The Technological Singularity

by Murray Shanahan

To sharpen the dilemma, suppose that one of the simulations is terminated after a period of time, say one week. And never mind Murray, suppose that the biological original is you. Suppose you have a terminal illness and have been given six months to live. But you are a billionaire and can afford to undergo whole brain emulation. You are convinced that mind uploading through brain emulation preserves personal identity. So it is your best hope of survival. But you must undertake the procedure now, while your brain is healthy. Then you are told that, as a safeguard, two emulations must be built (in case one is a failure). After a week, if both are functioning correctly, one will be terminated. You are about to sign the papers, but you can’t stop asking yourself which of the two emulations would actually be you. Which body would you wake up in? Isn’t there a chance that you will find yourself reincarnated as a perfectly healthy, functional emulation but then, after a week, be cruelly terminated? How would that be better than forgoing the upload altogether and accepting your present fate? It would be little comfort to know that the other you was doing fine and looking forward to a long life. Surely it’s better to enjoy six months more of guaranteed life than to take the risk of getting just one week. (Of course, you could insist on just one emulation being built, but this is a thought experiment.) Having reflected on this, would you still undergo the procedure?