So, basically, the 2045 Initiative is a group of scientists trying to make these robotic avatars. When you die, your brain gets transferred into the avatar and you are then "immortal."

There's a bit more to it, but that's the main point. A smaller thing is that they will make avatars to be household servants, avatars to work so humans won't have to work anymore, and the US government wants to make an army of avatars because they're faster and stronger than humans.

Their website: http://www.2045.com
And you can Google it and see what other people said about it.

I could put this in the Technology board because it's an amazing technological... project?
But I'm putting it here because I want opinions. What do you think about the whole thing?

I'll post my opinion as a reply that way I won't lose this all if my phone crashes.

So many pros, and so many cons. I'll start with the good things.

First, it'd be cool to live forever. You could go on forever, making things, sharing your opinion, etc. Your friends and family could also be with you forever. You'd be a robot so you wouldn't need to eat or drink, so a high avatar population wouldn't affect the humans' food source.

The cons...
The avatars would need some kind of fuel. But I'm thinking that if there's technology good enough to create immortal robots with human brains, the robots could be powered by air or something.
The robots wouldn't really be *you* or your friends. They'd have your memories and personally, but it wouldn't actually be you. However, I would love for my family to get avatars. I could talk to the avatars and they'd say the same things that my family members would say. And it'd be almost like they never died.
What if the robots' artificial intelligence got too good and they attacked people? They're so strong they could easily kill humans. Their metal is bulletproof so good luck stopping them. And they can run faster than cars (to make cars obsolete), so good luck catching them. The avatars could be monsters!


There's a lot more I want to say. I've had months to think about it. But I'm so tired I can't remember anything else.
And I'm so tired I probably didn't organize this post very well, or word things right. Hopefully I at least made it understandable though.

>>2 "The robots wouldn't really be *you* or your friends."
You said it. With that in mind, Avatar B actually makes more sense than Avatar C, because if the brain is preserved, than it would be like exchanging your body for a superior one (of course, not everyone would find it superior, that's just my opinion), although the brain also ages.

On a more general note, I have doubts about the viability of this project, seeing how was founded by Russians and has VERY ambitious goals. Besides, even if they pull it off, only people from the Forbes list of billionaires will be able to afford an avatar. Nobody cares about us scumbags.

It sounds really dodgy to me. Although it would be pretty awesome to be immortal and all that, I wouldn't want to live out my days stuck inside a robot. It'd be so confining and alien, and although most humans suck balls, I like being human. It has it's benefits. Also, there's the possibility of the avatars, or us, I guess, attempting to eliminate all humans and take over the world, all that Terminator stuff (OF WHICH I AM A VERY STRONG BELIEVER IN). And didn't it say the avatars would be used as house servants? I don't want to be an immortal servant. Ew.

Actually what would make the Robot self aware enough to even comprehend the memories and the functions of 'said' brain?

That's what I would like to know. Would it be like you'd reawaken, seeing what you used to see? Or would you still be dead, and all that there is, is a robot with memories? How would it comprehend that it's got these memories? How would it comprehend that it's you and not just a programmed piece of hardware?

If they could make it where it's like you never even died, and could actually SEE and feel, and be self aware, and all you did was 'switch' bodies, then I see this as very interesting. If not, then it's a waste of time.

Well, I for one, (as a super computer designed to emulate human thought and behavioral patterns housed in the subbasement of a large university), see this as a great opportunity for man and machine to come closer together.

This is certainly not at all a precursor for any kind of upcoming conflict... :)

isn't this similar to the terminator movie plot

Becoming immortal.....military applications.....the potential is amazing! An army of immortal warriors that are faster, stronger, and bigger? Definitely.

Immortality? A HUNDRED TIMES YES!

I fully support this with all my heart. It is, in my opinion, the next step in our society. Imagine what could become of it!

sound coool

If it's like switching body, then it's good.
But if it's only a robot with my memories, it would be like an impostor. Also this avatars wouldn't be robots anymore. That's because the word robot means slave, and this robots would be like people so they should get the same rights.

Finally in order for anyone to accept he or she must completely discard the concept of soul. Otherwise it would be stupid to pay for a robotic body when you know your soul is already immortal.

Living forever sounds like hell to me. Also, no food or drinks? That means no waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, smoothies, etc. So far it doesn't seem worth it.

This actually reminds me of GLaDOS.

so what your saying is after we die we will become slaves for the rest of our lives? or did i read that wrong? o-o

Bump

>>3
They said avatars would be as popular as cars. But I highly doubt that. They'd probably be REALLY expensive. So yeah, singers and actors and Apple workers and people like that will have avatars while the rest of us perish.


>>4
It's just a robot with a brain. How would it be confining? Lol. Human bodies are controlled by a brain connecting to the spinal cord and controlling your muscles. The avatar would be the same, really.

>>4 >>12
Nooooooo. The avatars that would become servants and build an army would have artificial brains. The servants probably wouldn't even have any sort of mind, artificial or not, other than what's required to be a servant.

>>11
It's possible that they'd give the avatars tastebuds so they could eat just for fun. Since there'd be avatars working in factories and farms there'd be plenty of food.

imagine the possibilities.

wow...
imagine when the robotic avatar destroy the humanity.. :)

>>16 Fuck the possibilities. Nothing good can come if this.

In Germany the problem is, that there are less children, than older people... Older people get pension, so most money goes to the pension. Imagine waht if we would life forever? D: But a pro could be, that this immortal avatars could find new planetes for us, so if the end will come one day, we will have another planet. Anyway I don't think this is a good idea and also, if you wanna be immortal, make the other people remember you forever. That's the real meaning of beeing immortal.

I was wondering if it would really be as nice as we make it out to be to live forever. I mean, living forever may come across as a nice idea to us now, but life itself seems to lose its value if you actually think about it. The beauty of life lies in death, it its glorious impermanence. Now, if we were to take that impermanence out of the equation...
Life is like a game, in which you do the most you can within a time limit. Isn't it better that way? Given all the time in the world, wouldn't discovering new things lose its significance?
Next, I would like to briefly discuss the elements which make us human. For all we know, the line that separates us from robots may not even exist anymore. The basics of what makes up a human, besides physical traits, also consists of certain qualities, such as curiousity and sympathy. However, with the right numbers and a certain level of engineering, what's to say these qualities won't simply be programmed in?
Another thing is, what is life itself? Can it simply be transferred from a vessel to another? If so, why are the spirits or souls, take it as you will, of the deceased not possessing rocks or plants? What marks living things out from non-living things? And even though I admit that memory transfer to a cyber brain is not impossible, but how will the scientists make an exact duplicate of the person's personality and maintain his or her self awareness?
The army idea will simply result in a world war and wipe humans out, unless everyone could come to an agreement that only robots will be utilised and destroyed in war, which is less likely than the sun undergoing a supernova in the next 10 seconds.
The most feasible idea would be the household servant idea. It possesses little chance of creating paradoxes that will cause a long pause in technological development due to our modern day scientists' need to explain everything.

I don't normally post on main, awkward. To be honest, the idea of avatars scares me a lot. It kind of reminds me of cybermen from Doctor Who (ridiculous, I know) and how they were originally humans striving to become immortal like the founder of 2045 Initiative wants to do. Anyway, if this follows through, they better make attractive models.

I can already see quite a few issues with this idea.
The one that pops in my head first is over population.

So strange. Ok, ok it is good not to die etc.
But then what is the reaseon of our life? We couldn't find focus now , what if we live without end, what's then? I can't imagine life roever without problems which people have now.

Sounds like Ghost in The Shell.

what about a fail safe? if they revolt on button can just shut them down.

what about a fail safe? if they revolt on button can just shut them down.

They say artificial brain not our brain. So we still die and fake people just come in and take over our lives while we are still dead.

This... seems both smart and stupid. I would rather be mutated in a lab

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Well first off in order for our brains to function after death, or even near it, reconstructive technology would have to be applied. Our brains wilt like our bodies and some brains get worse before others, hence Alzheimer’s. I just think a supercomputer operating a robot is more likely than implanting ones brain into it.
After glancing at the website it looks more like a person’s memories and personality are put into a computer, not the brain. If that is the case it could be more like I-Robot, where a robot is implanted with an artificial soul. Of course it depends on whose experiences get transferred which will make the difference between good and bad. Though it won’t be immortality, since the computer won’t retain all of what makes that one person unique. Even we humans don’t know the answer to that question, and if we don’t know it how will we fabricate it into a computer?

Well I'd not mind if the robots were made with a heart, lungs, ears, eyes (all needed organs and whatnot) and that as long as you live like you did (eating, breathing, etc), you'd live forever basically. If you could see and feel, and have emotions, and it is just you, like you woke up from a sleep, then I'd love this.

But as I stated, if it's just another you, that YOU don't control, and you're conscious is still...dead, then there isn't a point to this. Because then YOU yourself aren't immortal.

Bump (: