<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Whole Brain Emulation (WBE), the theoretical technology of modeling a human brain in its entirety on a computer-thoughts, feelings, memories, and skills intact-is a staple of science fiction. Recently, proponents of WBE have suggested that it will be realized in the next few decades. In this paper, we investigate the plausibility of WBE being developed in the next 50 years (by 2063). We identify four essential requisite technologies: scanning the brain, translating the scan into a model, running the model on a computer, and simulating an environment and body. Additionally, we consider the cultural and social effects of WBE. We find the two most uncertain factors for WBE’s future to be the development of advanced miniscule probes that can amass neural data in vivo and the degree to which the culture surrounding WBE becomes cooperative or competitive. We identify four plausible scenarios from these uncertainties and suggest the most likely scenario to be one in which WBE is realized, and the technology is used for moderately cooperative ends</p></abstract>

Whole Brain Emulation (WBE), the theoretical technology of modeling a human brain in its entirety on a computer-thoughts, feelings, memories, and skills intact-is a staple of science fiction. Recently, proponents of WBE have suggested that it will be realized in the next few decades. In this paper, we investigate the plausibility of WBE being developed in the next 50 years (by 2063). We identify four essential requisite technologies: scanning the brain, translating the scan into a model, running the model on a computer, and simulating an environment and body. Additionally, we consider the cultural and social effects of WBE. We find the two most uncertain factors for WBE’s future to be the development of advanced miniscule probes that can amass neural data in vivo and the degree to which the culture surrounding WBE becomes cooperative or competitive. We identify four plausible scenarios from these uncertainties and suggest the most likely scenario to be one in which WBE is realized, and the technology is used for moderately cooperative ends

The Prospects of Whole Brain Emulation within the next Half- Century

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Stanford University Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

Department of Computer Science Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305, USA

Department of Science, Technology, and Society Stanford University Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

Journal of Artificial General Intelligence

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

{"article-title":"The Prospects of Whole Brain Emulation within the next Half- Century"}

Whole Brain Emulation (WBE), the theoretical technology of modeling a human brain in its entirety on a computer-thoughts, feelings, memories, and skills...

The Prospects of Whole Brain Emulation within the next Half- Century

Publié en ligne: 25 avr. 2014

Pages: 130 - 152

Reçu: 31 juil. 2013

Accepté: 31 déc. 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jagi-2013-0008

Mots clés
Brain Activity Mapping, Scalable Neuroscience, Mind Uploading, Technological Forecasts, Substrate Independent Minds, Whole Brain Emulation, 2063

© by Daniel Eth

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Prospects of Whole Brain Emulation within the next Half- Century

Publié en ligne: 25 avr. 2014

Pages: 130 - 152

Reçu: 31 juil. 2013

Accepté: 31 déc. 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jagi-2013-0008

Mots clésBrain Activity Mapping, Scalable Neuroscience, Mind Uploading, Technological Forecasts, Substrate Independent Minds, Whole Brain Emulation, 2063

© by Daniel Eth

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Mots clés
Brain Activity Mapping, Scalable Neuroscience, Mind Uploading, Technological Forecasts, Substrate Independent Minds, Whole Brain Emulation, 2063