Dec 14, 2020 23:00:00

Is it possible to transfer the mind to a machine and live forever?

The idea of '

eternal life ' is one of the dreams of humankind that has been around for a long time, but even with modern science and technology, it has not come true. Kurzgesagt , a science-based YouTube channel, explains the concept of 'digitization of the spirit' that grants eternal life in an animated movie.

Can You Upload Your Mind & Live Forever? Feat. Cyberpunk 2077 --YouTube


The human soul is tied to a long-lived body, and the desire to 'free from the body' has been long-sought as long as human history. Many human beings have continued to seek eternal life, but in recent years, technological innovation has opened up the possibility of 'transferring the spirit to machines.'

Rather, it may even be said that 'the digitization of the spirit is the correct form of human evolution.'

'Digitalization of the spirit' and 'eternal life by digitization' are treated as the main themes in various science fiction works.

First, let's think about the definition of 'spirit' that should be digitized. The mind is one of the most difficult words to define, but if you dare to define it, it is 'a collective ability of consciousness and intellect that makes you imagine, recognize, and dream.' It can be said.

Digitization of the psyche is a virtual concept of making a copy of the psyche and uploading it to a computer to run a simulation of consciousness. However, there are multiple problems even at this concept stage.

The first issue is the feasibility of uploading the spirit. Spirit upload relies on three premises, each of which is extremely difficult. The first premise is that 'the mind is born from the structure and arrangement of the brain and biochemical phenomena', but the idea that 'the whole mind is in the brain' is called

physicalism, and there is constant debate. It is a field.

Premise # 2 is that it is technically possible to make a copy of the brain.

Premise # 3 is that 'the mind can be simulated from a copy of the brain.' A copy of the brain on a computer does not have the

physical properties that exist in the brain, so no matter how perfect a program you create, it is essentially similar and non-existent.

Various scientists and philosophers have been arguing about these three premises, but even most of the basic questions have not been answered.

By the way, what is the 'brain' in the first place?

In the brain, 100 billion

neurons connect 1000 trillion to each other and send electrical signals 1000 times per second. Furthermore, in the brain, not only neurons but also a wide variety of glial cells and immune cells play various roles.

The brain has different roles such as respiration, heart rate, regulation of motor function, and involuntary reflexes. The outermost

neocortex is responsible for storing memory, planning, thinking, imagining, and dreaming.

Where the mind is in this brain is an unclear question. One site most affect spirit

wedge front but we know that it is has also been found that process tasks several sites to form a network, spirit to the specific regions of the brain Is believed to not exist.

In addition, the brain is also affected by various hormones such as

serotonin that affects mood and histamine that is involved in memory learning, intestinal bacteria and cardiac nerves, and what affects the brain and how it affects the brain. Is a situation where the more research progresses, the more things you don't understand.

Therefore, in order to digitize the mind, it is necessary to scan the brain and simulate it digitally. However, in modern science and technology, brain scanning has not reached that dimension.

However, there are ways that seem to work. It is a method of slicing the brain thinly and scanning it with a high-resolution electron microscope, which makes it possible to create an accurate map of brain cells and brain connections.

In 2019, we succeeded in recording 100,000 neurons, 10 million synapses, and 4 kilometers of nerve fibers by cutting the brain of a 1 mm cubic meter mouse into 25,000 sheets and then scanning it. .. However, the entire process took five months with five electron microscopes, and more than 100 million images were recorded. In addition, it required a period of three months and two petabytes (equivalent to 2048 terabytes) of cloud storage to combine and model images in 3D. Converting from the volume of the brain, scanning the human brain by this method requires 10 million times more labor and resources than the above.

To make matters worse, it may even be necessary to map not only brain cells, but also molecules such as the proteins that make up the brain cells, in order to fully simulate the brain. If that happens, the scan data of the human brain may be too large to keep up with the combined capacity of all the storage on Earth.

Even if these problems can be completely solved and the brain can be scanned, the question is whether the scanned brain can be simulated and moved. Even if synapses can be scanned, it is necessary to analyze even the electrical signals transmitted by the scanned synapses and perform dynamic simulations. That may not be possible.

Many technological innovations are essential to solve all of these problems, but the progress of science and technology is difficult to predict, so the progress of technology related to mental digitization is uncertain.

But science and technology are worth pursuing. Even if it does not lead to the digitization of the mind, it may lead to the development of our own physical knowledge and new technologies.

Perhaps even if you don't fully understand your brain and consciousness, the rapidly evolving computer technology has the potential to digitize your mind.

So, let's think about the 'potential to live forever' that can occur in the future where the digitization of the spirit has become possible. When the digitization of the spirit becomes possible, you can live forever by 'copying' the digitized spirit.

However, if for some reason a copy error occurs, the question arises, 'Is the spirit after copying the same as the original human being?'

There is also the possibility that you and your 'digitized self' will coexist.

The moment I was born, I live a new life of 'living in a digitized world.' Emotions such as hunger, affection, pain, and tiredness are the result of phenomena that occur in the neurons of the brain and are inevitable for humans with a physical body, but are optional for digitized humans. There is a possibility that it can be done.

Digitized humans may seek a whole new experience instead of the emotions that were once associated with the body. For example, walking on the sun or experiencing the times when dinosaurs lived can be simulated.

In these times, the way of thinking and priorities may be completely different from those of today. As science and technology continue to evolve while being digitized and living forever, ideas and priorities may continue to change.

Digitizing and living forever may pave the way for completing projects that take longer than their lifetime. Continuing learning by scientists who live forever can lead to revolutionary discoveries.

Or, the spirit may not be able to endure living forever, and the digitized spirit may go to the 'end' after doing everything it wants to do. The movie concludes with no idea what the spirit of spending free time in a digital space for hundreds or thousands of years will reach.