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Title: Uploading the Human Mind Could One Day Become a Reality, Predicts
Neuroscientist

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/06/01/1...

A 15-year-old asked the question - receiving an answer from an associate
professor of psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology. They write (on
The Conversation) that "As a brain scientist who studies perception, I fully
expect mind uploading to one day be a reality. "But as of today, we're
nowhere close..." Replicating all that complexity will be extraordinarily
difficult. One requirement: The uploaded brain needs the same inputs it
always had. In other words, the external world must be available to it. Even
cloistered inside a computer, you would still need a simulation of your
senses, a reproduction of the ability to see, hear, smell, touch, feel - as
well as move, blink, detect your heart rate, set your circadian rhythm and do
thousands of other things... For now, researchers don't have the computing
power, much less the scientific knowledge, to perform such simulations. The
first task for a successful mind upload: Scanning, then mapping the complete
3D structure of the human brain. This requires the equivalent of an
extraordinarily sophisticated MRI machine that could detail the brain in an
advanced way. At the moment, scientists are only at the very early stages of
brain mapping - which includes the entire brain of a fly and tiny portions of
a mouse brain. In a few decades, a complete map of the human brain may be
possible. Yet even capturing the identities of all 86 billion neurons, all
smaller than a pinhead, plus their trillions of connections, still isn't
enough. Uploading this information by itself into a computer won't accomplish
much. That's because each neuron constantly adjusts its functioning, and that
has to be modeled, too. It's hard to know how many levels down researchers
must go to make the simulated brain work. Is it enough to stop at the
molecular level? Right now, no one knows. Knowing how the brain computes
things might provide a shortcut. That would let researchers simulate only the
essential parts of the brain, and not all biological idiosyncrasies. Here's
another way: Replace the 86 billion real neurons with artificial ones, one at
a time. That approach would make mind uploading much easier. Right now,
though, scientists can't replace even a single real neuron with an artificial
one. But keep in mind the pace of technology is accelerating exponentially.
It's reasonable to expect spectacular improvements in computing power and
artificial intelligence in the coming decades. One other thing is certain:
Mind uploading will certainly have no problem finding funding. Many
billionaires appear glad to part with lots of their money for a shot at
living forever. Although the challenges are enormous and the path forward
uncertain, I believe that one day, mind uploading will be a reality. "The
most optimistic forecasts pinpoint the year 2045, only 20 years from now.
Others say the end of this century. "But in my mind, both of these
predictions are probably too optimistic. I would be shocked if mind uploading
works in the next 100 years. "But it might happen in 200..."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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