For as long as we have existed, humans have fought the inevitable death. This struggle gave rise to the religions that have dominated human culture for thousands of years and has been central to the philosophies that have shaped our civilization.
AI can now make you immortal, but should it?
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But could we finally see the scientific solution to immortality? In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved to the point where it is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives. It can change the way we think about death, and perhaps even the way we experience it.
Science fiction provides several examples of situations in which the human mind is uploaded to a machine and effectively outlasts a mortal, fail-prone body. Most of them are terrifying.
However, recent research and development shows that this technology may be closer than we think. trying to save.
So, for those of us with a desire to avoid reaper blades, let’s take a look at some of the options that are or will be on the table.
living memories
In 2020, a South Korean documentary crew worked with a VR producer to help a grieving mother “reunite” with her deceased daughter. It was a divisive process, and many considered it frightening, but the mother herself said her experience helped her through the grieving process and she has no regrets about going through it. I reported.
The encounter was scripted and the graphics were very realistic, but Jang Ji-sung had limited opportunities to interact with the deceased seven-year-old.
But just a few years later, another company (also in South Korea) is using AI to talk and interact with the dead as if they were in the same room (or at least as they were) We have demonstrated the potential of the technology. video call with them).
Deep Brain AI showed off its Re;Memory platform at this year’s CES show. Basically, it works by taking video footage and audio recordings of facial movements and applying algorithms to generate new footage of the desired dialogue.
At the moment, the process of creating a 3D representation of a person is reported to cost around $10,000, with a one-hour meeting costing $1,000. Conversations must be agreed upon in advance, as they do not react in real time.
However, there is no doubt that in the near future, this technology will merge with natural language platforms such as ChatGPT to enable real-time conversations with the deceased.
The idea has certainly drawn considerable criticism, with some arguing that it merely exploits grief and intervenes in the grieving process of those left behind. Some agree that it’s worth considering if it helps you cope with the grieving process.
But the benefits may not stop there. What if you could prevent valuable experience and expertise from being lost due to the inconvenient certainty of dying?
Digital immortality?
If Einstein were still alive, he would develop the advances in our knowledge of physics since he died to solve some of the problems that scientists still struggle with today. Could Washington or Gandhi have brokered a peace deal that would end the conflict raging around the world today? Shakespeare hadn’t yet shuffled this human coil. What kind of films would Shakespeare write?
Of course there is no way of knowing that. That’s because the possibility of those people doing good in the world ended as soon as the electrical activity in their brains stopped.
But others have suggested that if we can collect enough data on someone before they die, we might be able to keep that person around indefinitely after their physical brain is gone. This may not be as difficult as it seems. Microsoft researchers Gordon Bell and Jim Gray estimate that it takes only about 1 terabyte of storage to log all conversations a human has over a lifetime.
By running a “digital twin” of the deceased, we can continue to benefit from their wisdom for as long as we need it. There is no reason why you should stop absorbing more knowledge and improving your understanding of the world.
Of course, an obvious extension of this idea is why wait for them to die. If someone can replicate after they die, they can replicate while they are alive. From 10 he has 100 Einsteins, all working on solving different physics problems, or every person on earth has an individual Shakespeare, creating personalized stories and plays to teach them. You can concentrate on entertaining yourself. Running a business and not spending enough time at home with your family? No problem. Keep your empire running while you set your digital twin to work and focus on what really matters.
Some of these ideas are encapsulated in the concept of digital eternity. This is effectively an MIT research project aimed at exploring the technical and philosophical requirements for creating digital twins that allow us to live forever.
But should we?
It’s worth bearing in mind that when photography and filmmaking were new technologies, both scholars and philosophers presented them as possible solutions to the problem of death.
From a philosophical point of view, it is often pointed out that death has always been a natural part of life, and that there is no real way of knowing what effect its elimination would have on humanity and society. , allowing us to come up with new ideas as new brains emerge that are better tuned to deal with the realities of everyday life.
On the one hand, knowing that we will exist forever, or at least for a very long time, allows us to act better, and that death ultimately escapes the consequences of our actions. Some people assume that we cannot expect
One thing is certain, death will never stop us trying to solve.As new technologies like AI, digital twins and virtual reality redefine our lives, we will I keep thinking about how they redefine our death.
Perhaps, with some technical assistance, some people reading this wonder what kind of fascination the future holds, such as the Earth being swallowed by the Sun in 7 billion years, or the universe disappearing. Some may continue to live to find out. To the distant future.
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