Date: 15/05/2014
Growing old
and the idea that death may be around the corner is one of the ever present
realities of life. Or is it? Immortality is a major idea among many popular
movies and works of fiction in this day and age because, let’s face it, the
idea of being able to live forever is exciting to say the least.
While our
physical bodies grow old and deteriorate, it has been proposed that in years to
come it may be possible to upload the entire human consciousness into a
computer or virtual machine. This will effectively make the ‘person’ – if you
can call them that now that they are without a physical, human, body –
immortal. It is also hoped that a software replica of the person will be
created in the form of a holographic virtual body to replace their deteriorated
human body.
This is not
the stuff of science fiction, this is hypothesised based on current research. Neurosynaptic
computer chips (machines that mimic the neurons and synapses of the brain) are
currently being developed and there has been promising progress to date. These chips
may have the ability to learn and remember as though they were real brain
cells. The implication of this is that we will be able to keep learning and ‘living’
well beyond the death of our original human bodies.
This begs the
question: will such beings be considered human? Or will we end up with a Blade Runner-esque future? I guess we
will just have to wait and see.
Sources:
By Morgan
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