Downloading consciousness

If we could download our consciousness in a computer or a robot, we could go on living indefinitely inside the hardware and thus achieve immortality. This is what some futurists and supporters of transhumanism hold. But is there any chance that this will come true?

If this were possible, we could also keep backup copies. Thus, in the event of an accident, the dead person could be retrieved and put back into operation with minimal memory loss. As usual, science fiction arrived there first, as in Cory Doctorow's novel Down and out in the Magic Kingdom.

Will cyborgs be immortal?

Neil Harbisson
File licensed under Creative Commons

The third procedure that has been proposed to make us immortal is the following: as our organs deteriorate, we could replace them with artificial organs, thus becoming a cyborg, a being intermediate between man and machine. The process could be repeated as many times as needed, potentially making us immortal.

Just now, this line of research is not very much advanced.

Will robots help us to be immortal?

The second method that, according to optimists, will help us achieve immortality, is based on the following idea:

We will soon be able to design tiny robots that, introduced into our blood, will attack and destroy every pathogenic microorganism, as well every cancer cell, leaving the normal cells of the body intact. When all diseases disappear, we will automatically be immortal.

Will we be immortal by increasing our life expectancy?

Pieter van Lint - Allegory of immortality

This method is based on the following idea: if we could manage to increase our life expectancy by more than one year per year, we would automatically be immortal. Mathematically, this idea is correct. But is there any chance that it will happen in practice?

One problem is that the increase in life expectancy is slowing down, and has even reversed.

First, we must clear up a misunderstanding. Two completely independent concepts should not be confused: