Michio Kaku: The Metaphysics of Teleportation | Big Think

Michio Kaku: The Metaphysics of Teleportation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even if science is able to teleport humans across large distances, would the teleported human really be the same person or just an exact replica? What would happen to the soul?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHIO KAKU:

Dr. Michio Kaku is the co-founder of string field theory, and is one of the most widely recognized scientists in the world today. He has written 4 New York Times Best Sellers, is the science correspondent for CBS This Morning and has hosted numerous science specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery/Science Channel. His radio show broadcasts to 100 radio stations every week. Dr. Kaku holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York (CUNY), where he has taught for over 25 years. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study as well as New York University (NYU).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:

Question: If quantum teleportation could teleport a whole human, would that transported human really be the same person or just an exact copy? (Submitted by Matthew Miossec)

Michio Kaku: Matthew, you ask one of the most embarrassing and deepest theological questions at the merger, at the area where physics and philosophy collide. At the present time we can only teleport photons, particles of light and atoms like cesium and rubidium. That is it for the present time. However, in the coming years we do expect to be able to teleport molecules, maybe water, carbon dioxide. After that who knows? Maybe even DNA, maybe organic molecules.

Now to teleport a human raises all the ethical questions that you mentioned, because the original first of all has to be destroyed in the process of quantum teleportation. So if get Captain Kirk, zap him across the room, you have now seen Captain Kirk die. You’ve seen his atoms fall apart, but here is this other Captain Kirk on the other side of the room who has the same bad jokes, who has the same character, all the personality quirks as the original Captain Kirk. So the imposter says, "No, I’m real. I have the memories, the personality, the quirks. I am Captain Kirk." Well you just saw the original die and if you believe in a soul that soul went to heaven or maybe the other place, but that person is dead, so who is this imposter over there? Does the imposter have a soul?

So it raises the question are we nothing but information? Is the soul, the essence of who we are, nothing but information? Well I’m a physicist. We don’t know the answer to that. All we’re saying is: it is physically possible to teleport an entire human being across the room or maybe onto Mars. It is physically possible to do that and it raises a valid question. What happened to the soul if your original copy died and somebody out there has all your memories? What does that mean? And the answer is we don’t know.

Recorded September 29, 2010
Interviewed by Paul Hoffman

[thenekom]

One of the best traits of science is that it's perfectly okay to say "We don't know."

[comradebarry]

Physics seem so dam cool here I am doing a double degree in finance n law :(

[Marblez]

Our cells are constantly dying and being replaced on a daily basis. I see no problem with this.

[shuqaris]

"That soul went to heaven... or maybe the other place" that cracked me up hahaha xD

[touijj]

love how he just doesn't say 'religion is bs' or "philosophy is bs' but keeps an open mind about it withotu actually revealing what he really believes

[MrNutter]

I think our "Soul" is just some type of energy. Kinda like a computer's "Soul" is electricity ours is another form of energy that could be transported with the original.

[TheSkyRender]

I'm pretty sure what seems to be continuous awareness is just the illusion generated by having such a huge backlog of past experiences to draw upon.  Most likely our mental "self" is remade at least as often as any other subsystem of our body is.  Other than the occasional "what was I just doing/thinking about?" moments that sometimes follow such a reboot, we don't even notice this process.  Much like we don't even notice how our entire bodies are rebuilt gradually over time.

[gabrielaolmedo]

what about the goku version of teleportation? (instant transmission) he happens to stay his own form as he shifts through realms.

[Hazard]

There was a tale by Clifford Simak, can't quite remember the name. The whole plot of the tale started with main character being teleported. During transfer his "signal" that contained all the information about him was copied by a distant civiliziation, so they made a clone. Later, the "first" main character was killed and the "second" came back and saw his dead body. Shit, now I'll have to re-read it.
But still, it raises question about copying during teleportation. If it will happen, then what?

[Knicks]

I want the Kung Lao type of teleportation. Going through the floor and what not

[AvZNaV]

All the christians be like "Souls exist proved by

[mxviii]

Just the fact that we were able to prove that teleportation is a REAL thing is massive!

[demonofflame]

Here's a question for you guys. What is a soul? Can we scientifically describe a soul? I don't think a soul is scientific but to TRY and do so I'd say that a soul is the combination of our memories and experiences in life that make us who we are. So in a sense if the original "died" in the act of teleportation and was reconstructed at the point of destination, Yes that IS us. It has the memory of teleporting it has our memories it has our experiences and our personality, our looks our taste buds, EVERYTHING. So even if the original gave way for this other to be built, it's still us and we even as a "close" would go on like it was nothing different about us. So in a sense. Yes our "soul" would be teleported.

[TonyImagine]

I suspect that if complex-object teleportation is possible, it'll work for teleporting meat, but not higher animals or humans.  But what about using Alcubierre space-packets, in which the original human, not a copy, would slide to a distant place at multiples of the speed of light (yes, that's allowed for a moving segment of space itself).  The human would experience no acceleration, by the way.  My impression is that Alcubierre drive technology is closer to being realistic at present than complex-body teleportation.  Of course there's the little matter of the energy required...

[MrOttmandus]

Maybe the concept of resurrection (dying and being born again into a new body) is teleportation

[DANversusWTP]

If it would make an exact copy, not just genetically, but every neuron connection and every molecule the same, it would share your memories, and way of thinking, and to me that would make that person you.    Especially since when you get down to fundamental particles, an electron would have not separate identity from any other election. (with the same spin and everything)

[Donserlano]

You gotta love how he literally ends the video with a "I don't know"

[WhyAreYouUpset]

i havnt watched the video but how do we know we arent clones anyway? that our memories werent just put into our heads 3 minute ago?

[ZenRyoku]

I have loved Dr Michio Kakku since ive began my love for the true workings of the universe... 💯

...and recall ONE particular line he spoke which was: "when we are able to produce superconductors miniture and/or small....LOOK OUT!!!!"

[GothAlice]

Even with quantum teleportation, the information (properties) of the particle being "teleported" must be transmitted to the other end; what's stopping a teleporter device from becoming a particle copier, creating multiples from the same source data?