uploading is a valid concept, but how long any given upload will survive depends entirely on the particular uploading culture it is put into, and we can only guess what that might be like.

> Also remind me why you would prefer to try to survive as an upload rather than using medical nanites and other more direct means to obtain physical immortality?

Unfortunately I very much doubt my preferences will make the slightest difference. I don't think Mr. Jupiter Brain will allow stupid and primitive humans to live at the same level of reality as his precious hardware; he's bound to be a bit squeamish about that, it would be like a monkey running around an operating room.  If he lets us live it will be in a virtual world behind a heavy firewall, but that's OK, we'll never know the difference unless he tells us.

> In the procedure of uploading, it is something completely different from you

That would be like saying my message that you're reading on your computer screen right now is completely different from the one on my computer screen, and if you were to print it out it would be completely different yet again. That would be ridiculous because schematically the information flow in all three instances is identical. If I haven't convinced you that I'm right about this it's probably because you haven't read my original Email that's on my computer, its ever so much better than the pale imitation you're seeing.

> only blessed with a magical incantation and a label saying that it is you.

I am of the opinion that if tomorrow there is an entity that remembers being the John K Clark of today then I will have survived for another day. I mean, what more could you possibly mean by "survival"?

> It could be the most perfect copy conceivable and I still would not care.

Well of course you wouldn't care, you wouldn't even know it had happened unless somebody told you, and even then you wouldn't believe it unless they provided ironclad proof. For all you know you're body was destroyed last night and was replaced by a perfect copy; it doesn't seem to be cramping your style so if you found out the same thing will happen to you again tonight I see no reason you should be concerned. 

  John K Clark





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