Hacker News Reader

If we're firmly in the realm of sci-fi (which we are) I find the idea of a neuron-by-neuron replacement of the human brain by nano-sized computational units that function exactly the same way as those neurons, to be a more interesting proposition.

Can it be done in a way that doesn't imply the death of the subject?

View on HN

> .. Can it be done in a way that doesn't imply the death of the subject?

The key word is replacement. Can this replacement vote or inherit property? What happens if there is a clerical error and they make two replacements. Which one is the real you?

Oh absolutely, I think that is the key thing. Personally I'd never get into a transporter such as they are portrayed in Star Trek - what comes out the other end may well be a perfect reconstruction, and think it is me, and behave to the outside world as if it is me. But would there be a continuity of conscious experience? Or am I dead and a facsimile is now in my place?

Incidentally, this is why I can't take Roko's Basilisk at all seriously - a future simulation of me is not me. Well, it;s one reason anyway.

I mean, you're not alone. Nobody takes Roko's basilisk seriously.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com