welshbairn Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) 11 minutes ago, BFTD said: It ain't "you", though. If the technology existed to duplicate everything in your brain, they could do it and leave the original intact, like downloading a file over the internet. You haven't downloaded the original - it still exists. A lot of folk dreaming of the digital utopia seem to genuinely struggle with this. I suppose I can see the point of keeping replicas of certain minds. There'd be a lot of people who'd like to know how Martin Luther King, John Lennon, or Adolf Hitler would react to the modern world. Personally, I reckon they'd be in for a horrible surprise. Quote If the technology existed to duplicate everything in your brain, they could do it and leave the original intact, like downloading a file over the internet. You haven't downloaded the original - it still exists. That's what they do in Ian M Bank's "Culture" books, download their brains at regular intervals to keep it up to date, or in an emergency when they're about to be swallowed up by a black hole or something. You're too hung up by the concept of the individual, we're just a bundle of thoughts and emotions, none of them unique but collectively along with memory giving a sense of "me". Having 2 of "me" wouldn't take that away. Edited January 29, 2022 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 I've often wondered if they could go full Futurama and preserves peoples brain in some form of state that let's them communicate etc., but I suspect humanity will blow itself apart before we reach thay stage of technology. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Would probably vote for Futurama Nixon TBH. Couldn't be any worse. 6 minutes ago, welshbairn said: That's what they do in Ian M Bank's "Culture" books, download their brains at regular intervals to keep it up to date, or in an emergency when they're about to be swallowed up by a black hole or something. You're too hung up by the concept of the individual, we're just a bundle of thoughts and emotions, none of them unique but collectively along with memory giving a sense of "me". Having 2 of "me" wouldn't take that away. Your consciousness ceasing to exist would. To everyone else, there could be another welshbairn stoating around doing all the same shit, reacting in the exact same way to everything that you would, and possibly being entirely impossible to differentiate from the original. But you wouldn't know, because you wouldn't exist anymore. For you, there's no escaping from your meat prison. The replication of memories and experiences into some kind of hive mind is an interesting and potentially useful idea though, but I've a horrible feeling that it would come to the conclusion that life is a nightmarish horror show, with the only solution being brutal, ruthless self-interest at the expense of all other entities. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) The thought that the brains of the British media class will be able to continue to pump out columns after their bile filled bodies expire is absolutely vile. I will go full Sarah Connor to prevent this technology ever existing. Edited January 29, 2022 by Detournement 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 3 minutes ago, BFTD said: Your consciousness ceasing to exist would. Debatable, I don't see why self awareness couldn't exist outside a meat and bone bag. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, welshbairn said: Debatable, I don't see why self awareness couldn't exist outside a meat and bone bag. I agree, I just don't see how it could be anything other than a copy, which is fine for all practical purposes other than keeping "you" alive. Also, we're yet to establish self-awareness on Pie and Bovril, so moving it to other platforms seems a bit of a stretch Edit: maybe one day the "lucky", privileged few will see their brains connected to a neural network, constantly repaired by nanobots. That would still be "them". But seriously, f**k that shit. I'd rather be dead. Edited January 29, 2022 by BFTD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) 13 minutes ago, BFTD said: I agree, I just don't see how it could be anything other than a copy, which is fine for all practical purposes other than keeping "you" alive. Also, we're yet to establish self-awareness on Pie and Bovril, so moving it to other platforms seems a bit of a stretch Edit: maybe one day the "lucky", privileged few will see their brains connected to a neural network, constantly repaired by nanobots. That would still be "them". But seriously, f**k that shit. I'd rather be dead. I've got no interest in eternal or hugely extended life but I'm curious about the future. If my "self" could be preserved in digital form to have sightseeing weekends decade or so over the next few millennia, that would be cool. Doubt we'll survive that long as a civilisation though. Edited January 29, 2022 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 7 minutes ago, welshbairn said: I've got no interest in eternal or hugely extended life but I'm curious about the future. If my "self" could be preserved in digital form to have sightseeing weekends decade or so over the next few millennia, that would be cool. Doubt we'll survive that long as a civilisation though. I wouldn't inflict that on a digital copy of myself, as I know it would be miserable. I've been looking forward to death since I was a teenager. Also, another me would be of no practical use to man nor beast. You'd do well in the bars and clubs of San Junipero, I'm sure 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 15 minutes ago, BFTD said: I wouldn't inflict that on a digital copy of myself, as I know it would be miserable. I've been looking forward to death since I was a teenager. Also, another me would be of no practical use to man nor beast. You'd do well in the bars and clubs of San Junipero, I'm sure Got tonight's viewing sorted anyway, fair exchange for immortality imo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Immortality would be shite, I think about what it would be like on my darker days and ultimately come to the conclusion you'd just spend most of the time miserable because every emotion is utterly pointless and you just end up alone and empty, while some of you is terrified of what happens to you at the inevitable ending of the universe. But aye, on my lighter days I think it would be great to forge letters from the famous folk of your time and keep them to sell on in like 200 years, you'd possibly make a fortune regularly which would help you explore the universe after humanity reaches that stage/aliens absorb us into their civilisation/big foot grows wings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 On an actual conspiracy theory note, I ended up reading about Denver Airport today. Seemingly runways set up in a swastika, illuminati signs all over the place, a demon horse of the apocalypse out front who killed its creator, and a collection of artworks that symbolise something about Nazis taking over. An interviewer asked the boy who runs the airport about it all and he effectively just shrugged and said the folk who designed the place were eccentric, which I imagine went down really well with the conspiracy heads 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 On 29/01/2022 at 18:57, BFTD said: Would probably vote for Futurama Nixon TBH. Couldn't be any worse. Your consciousness ceasing to exist would. To everyone else, there could be another welshbairn stoating around doing all the same shit, reacting in the exact same way to everything that you would, and possibly being entirely impossible to differentiate from the original. But you wouldn't know, because you wouldn't exist anymore. For you, there's no escaping from your meat prison. The replication of memories and experiences into some kind of hive mind is an interesting and potentially useful idea though, but I've a horrible feeling that it would come to the conclusion that life is a nightmarish horror show, with the only solution being brutal, ruthless self-interest at the expense of all other entities. Cells die. We’re all a sort of trigger’s broom of replacement parts. Consciousness is an illusion that gives us an illusion of an identity composed of replicated stored memories in our meat drives. Consciousness is partly bound up in how we experience the world and isn’t necessarily contained in your physical mind or body. Many psychologists think it can extend into digital prostheses, like the internet. So it’s possible with increased cybernetics that the cyber part of “you” could live on and be more than a facsimile. if we need a black mirror episode it’s Domhnall Gleeson in the attic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Brainwashing is a growth industry! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 6 minutes ago, Detournement said: Brainwashing is a growth industry! I expect they keep nudging the treasury to give them more money. Most of their output is really dull and not that sinister, like making websites more intuitive. Only about 60-100 years behind commercial advertising in manipulation. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 17 minutes ago, coprolite said: I expect they keep nudging the treasury to give them more money. Most of their output is really dull and not that sinister, like making websites more intuitive. Only about 60-100 years behind commercial advertising in manipulation. They probably don't do press releases about how you get pensioners spinchters to contract on hearing the word Corbyn. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz5 Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 On an actual conspiracy theory note, I ended up reading about Denver Airport today. Seemingly runways set up in a swastika, illuminati signs all over the place, a demon horse of the apocalypse out front who killed its creator, and a collection of artworks that symbolise something about Nazis taking over. An interviewer asked the boy who runs the airport about it all and he effectively just shrugged and said the folk who designed the place were eccentric, which I imagine went down really well with the conspiracy heads [emoji23]I can confirm at least some of that is true of Denver airport. The artwork is fucking bizarre throughout, but particularly in arrivals and the demon horse outside is weird AF.Never noticed the runway configuration or Illuminati signs, from memory. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 I'm totally cool with eating bugs, drinking my own recycled pish and renting my clothes and other necessities from giant private equity firms, but I draw the line at taking away my hot showers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 I'm totally cool with eating bugs, drinking my own recycled pish and renting my clothes and other necessities from giant private equity firms, but I draw the line at taking away my hot showers. I'm hugely skeptical of that claim anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 8 hours ago, Zetterlund said: I'm totally cool with eating bugs, drinking my own recycled pish and renting my clothes and other necessities from giant private equity firms, but I draw the line at taking away my hot showers. I don't want to go to work any more than I already do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 8 hours ago, Zetterlund said: I'm totally cool with eating bugs, drinking my own recycled pish and renting my clothes and other necessities from giant private equity firms, but I draw the line at taking away my hot showers. Don't post this again, you'll wake up jamama 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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