Eric Hawthorne wrote:
> I don't remember claiming (maybe someone else claimed) you could copy a
> mind.
It's a dream for many transhumanists :-) and I reckon it will be
possible to the extent that external observers can no longer tell the
difference, even if the copied mind itself new it wasn't the original.[1]
A more interesting question is:
Can you reconstruct one?
Assuming you had enough prior knowledge of (relevant) starting
conditions, would the simulation give rise to the same mind in each
instance?
Or, assuming you had collected all possible information at point A, and
based on information of A + n, could work backwards and determine A - n.
In such a case, could you reconstruct the mind itself if you had the
ability to simulate the matter, matter location, and biological
instances of matter combinations.
Bretton
[1] Over a period of time replace each nueron with a non-biological
equivelent until such time as all nuerons are no longer biological. Snap
in RJ45 and #cp brain /dev/hda
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trends::nu-media::techno-philosophy::ai
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
- Philip K. Dick, "How to Build a Universe"
Received on Sun Jun 08 2003 - 18:32:59 PDT