Freedom of Mind (Mind Upload)


We exist in an infinite universe bound by physical laws. And our consciousness is confined in a mortal body made of flesh.

In this fast-paced era of technology and innovation, will it be possible to free him from this prison? This is the utopia that many dream of as the next great destination. Mind uploading is the concept of taking the mind to the digital world and freeing it from the confinement of the body.

Is this possible? And what does that mean?

What is the mind? It is very difficult to define. It is believed to be the combination of our consciousness and intelligence that makes our imaginations, awareness and dreams possible. 

The mind-uploading hypothesis is to simulate consciousness by transferring our inner world to a computer. However, there are some very fundamental problems with this concept.

The possibility of doing so depends on three assumptions being true. 

The first hypothesis is that of physicalism. According to him, the existence of the mind lies in the structure and biochemistry of the brain.

The second hypothesis is that of scanability. According to him, one day we will understand the brain well and be able to create technology that can create digital clones of every aspect of the brain.

The third hypothesis is that of computability. Accordingly, computer software will be able to host the mind. That is, there is nothing in the brain, including consciousness, that cannot be simulated on a computer.

There is no consensus on the correctness of these three assumptions. They are hotly (and often passionately) debated among scientists and philosophers. Since many fundamental questions remain unresolved, discussions on these topics are always likely to offend someone. For now, let's proceed with all three as correct till the end of this article.

The brain is a mind-bogglingly complex biological structure. A trillion neurons with a million billion connections sending a thousand signals per second. That's 1000000000000000 events every second. 

Next, it's not just neurons. There are billions of other supporting cells.

At the macro level, the brain is divided into different parts that each have their own function. Apart from breathing, heartbeat rhythm, many reflexes are also controlled.  

The most developed part of the brain is its outermost layer, the neocortex. Here are the centers of the abilities to plan, think, hope and desire. Where is "you" in the mind? It is not clear. We know that areas like the precuneus cortex have a greater influence on consciousness. But many regions can network together and do things that no one can do alone. 

The building blocks of the brain are not simple either. Neurons are not just wires. They also process and transform information. At their junction (synapse), the signal is transmitted from one neuron to the next. Receptors for hundreds of chemical signals are found here. And here too there may be an external influence. 

We have a basic understanding of how it all works and we understand their behavior on a small scale very well. But there's more to the brain than just neural signals.

Hormones play a big role. For example, serotonin affects our mood. Or histamine helps us learn. 

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

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 still remains. How to turn all this static map 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 are 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 new 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 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 new 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, 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 or thousands of years of leisure? It probably won't look attractive at all. 

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