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Downloading The Mind

Posted by Hemos on from the place-it-in-your-databank dept.

bluemug writes "The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's popular science radio show Quirks and Quarks aired a piece this weekend about Ray Kurzweil's ideas on downloading human minds to silicon. (The interview is available in MP3 or OGG.) Kurzweil figures we'll have strong AI by 2029 and be able to copy a human mind about a decade after that. Book your appointment now!"

18 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. I've got a terrible cold.... by irn_bru · · Score: 3, Funny
    Download my brain and it'll be the buggiest chip since then pentium

  2. Sure! by Koyaanisqatsi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Book your appointment now

    Yeah, I'll go check it out on my flying car, while the robot takes care of things at home.

    1. Re:Sure! by troc · · Score: 5, Funny

      Flying car?

      That's soooo last decade. Surely you will be using your household teleportation booth?

      You could combine it with a trip to the tactile 3D hologram suite.

      At least tell me you have a subspace communications port or how else will you download the 1Tb bug updates to Microsoft Windows XXXP with "use this browser or else" Interuniversenet Explorationer?

      Not that I am doubting there's enough silicon out there for a few brain dumps, no, of course not. And anyway Skynet will protect us from the Matrix.

      Troc

      --
      Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
  3. After being copied by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    All subjects will be forced to spend a day with themselves before they are allowed back in the general population.

  4. Floppy minds by Glanz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, most people I know could put their minds on floppies, and it would still leave enough space for a nice copy of FDISK........... [fmind?]

    --
    Rien n'est plus beau que le creux du 0.
  5. Brain Dump! by irn_bru · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow. A literal brain dump. Just don't use Eproms or you might loose your mind...

  6. Just my luck by jjohn · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sure that when I'm copying my mortal soul to the hard drive, that's exactly when the Windows box will blue screen. :-/

    I wonder how tech support is going to field that problem?

  7. Re:Eternal life? by FTL · · Score: 4, Funny
    > It wouldn't work like that. Imagine that the copy of your mind is uploaded into a new body before you die. Do you think your consciousness would suddenly transfer to the new body? All the copying could do is create a new consciousness in the new body, your old one (ie, you) would still grow old and die in the old body, never to return.

    > This is also the argument against Star Trek transporters. You die each time you use one but a new person is created at the other end that thinks it's you. You don't know anything about this, of course, you've just been disintegrated!

    I don't have a problem with this. When I go to sleep, my current consciousness is discarded, and when I wake up a new consciousness (with all my memories) is created. This fact doesn't keep me awake at night.

    Good night. Sleep well...

    --
    Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
  8. Re:Wow! what a new idea! by agentZ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Eh... you can have the ROM personality construct. I'm still waiting for the chick with the razor blades in her fingertips.

  9. A decade after 2029? by BluBrick · · Score: 5, Funny

    But the world ends at GMT 03:14:07, Tuesday, January 19, 2038!

    Uhh, pencil me in for the 18th... just in case.

    --
    Ahh - My eye!
    The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
  10. Re:Eternal life? by Washizu · · Score: 5, Funny

    None of the atoms present in our bodies right now, were there 10 years ago.

    Please explain how tattoos last longer than 10 years.

    --
    OddManIn: A Game of guns and game theory.
  11. Old News by BoBaBrain · · Score: 5, Funny

    We've been making partial brain dumps for years. They're called "Books".

    --
    I am a Karma Library.
  12. Re:Kurzweil's Book by MikeFM · · Score: 3, Funny

    Myself I plan to have a specialized utility cloud of nano gizmos that I can remotely control as pleases me and take on any shape I please while sitting in a nice secure location mentally being in cyberspace at the same time. If you're going to be immortal you may as well be god too. :)

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  13. Anyone got a potato? by The+Famous+Druid · · Score: 4, Funny

    By 2039, you'll be able to download what's left of my mind into a potato.

    --
    Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur (anything said in Latin sounds important)
  14. Re:Eternal life? by tuxedo-steve · · Score: 3, Funny
    If you can download the mind - will we be able to upload it as well at some point in the future?
    Probably the best way to look at it is like a fork statement in a Unix program.

    Only on Slashdot... :)
    --
    - SMJ - (It's not just a name: it's a bad aftertaste.)
  15. And just like that by Rumagent · · Score: 4, Funny

    Blue screen of Death took on a whole new meaning.

  16. Re:Why not? by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

    What makes this particular lump of protein [brain] any different?

    According to some researchers, it is the ONLY lump of protein found so far that does not taste like chicken.

    There must be something significant to that observation.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  17. Re:Eternal life? by Daetrin · · Score: 3, Funny
    Either you kill the old body and have it's fork of your conciousness die, or you have two of yourself. I'm not sure if the human mind could cope with the trauma of first finding itself in a new body, then seeing its old body die. It sounds simple enough, but it would take quite an adjustment!

    You think it's tough for the _copy_?? What about the original?

    "Okay, the transfer is complete, we're going to have to kill you now."

    "Hey! Wait a minute! It didn't work! I'm still here in this body!"

    "Well of course you are, but the copy of you is doing just fine, so you need to die now in order to maintain the illusion of continuity of consciousness."

    "But I don't want to die! That's why I signed up for this!"

    "Sorry, you should have read the fine print. Now, we have a number of Suicide Packages available for your convience, or for an added fee you can take advantage of our Euthanasia Program."

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank