The following is a question posted by Dr. Robb in my first sections slack channel, then my response for me and my partner, and finally my reflection
If given the chance, would you consent to having the information in your brain scanned and your mind uploaded to a computer, leaving your body and brain behind and achieving immortality? If you say Yes, you are given the further option of having the program of your mind run in a computer attached to a robot body moving in the real world, OR having the program run in the Cloud, living your life in any simulated world you’d like. Would this choice make a difference to whether you’d upload?
We disagree on if we would upload our consciousnesses, but we agree that we both want to live our full natural lives as humans with a mind and a body on earth. I would upload my consciousness at an old age to give the chance of immortality to a copy of my mind. The copy would be given a chance to make a choice of if it wants to live an immortal life in the cloud or if it doesn’t want to exist and accepts the finality of the death of the “real me”. [Partner] would choose not to upload at all, at least not until she could witness the results of other people uploading themselves.
I have changed my mind completely. As of now, I see no reason in allowing a virtual copy of myself to exist for the rest of foreseeable existence. There are also certainly potential problems that could arise from the ability to create digital copies of people. I find myself agreeing more with my partners original reaction, I am open to changing my mind if this becomes reality and there become reasons that may influence my decision in the future. As of now I would simply allow myself to live my full life and die normally. If there were some practical benefit, such as scientific research or historical preservation that could benefit from consenting to having my likeness uploaded to create a digital copy of my I would choose to upload. Otherwise there are no benefits to creating a digital copy of myself now or in the future.
