W
e’re in an era of remarkable high-concept situation comedies, with
shows such as “The Good Place” using the 22-minute joke-packed
framework to explore some of humanity’s deepest issues.
Premiering on Amazon Prime in May was “Upload,” a show created by Greg
'DQLHOVRI³7KH2̇FH ́DQGLWORRNVWREHDFRQWHQGHU
The premise is like something out of “Black Mirror” and similar to “Altered
Carbon.” When a young man named Nathan dies, his consciousness is
transferred into a sort of digital afterlife. As a living customer-service rep checks
in on him, he must adapt to a new eternal life (eternal, at least, until the servers
shut down).
,IWKLVVRXQGVIDPLOLDULW¶VVRPHWKLQJWKDWVFL¿ZULWHUVDQGIXWXULVWVKDYHEHHQ
thinking about for decades. Let’s take a head trip to examine the possibilities.
THE WHOLE BRAIN
Often referred to as “whole brain emulation,” the concept of capturing every
piece of data in your meaty mind and transferring it to a digital simulation is a
fascinating one. It’s a natural outgrowth of the quest for eternal life, something
that has preoccupied humanity for centuries. Our ancestors had lots of ideas for
QHYHUG\LQJ²LQDQFLHQW&KLQDIRULQVWDQFHWKHFRXQWU\¶V¿UVW(PSHURU4LQ6KL
+XDQJZDQWHGWRUXOHIRUHYHUEXWFKXJJLQJPHUFXU\VXO¿GHEURXJKWKLPWRDQ
early grave instead.
2QHRIWKH¿UVW¿FWLRQDOH[DPSOHVRIWKHFRQFHSWFDPHLQDVKRUWVWRU\E\
(GPRQG+DPLOWRQSXEOLVKHGLQWKH$SULO LVVXHRIAmazing Stories. Titled
“Intelligence Undying,” it follows an aged scientist who devises a method to
imprint his entire brain onto a newborn baby, essentially overwriting the child’s
personality. It works, and the man lives for hundreds of generations, using his
HWHUQDOPLQGWRHYHQWXDOO\UXOHWKH(DUWK
7KHULVHRIF\EHUSXQNFXOWXUHLQWKHμVDQGμ VFRLQFLGLQJZLWKWKHDGRSWLRQ
of the internet made people think more deeply about digital life. William
Gibson’s landmark novel Neuromancer features an “infomorph,” a software
copy of a notorious hacker that’s deleted after his job is done. And James
Cameron’s Avatar featured a soldier who has his consciousness transplanted
into an alien body.
