cover of episode “When is a mind me?” by Rob Bensinger

“When is a mind me?” by Rob Bensinger

2024/7/8
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LessWrong (Curated & Popular)

Shownotes Transcript

xlr8harder writes:

In general I don’t think an uploaded mind is you, but rather a copy. But one thought experiment makes me question this. A Ship of Theseus concept where individual neurons are replaced one at a time with a nanotechnological functional equivalent.

Are you still you?

Presumably the question xlr8harder cares about here isn't semantic question of how linguistic communities use the word "you", or predictions about how whole-brain emulation tech might change the way we use pronouns.

Rather, I assume xlr8harder cares about more substantive questions like:

  1. If I expect to be uploaded tomorrow, should I care about the upload in the same ways (and to the same degree) that I care about my future biological self?
  2. Should I anticipate experiencing what my upload experiences?
  3. If the scanning and uploading process requires destroying my biological brain, should I say yes to the procedure?

My answers:

  1. The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.

    The original text contained 7 images which were described by AI.

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    First published:
    April 17th, 2024

    Source:
    https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zPM5r3RjossttDrpw/when-is-a-mind-me

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    Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.