How to Upload Your Mind

Uploading your mind to a computer might one day let humans cheat death. The technology’s a long way off, but researchers are working on closing that gap. This episode was brought to you and inspired by the movie Self/less.

Hosted by: Hank Green

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[ghuegel]

But if I uploaded my brain to a computer, I'd still be here, even if I there was a new immortal version of me.

[laitela]

Michio Kaku talked once about replacing parts of yourself with machines slowly so that your consciousness would stay. Uploading a mind to computer seems to be a little different concept. I think there are other ways to cheat death, like research battling the illnesses related to aging itself.

[Reksrat]

Its funny. A brain named itself, is currently trying to preserve itself in technology, yet it doesnt know how it works. OUR OWN BRAINS DONT KNOW HOW THEY WORK! THATS INSANE! Man i love science

[ChetzNation]

BUT YOU'RE STILL DEAD! It's just a computer mimicking you.

[futuregreatestpresidentale]

It's an awesome and utterly terrifying prospect at the same time. Sure it may make you practically immortal, but it may also prevent you from dying even if you want to. With your mind translated into software, you could be tortured indefinitely, with no release of death. Some evil person who got a hold of you could put you in virtual hell, and you would suffer unless and until the machines running "you" stop doing so.

[radguitar]

"Everything was better before the last update... 😢"

- My fictional, recently-updated simulated-mind wishing it could stay young forever...

[StuartSafford]

"I'm sorry, Dave.  I'm afraid I can't do that."  Supercomputer Stu won't open the pod-bay doors.

[hsAdaeDlivE]

It wouldn't be cheating death. It would only be making a copy of yourself. The only way it could possibly be cheating death is if your body immediately died and your consciousness was only present and alert in the machine you uploaded it to.

[gingerjester]

I think our best (soonest) bet at prolonging the human life indefinitely will be to replace any failing body parts (eventuality most if not all) with prosthetics, whether it be mechanical, digital, 3d printed or even biological etc

[illdie]

First thought was "Cave Johnson and Caroline/GLaDOS!"

[BrothaJeff]

I got a question. Why do flies rub there hands together when they land and walk around?

[matthewadams]

One day they woke me up,
so I could live forever

[Nictator]

But a copy of my mind isn't good enough, in my opinion. I don't care either way if a replica of myself if walking around after I die, because I'll be dead. And that's what this basically would do. Data "transfer" in the computational sense involves making a copy of the data and then deleting the original. What we need to do is figure out what consciousness actually is, and then determine a way to extract it from the brain.

[stevenwills]

Sorry your mind is currently buffering.

[Dyslexic-Artist-Theory-on-Time]

the uniqueness is an innate part of creation, the uploaded mind will be just as unique as the mind that it was based on!

[fuser]

"The relativistic brain. How it works and why cannot be simulated by a Turing machine" It's a great read :D

[ionz]

I have the same problem with this that I do with the Star Trek teleporter. It would be a copy of me, not me.

[Cliffdog]

My favorite Sci-fi that covers brains being uploaded is Ghost in the shell. I love how it breaks down the possible problems of having cybernetic brains.

[BudCharlesUnderVlogs]

I want to upload myself so I can live long enough to make Quilava real.

[turdferguson]

I love how well they explain everything. If you're a student, definitley subscribe.