all they stand to lose are the memories they’ve accumulated since their most recent backup, as long as they’re confident that their backed-up software will be used. In addition, the ability to readily copy information and software between AIs would probably reduce the strong sense of individuality that’s so characteristic of our human consciousness: there would be less of a distinction between you and me if we could easily share and copy all our memories and abilities, so a group of nearby AIs may feel more like a single organism with a hive mind.
