Ok so what I’m about to write in this article might sound a bit crazy and out there but considering the recent developments in technology and the general path humanity is currently on, I do consider that what I'm going to speak about will inevitably sooner or later become a reality, maybe even sooner than we think.
So here it is, let’s talk about mind uploading :
Just as a context, my background, is in psychology, computer science and programming, meaning I have a bit of knowledge in these fields.
I was always interested in cutting edge technology and computers, and also interested and fascinated by how our brain works. So, long story short, somehow I managed to go from a major in psychology to being a software developer.
My main motivation for switching to computer science was in fact artificial intelligence and especially mind uploading.
You see all throughout my collage years and after graduating the A.I. and neural networks craze really started to ramp up and got me increasingly curios and motivated about these ideas, so I started to do some research.
How these new artificial neurons work, how computers work, how programming languages work and so on. And what I discovered was a simple yet powerful idea:
A home computer nowadays has 100’s of times more memory and more computing power( speed) than a human brain. And so, why are they still dumb when it comes to what for us are considered relative simple tasks like driving a car or walking or identifying some objects in a picture. The answer is quite simple : algorithms and the way they process information.
A computer has much more memory and a lot of processing speed. For example, the maximum rate a human neuron can fire, is about 1000HZ or about 1000 times per second. A typical home PC on the other hand can get to 3,5 GHz that is 3.5 million times faster.
The main difference is that a computer algorithm processes information in a linear manner and the natural brains interprets information in a parallel manner.
Also, a computer has strict mathematics rules and operates based on digital logic gates that can have either a value of 1 or a 0.
A brain, on the other hand, has structures that computes information in an analog fashion, much like how vinyl record disks work, compared to CDs or DVDs.
On a CD or DVD, the information is stored digitally in 1 and 0 format. Vinyl records store audio information in an analog manner. The sound waves are physically engraved onto the surface of the vinyl disk in a continuous spiral groove.
The differences are quite major in structure, and function, but from what modern neural networks (ChatGPT, MidJourney for example) can do, we see that some “brain” functionality can be replicated on a modern computer. And what I do believe is that all functionality can be replicated.
Even if a computer can’t have the massive parallel processing a human brain has, it can simulate that parallel processing using the massive speed advantage it has over the human brain, remember it’s 3.5 million times faster and even more that.
Also, the examples of what humans can do better than computers are shrinking by the day with new versions of Tesla self-driving, ChatGPT, Sora and countless other AI models. They are proof that we are slowly but surly closing the gap.
So why not start thinking about storing and even fully simulating a human mind inside a computer system ?
For me, it seems like such an obvious path that humanity can take and that would solve a lot of our problems like for instance not dying 😀 , a lot of automation on a massive scale and so on, basically bring the next era of technological revolution.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The most important first question would be, can this actually be done?
Well if we approach the problem from a biological point of view and look at what nature has achieved, we find the same basic principles of neural communication conserved across different animals and insects , ranging from the most simple (Starfish about 500 neurons) to the most complex: Human brain about 90 billion neurons.
Of course, while neurons serve similar functions across different animal species, including insects, there are variations in their structures and functions based on the evolutionary adaptations. The main point here is that we already have a blueprint, a working model. And the model works based on a clearly defined set of biochemical and physical rules.
Rules that can be replicated or better put simulated in a modern computer system. As an example AMD MI300X graphics card has 153 Billion transistor, which of course a transistor is not doing as much as a neuron, but we are already creating structures as complex maybe even more complex than a human brain.
The massive barrier is that we can’t take apart a human brain as easily as a CPU to look inside and see how it is structured. But that can be overcome.
Also, if we look at the specs for a MI300X it has some ridiculous numbers in terms of operations per second, memory and speed that natural brains are just not able to do, so there is a lot of computing power to play with.
Modern neural networks do take advantage of this power but as spectacular as they appear to be, they have substantial shortcomings like needing huge volumes of data to be trained, not being 100% deterministic (aka we don’t know with 100% accuracy what they will do) and we don’t really know exactly how they work.
This is the main problem we are facing: the software is not good enough. Nature has had millions of years to create human and mammalian brains, we have computers for a couple of decades, there are still a lot of improvements to be made.
I do think we have not yet found, or designed algorithms good enough to be able to do what a human brain can do, and I do think some new ways of approaching the problem are needed in order to design systems that are truly useful, safe and reliable.
Now let's come back to mind uploading and the reason I’m writing all this. Simply put, I want to start a deliberate effort in this direction.
Over the years I have done some research on my own but it has become quite obvious this is not a 1-man project.
I know there are various efforts done in this direction like Neuralink , Human brain project, Carboncopies Foundation and a few others. But I feel like some fresh new perspectives are needed and a deliberate, bold effort in that direction.
What I want to do is start a project that is solely focused on this problem, how to first simulate and store a human mind in a computer system and second how to read a biological mind and transfer that mind in a simulated environment.
A project focused more on replicating what nature has already done, since the model is already there. It’s right in front of us and is working spectacularly well. We just need to emulate it on a silicon based substrate instead of a biological one.
I do believe that we already have the technology, the hardware to do the first part, that is to fully simulate and store a human mind. We just need some new creative ways in which we simulate neurons.
The second problem is a bit harder to solve, there are some solutions to it, for instance using devices like what Neuralink has, to read brain activity and then use AI to model the neurons, various imaging techniques and so on. But as difficult of a task it may be, history has shown us, what was once considered impossible or extremely difficult can be made trivial.
Humans for hundreds of years dreamed about the moon even before flight was still a thing and now here we are. What was once just an idea is now part of everyday life. We take huge machines into the sky every day, into the earth’s orbit and beyond.
I know it’s a super ambitious, crazy project but the world we live in, is becoming a bit crazy and yea why the hell not? We are already stumbling in that direction, might as well make it a deliberate and controlled effort.
My question to you all is. How can I get this project started?
From what I have researched, my best bet is on government research programs or some visionary millionaire wiling to fund a high risk, high reward project.
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated, thanks!
So here it is, let’s talk about mind uploading :
Just as a context, my background, is in psychology, computer science and programming, meaning I have a bit of knowledge in these fields.
I was always interested in cutting edge technology and computers, and also interested and fascinated by how our brain works. So, long story short, somehow I managed to go from a major in psychology to being a software developer.
My main motivation for switching to computer science was in fact artificial intelligence and especially mind uploading.
You see all throughout my collage years and after graduating the A.I. and neural networks craze really started to ramp up and got me increasingly curios and motivated about these ideas, so I started to do some research.
How these new artificial neurons work, how computers work, how programming languages work and so on. And what I discovered was a simple yet powerful idea:
A home computer nowadays has 100’s of times more memory and more computing power( speed) than a human brain. And so, why are they still dumb when it comes to what for us are considered relative simple tasks like driving a car or walking or identifying some objects in a picture. The answer is quite simple : algorithms and the way they process information.
A computer has much more memory and a lot of processing speed. For example, the maximum rate a human neuron can fire, is about 1000HZ or about 1000 times per second. A typical home PC on the other hand can get to 3,5 GHz that is 3.5 million times faster.
The main difference is that a computer algorithm processes information in a linear manner and the natural brains interprets information in a parallel manner.
Also, a computer has strict mathematics rules and operates based on digital logic gates that can have either a value of 1 or a 0.
A brain, on the other hand, has structures that computes information in an analog fashion, much like how vinyl record disks work, compared to CDs or DVDs.
On a CD or DVD, the information is stored digitally in 1 and 0 format. Vinyl records store audio information in an analog manner. The sound waves are physically engraved onto the surface of the vinyl disk in a continuous spiral groove.
The differences are quite major in structure, and function, but from what modern neural networks (ChatGPT, MidJourney for example) can do, we see that some “brain” functionality can be replicated on a modern computer. And what I do believe is that all functionality can be replicated.
Even if a computer can’t have the massive parallel processing a human brain has, it can simulate that parallel processing using the massive speed advantage it has over the human brain, remember it’s 3.5 million times faster and even more that.
Also, the examples of what humans can do better than computers are shrinking by the day with new versions of Tesla self-driving, ChatGPT, Sora and countless other AI models. They are proof that we are slowly but surly closing the gap.
So why not start thinking about storing and even fully simulating a human mind inside a computer system ?
For me, it seems like such an obvious path that humanity can take and that would solve a lot of our problems like for instance not dying 😀 , a lot of automation on a massive scale and so on, basically bring the next era of technological revolution.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The most important first question would be, can this actually be done?
Well if we approach the problem from a biological point of view and look at what nature has achieved, we find the same basic principles of neural communication conserved across different animals and insects , ranging from the most simple (Starfish about 500 neurons) to the most complex: Human brain about 90 billion neurons.
Of course, while neurons serve similar functions across different animal species, including insects, there are variations in their structures and functions based on the evolutionary adaptations. The main point here is that we already have a blueprint, a working model. And the model works based on a clearly defined set of biochemical and physical rules.
Rules that can be replicated or better put simulated in a modern computer system. As an example AMD MI300X graphics card has 153 Billion transistor, which of course a transistor is not doing as much as a neuron, but we are already creating structures as complex maybe even more complex than a human brain.
The massive barrier is that we can’t take apart a human brain as easily as a CPU to look inside and see how it is structured. But that can be overcome.
Also, if we look at the specs for a MI300X it has some ridiculous numbers in terms of operations per second, memory and speed that natural brains are just not able to do, so there is a lot of computing power to play with.
Modern neural networks do take advantage of this power but as spectacular as they appear to be, they have substantial shortcomings like needing huge volumes of data to be trained, not being 100% deterministic (aka we don’t know with 100% accuracy what they will do) and we don’t really know exactly how they work.
This is the main problem we are facing: the software is not good enough. Nature has had millions of years to create human and mammalian brains, we have computers for a couple of decades, there are still a lot of improvements to be made.
I do think we have not yet found, or designed algorithms good enough to be able to do what a human brain can do, and I do think some new ways of approaching the problem are needed in order to design systems that are truly useful, safe and reliable.
Now let's come back to mind uploading and the reason I’m writing all this. Simply put, I want to start a deliberate effort in this direction.
Over the years I have done some research on my own but it has become quite obvious this is not a 1-man project.
I know there are various efforts done in this direction like Neuralink , Human brain project, Carboncopies Foundation and a few others. But I feel like some fresh new perspectives are needed and a deliberate, bold effort in that direction.
What I want to do is start a project that is solely focused on this problem, how to first simulate and store a human mind in a computer system and second how to read a biological mind and transfer that mind in a simulated environment.
A project focused more on replicating what nature has already done, since the model is already there. It’s right in front of us and is working spectacularly well. We just need to emulate it on a silicon based substrate instead of a biological one.
I do believe that we already have the technology, the hardware to do the first part, that is to fully simulate and store a human mind. We just need some new creative ways in which we simulate neurons.
The second problem is a bit harder to solve, there are some solutions to it, for instance using devices like what Neuralink has, to read brain activity and then use AI to model the neurons, various imaging techniques and so on. But as difficult of a task it may be, history has shown us, what was once considered impossible or extremely difficult can be made trivial.
Humans for hundreds of years dreamed about the moon even before flight was still a thing and now here we are. What was once just an idea is now part of everyday life. We take huge machines into the sky every day, into the earth’s orbit and beyond.
I know it’s a super ambitious, crazy project but the world we live in, is becoming a bit crazy and yea why the hell not? We are already stumbling in that direction, might as well make it a deliberate and controlled effort.
My question to you all is. How can I get this project started?
From what I have researched, my best bet is on government research programs or some visionary millionaire wiling to fund a high risk, high reward project.
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated, thanks!
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