Editing Mind uploading (section)

==Theoretical benefits and applications==

==="Immortality" or backup===
{{Main|Digital immortality}}
In theory, if the information and processes of the mind can be disassociated from the biological body, they are no longer tied to the individual limits and lifespan of that body. Furthermore, information within a brain could be partly or wholly copied or transferred to one or more other substrates (including digital storage or another brain), thereby—from a purely mechanistic perspective—reducing or eliminating "mortality risk" of such information. This general proposal was discussed in 1971 by [[biomedical gerontology|biogerontologist]] [[George M. Martin]] of the [[University of Washington]].<ref name="Martin 1971 339">{{cite journal |last= Martin |first= G. M. |title=Brief proposal on immortality: an interim solution |journal=Perspectives in Biology and Medicine |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=339–340 |year=1971 |pmid= 5546258 |doi=10.1353/pbm.1971.0015|s2cid=71120068 }}</ref> This questions the concept of identity. From the perspective of the biological brain, the simulated brain may just be a copy, even if it is conscious and has an indistinguishable character. As such, the original biological being, before the uploading, might consider the digital twin to be a new and independent being rather than the future self.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Louis |date=2022-08-13 |title=Identity crisis: Artificial intelligence and the flawed logic of 'mind uploading' |url=https://venturebeat.com/virtual/identity-crisis-artificial-intelligence-and-the-flawed-logic-of-mind-uploading/ |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Space exploration===
An "uploaded astronaut" could be used instead of a "live" astronaut in [[human spaceflight]], avoiding the perils of [[zero gravity]], the [[vacuum]] of space, and [[cosmic radiation]] to the human body. It would allow for the use of smaller spacecraft, such as the proposed [[StarChip (spacecraft)|StarChip]], and it would enable virtually unlimited [[interstellar travel]] distances.<ref>{{cite web| last1= Prisco| first1= Giulio |title= Uploaded e-crews for interstellar missions |date= 12 December 2012 |url= http://www.kurzweilai.net/uploaded-e-crews-for-interstellar-missions |website= kurzweilai.net| access-date= 31 July 2015}}</ref>

=== Mind editing ===
While some researchers believe editing human brains to be physically possible in theory, for example by performing neurosurgery with [[nanobots]], it would require particularly advanced technology. Editing an uploaded mind would be much easier, as long as the exact edits to be made are known.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bostrom |first=Nick |title=Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World |date=March 27, 2024 |isbn=978-1646871643 |chapter=Handout 10: downloading and brain editing|publisher=Ideapress }}</ref> This would facilitate [[cognitive enhancement]] and the precise control of the well-being, motivations or personality of the emulated beings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bostrom |first=Nick |title=Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World |date=March 27, 2024 |isbn=978-1646871643 |chapter=Handout 2: Some capabilities at technological maturity|publisher=Ideapress }}</ref>

=== Speed ===
Although the number of neuronal connections in the human brain is very significant (around 100 trillions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caruso |first=Catherine |date=January 19, 2023 |title=A New Field of Neuroscience Aims to Map Connections in the Brain |url=https://hms.harvard.edu/news/new-field-neuroscience-aims-map-connections-brain |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=Harvard medical school}}</ref>), the frequency of activation of biological neurons is limited to around 200 Hz, whereas electronic hardware can easily operate at multiple GHz. With sufficient hardware parallelism, a simulated brain could thus in theory be made to run faster than a biological brain. Uploaded beings may therefore not only be more efficient, but also supposedly have a faster rate of [[subjective experience]] than biological brains (e.g. experiencing an hour of lifetime in a single second of real time).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bostrom |first=Nick |title=Superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategies |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-967811-2 |edition= |location= |chapter=Speed superintelligence}}</ref>