Freedom of Mind 

Freedom of Mind (Mind Upload) We are confined by physical laws in an infinite universe. Additionally, our consciousness is contained within a flesh-and-blood body.

Will it be possible to free him from this prison in this fast-paced era of technology and innovation? Many people envision this utopia as the next great destination. The idea of moving the mind out of the body and into the digital world is known as mind uploading.

Is it conceivable? What does that imply, then?

 

What exactly is mind? It's hard to put into words. It is believed that our consciousness and intelligence work together to enable our imaginations, awareness, and dreams.

The mind-uploading hypothesis proposes transferring our inner world to a computer to simulate consciousness. However, this idea is not without its fundamental flaws.

Three assumptions must be true for this to be a possibility.

Physicalism is the first hypothesis.He maintains that the brain's structure and biochemistry are what give the mind its existence.

The scalability hypothesis is the second one. He claims that we will one day have a thorough understanding of the brain and be able to develop technology that can digitally replicate every aspect of the brain.

The computability hypothesis is the third one.As a result, software for computers will be able to house the mind. That is to say, a computer can simulate everything in the brain, including consciousness.

 

The validity of these three hypotheses is not universally acknowledged. Philosophers and scientists debate them vigorously and frequently with fervor. Discussions on these subjects are always likely to offend someone due to the unanswered nature of a great number of fundamental questions. Let's continue with all three as true for the time being until the end of this article.

The brain is an incredibly complex biological structure. 1 trillion neurons with 1 billion connections send thousands of signals every second. That's 1,000,000,000,000,000 events per second.

Second, it's not just neurons. There are billions of other supporting cells. At the macro level, the brain is divided into different parts, each with its function. In addition to breathing and heart rhythm, many reflexes are also controlled.

The most developed part of the brain is its outermost layer, the neocortex. Here lies the center of planning, thinking, hope, and desired function. Where is the "you" in your head? Unknown. We know that areas like the precious, cortex have a huge impact on consciousness. However, many areas are connected and can do things that they cannot do alone.

The components of the brain are also not simple. Neurons are more than just wires. It also processes and transforms information. At their junctions (synapses), signals are passed from one neuron to the next. There are hundreds of receptors for chemical signals here. Again, external influences are possible.

We have a basic understanding of how all this works, and we understand their small-scale behavior very well. But the brain is more than just neural signals.

Hormones play a big role. For example, serotonin affects our mood. Alternatively, histamine aids learning.

Other organs also affect the brain. This includes everything from gut bacteria to heart nerves.

This system seems complicated at first, and the more you learn about it, you realize that it is more complicated than you first thought.

 

How to bring this complex interplay of cells and flesh and chemicals into a computer?  For this, we need a model that we can simulate in the digital world.  This will be some kind of scan.

Unfortunately our scanning technology, such as fMRI, is not good enough to base such an effort on.  But there is a different approach that can be taken.

The brain is cut into thin slices and scanned using a high-resolution electron microscope.  With its help, cells and connections can be accurately mapped.

In 2019, scientists successfully scanned a cubic millimeter of a rat's brain.  (This is equivalent to a large grain of sand).  It had one hundred thousand neurons.  There were a billion synapses and a nerve fiber four kilometers long.

This one cubic millimeter brain was cut into twenty-five thousand pieces.  It has five electron microscopes continuously extracting data from it for five months.  These were ten million images.  In three months, they were assembled and a 3D model was made.  This complete data set took up 2 million gigabytes of space.

To scan the human brain, such a task has to be done a million times.  It sounds easy to say but not to do.

More difficult is that we have to add smaller building blocks to the simulation.  They contain billions of proteins and many individual molecules that influence cellular behavior.

It is possible that it would require more digital storage than the total capacity of all existing data centers in the world.

These problems are annoying but one big problem remains.  How do turn all these static maps into a dynamic object?

If we have all the scans at the level of the signal piece, we now need the rules and principles that drive this wiring diagram.  It includes various laws of chemical bonding and electrodynamics.  With their help, the simulation can be started.

The mind is not a static object.  It is changing from one microsecond to the next.  Vision thought and action is all the result of its evolution over time.

And we do not know whether this can be done in principle or not.  And our technology may or may not create original minds.

It has to do with the nature of the problem.  Are the mind and the mind just complications?  If so, a lot of work can be done to fix it.

But is there a different layer of complexity here that we cannot resolve?  Is the "whole" greater than its parts?  (This is a common problem) and in a way that we have no idea at this time?

If so, better scanning won't help us much in knowing how it works.  And will be able to tell only the ingredients.

At this point we have a good starting point.  Much remains unknown and many untapped innovations are needed to reach mind uploading.

History shows that we are not good at predicting future growth rates.

The best case may be that it just takes a lot of work and fine-tuning.  And we don't necessarily have to simulate every last cell and molecule.  It is possible to simplify this problem.  Probability models can be built.  And brain behavior can be simulated with a relatively simple system.

So although we don't know if mind uploading will be possible or not, research in this direction in science could be very interesting.  And we can make many innovations in technology from this research and learn many new things about ourselves.

And if it becomes possible to do so, the results can be big and amazing.  It can change our future in the universe.

 

Successful uploading of the mind would be functional immortality.  This copy will exist until deleted.  And if there is any defect in it, there will be a defect in the mind as well.  It can be constant indescribable agony, insanity, or endless nervous breakdowns.

The next question is, will this mind be uploaded by you?  This question is a separate set of difficult problems.  Probably not, but let's assume for now that this digital mind at least feels like it's you.

Well, whatever.  The copy of your mind will start a completely new life.  And it can happen in the middle of your life.  You can have both at the same time.

What does it feel like when you open the digital eye for the first time?  Having a biological body is a good thing and we are used to it.  Food, love, pain, exhaustion.  They are part of our life.  Such concepts without a biological body?  They don't have to be in the digital world.

But then if love is turned on or off at the push of a button, then it loses its meaning.

You may seek new and unusual experiences.  Fast Forward Boring Time?  Want to walk on the surface of the sun?  Simulate the world of the past and spend time with dinosaurs?

Your perceptions and preferences will change over time.  And these minds will also be able to make changes about themselves.  Eliminate a memory that is bothering you.  Customize your personality.  Choosing to let go of resentment, laziness or addiction will be done at the push of a button.

Without the confines of biology, your abilities will grow as technology advances.

And during all this, your preferences may have changed so much from your current personality that you may not have any interest in them.

You will be able to work on S-projects that require more than one person's lifetime.  Scientists will be able to make discoveries.  Adventurers will upload themselves into spaceships, pause themselves, and travel thousands of years.

And not every digital mind will work for the betterment of humanity.  There will also be cycles of strife, crime, and gaining power and influence.  There will also be unlimited time to build big empires and become powerful.

Many people will work to accumulate wealth and equipment for themselves.  And they will compete with other minds like themselves.

 

And the longer digital minds live, the less empathy and connection they may have with ordinary human beings.

Even the worst people in history will be able to have eternal life in this way and death will not be able to get rid of them.

 

Or maybe not.  Our minds are not made for immortality by themselves.  Digital minds will become stagnant and bored and at some point decide to retire from it all.  They have experienced everything.  Hundreds of thousands of years of leisure?  It probably won't look attractive at all.

Maybe even then we'll choose to wait to be deleted.