Issues of “mind uploading” and “machine intelligence” have been in the tech. news of the futurist variety lately which got me thinking about these concepts and led me to write this blog post on the topic.  The first version of which was a bit of a “tongue in cheek” attempt which my partner said read like it was done by an“evil” genius.

So this is a revised post to clarify some misunderstandings based on the feedback I have received and also to clarify my own position.

There are basically two camps in the debate on “mind uploading” and “machine intelligence”.  The first consists of the “superlative futurologists”, as they are often called by their critics, who have promoted these concepts with too much hype and too little scientific evidence of their feasibility.  The second consists of the critics who argue that the time spent on considering “mind uploading” would be better spent on solving current problems using the technologies considered feasible.  In other words, “mind uploading” if not “machine intelligence” is considered a frivolous issue by most serious scientists who doubt its technical feasibility ever.

However, I think that the usual economic motives which spur innovation in general may also come to realize “mind uploading” and “machine intelligence”, should society continue to progress scientifically.  I would like to point out at the very beginning that the kind of “mind uploading” to which I refer is not the same as the concept currently being bandied about in the futurist tech. media.  My view is that the mind cannot be separated from the brain because the brain IS the mind. However, it may be possible to duplicate some fundamental activities of particular brains in a computer based information system and this would not involve any transfer of consciousness.  This is the “mind uploading” to which I refer in this article – the replication of analytical and pattern recognition capabilities of particular minds in information systems.

It is important to realize that forms of “mind uploading” already exist with which we are quite familiar and comfortable.  The first form is written/typed words collected in books. Haven’t you ever read a book and felt like the writer was speaking to you or that you have come to know the writer? Such is the power of good books to transmit the minds of writers to future generations long after they have died. The second way in which “mind uploading” is already taking place is through programming.  Programming is really the transmission of the intellect of the programmer into electronic systems.  These systems can do nothing without programming and are as good as rocks. It is through the coding of instructions into an electronic system that it becomes useful and interactive and this coding represents some aspects of the minds of programmers.  Therefore, the concept of “mind uploading” begins to seem more feasible once you start to look at it in this way.  The “mind uploading” to which I refer represents another step in this process of “mind” transfer into an electronic system in a more direct and interactive way.

The death of a person who embodies critical skills and experience of value to society represents a major economic loss.   Hence, there is an economic reason to drive research in mind uploading technologies, if for no other reason than to continue to profit from the expertise of deceased persons.  We don’t usually think of people in these terms but it is a reality of the economy that some skilled persons are considered very valuable due to the years of experience and the knowledge that they have acquired in various fields.

Many of these persons regret the loss of memories and abilities through the unavoidable process of aging. Many also wish they had more time to continue to contribute to their fields.  This is the reason why the development of information systems that could embody the lifetime of learning and experiences of these persons should be developed.  It could also be that the process of “mind uploading” would result in the eventual emergence of truly “artificially intelligent” systems, since the current rudimentary level of "machine intelligence" is based on programming coming from the minds of programmers.

We need more powerful information systems to aid us in managing the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity with a growing world population.  “Mind uploading” could be the route through which more powerful information systems are developed.  Such systems would be essential for a “post-scarcity” society or a society with a greater ability to satisfy the needs of all of its members with ecological sustainability. A “post-scarcity” society in this sense means a society with a high level of productivity of resources (increasing output per unit of input) which uses less to make more.

Achieving a “post-scarcity” society is not just a technical issue but also a political one.  A new economic framework would be required which would not be dependent on scarcity and the maintenance of incumbent interests. Within this new framework, greater scientific effort would be directed at producing goods and services to satisfy human needs in the most efficient way.

However, in developing solutions sometimes we create new unforeseen challenges.  The development of more powerful information systems, possibly through “mind uploading”, has the risk of increasing dependence on these systems. Society is dependent on its machines. This is no different from saying that man is dependent on his tools, for without them, he cannot eat.  It can be argued that without tools there would be no homo-sapiens. We produced the tools and the tools produced us.  Therefore, the modern dependence on our information systems to manage production and distribution is not different from our ancestors’ dependence on their flint axes.  So, just as it was then, we are co-evolving with our technology.  However, at some point quantity turns into quality.  We cannot really predict where the evolution of artificial intelligence systems to sustain a “post-scarcity” society will take us. One thing is for sure, to try to unplug it would mean catastrophe.  This is the future of an automated society, gradual loss of control to our tools until the roles of servant and master are possibly reversed.

Therefore, evolution of increasingly complex information systems through the integration of human minds as part of the process of achieving and maintaining a “post-scarcity” society could be another step in the evolution of intelligence and our survival might depend on it.  In which case, there might be nothing to fear. It is only evolution.

Revised July 19, 2012.