Brain downloads by 2050! Woohoo!

[Patty_Chuck]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/05/23/brain.download/

London, England – By the middle of the 21st century it will be possible to download your brain to a supercomputer, according to a leading thinker on the future.

Ian Pearson, head of British Telecom’s futurology unit, told the UK’s Observer newspaper that the rapid advances in computing power would make cyber-immortality a reality within 50 years.

Pearson said the launch last week of Sony’s PlayStation 3, a machine 35 times more powerful than the model it replaced, was a sign of things to come.

“The new PlayStation is one percent as powerful as the human brain,” Pearson told the Observer. “It is into supercomputer status compared to 10 years ago. PlayStation 5 will probably be as powerful as the human brain.”

Pearson said that brain-downloading technology would initially be the preserve of the rich, but would become more available over subsequent decades.

“If you’re rich enough then by 2050 it’s feasible. If you’re poor you’ll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it’s routine,” he said.

“We are very serious about it. That’s how fast this technology is moving: 45 years is a hell of a long time in IT.”

Can’t wait!

[ShibbOleth]

I’m going to jump in my flying car and head right over there to be the first in line!

[mcott]

Download my brain into a machine? I don’t think so. On the other hand, does anyone remember Strange Days?

I think I could go for a memory download to myself - welcome to the ultimate in VR porn. You know that the adult industry will pour billions into this if they think it’ll work.

[MacTech]

just make sure microsoft has NOTHING to do with this if it comes to pass, would you trust your brain to a microsoft based OS, not me, then again, i’m not entirely confident Mac OS XVIII (or whatever it’ll be up to by then) would be capable of it either, you’d need a very reliable, multiple redundant backup OS to store the BrainImageFile…

then could we download our brain into a robot body? i want big chainsaw hands, RZZZZZ!

[Imasquare]

I don’t want to be a machine.

[FinnAgain]

Neat

[Marley23]

Wow, I can’t believe a scientist made attention-grabbing claims to the paper like that. :rolleyes:

How many people here are planning to be rich in 2050 or alive in 2080? I may have to leave my house on Mars to visit Earth if this actually happens.

[AngelicGemma]

Nooo! Not my brain!

[Agent_Foxtrot]

I’d do it, if only to be able to playback my dreams, and only if I’m the sole viewer.

Adam

[Spatial_Rift_47]

@MacTech

just make sure microsoft has NOTHING to do with this if it comes to pass, would you trust your brain to a microsoft based OS, not me, then again, i’m not entirely confident Mac OS XVIII (or whatever it’ll be up to by then) would be capable of it either, you’d need a very reliable, multiple redundant backup OS to store the BrainImageFile…

Unix.

then could we download our brain into a robot body? i want big chainsaw hands, RZZZZZ!

Totally what I want to do (except the chainsaw hands part). I may not want to live forever, but I sure as hell don’t want to kick off after less than a century. This is why I’ve been getting so excited about all the recent articles about bionic limbs and implants in the brain.

[NurseCarmen]

Sadly, some folks will only require very small hard drives.

[Uvula_Donor]

I’m not trusting my brain to some idiot who doesn’t know the difference between uploading to and downloading from a computer.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

And when I hack the system, I shall achieve Total World Domination!

Bow down to your Future World Emperor.

[Doctor_Jackson]

Wake me up when the technology allows uploading data to my brain. Or, better yet, just let me sleep while all the world’s knowledge is pumped in. Then let me sleep some more. g’night.

[ShibbOleth]

Good idea. I want to upload the kung fu program first.

[Kythereia]

Man, nobody would want to have my brain on file. Trust me.

But that idea is seriously and wickedly cool.

[iamthewalrus_3]

@Imasquare

I don’t want to be a machine.

How do you feel about being dead?

[brownie55]

@iamthewalrus(:3=

How do you feel about being dead?

I could live with that…