Last September, I wrote an article that looked at the advances that are currently taking place in the world of stem cell technology – Digital Immortality – Are You In?. One element being that according to Ray Kurzweil, Google’s director of engineering, an entire human mind could be uploaded and operated within a digital framework.
I stated that this idea isn’t science fiction, but that it was already becoming a reality!
This research has moved firmly into the laboratory, and mice are now “enjoying” extended lives that translate to 200 years in humans. Stem-cell expert at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Pittsburgh and study co-author Johnny Huard, stresses that any treatment of this type offered to humans will only allow them to age well. In other words, it’s not an elixir of life.
This technology might lend a whole new slant to the body-snatchers scenario
Whatever the feeling is within the recipient, questions can now be asked? We’ve got the basic premise for extended life both digitally and organically, so if one fails, can artificial means take over? Alarmingly, can digitally stored identity be implanted within other bodies? This technology might lend a whole new slant to the body-snatchers scenario, where rich oldies are on the lookout for fresh, young host bodies!
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Chris Gray
TrainStorm