I’ve been thinking about the upcoming singularity and some of its perceived benefits. Like how it wouldn’t really benefit me to download all my memories and thought patterns into an immortal machine intelligence if my body continued along its current path of decay. What good would it do me if I created a doppelganger who thought he was me? Sure he would remember my life as if it were his own but what would that accomplish? If we’re going to create a new species that will live longer, faster, and better, I’d rather not burden it with all the hang-ups that make me me.
No, no, no. Like Woody Allen, I’d rather achieve immortality by not dying.
Here’s an interesting thought, however. What if it were a gradual occurrence? Much like the sword that first has its hilt replaced then, years later, the blade is replaced … is it the same sword? If I add additional memory to my grey matter, copying, over the span of years, the memories of my youth before they fade due to brain cells dying off, would I still be me? I guess as much as I am the me I was in my past. Instead of biological processes replacing dead cells with new cells made of the same components, we just substitute man-made microscopic mechanisms.
The best of both worlds would be to make a copy or copies of yourself and share memories at some later point in time, much like David Brin’s Kiln People.
For now, since it’s all speculation, I’m content to encourage others to pursue the avenues of science necessary to fulfill these dreams.
And make funny songs about them. Check out I am the very model of a Singularitarian
at KurzweilAI.net
