In the digital age and in view of the progress of artificial intelligence, the question arises as to whether there will one day be digital immortality. Digital immortality is also known as virtual immortality and is a hypothetical concept. Human consciousness is transferred to a computer in what is known as mind uploading. To do this, a person’s personality and their consciousness are fed onto a digital substrate or into a virtual environment.
Computers or robots serve as the digital substrate. The goal of digital immortality is to circumvent the death of the biological body. According to researchers, such a scenario is possible in the future.
The concept of digital immortality
The concept of digital immortality is that a person’s consciousness and spirit continues to exist regardless of their body and its limitations. The information would have to be stored on digital media. This eliminates the risk of information loss.
Various scientists have already dealt with the topic of virtual immortality. The American futurologist Raymond Kurzweil is one of these scientists. He predicts that in the middle of the 21st century, in the wake of the technological singularity, it will be possible to feed human consciousness into a computer.
Virtual immortality could be achieved in the form of software.
Raymond Kurzweil predicts the technical singularity for 2045. He had already published a book in 2005 called “The Singularity Is Near”. He describes the state in which humans and machines merge with each other as a technical singularity. He reaffirms this goal in another 2024 book, The Singularity Is Nearer.
According to some theorists, feeding all people into a so-called matryoshka brain is also possible for the long-term preservation of humanity. The matryoshka brain is a hypothetical megastructure based on the well-known Russian matryoshka dolls. These dolls are nested inside each other.
Digital immortality also refers to the creation of a copy of a deceased person in order to communicate with that person after death. There are already various AI models for this. The AI obtains relevant information from the remains of the deceased and produces files about the personality.
Mind uploading is possible from a scientific perspective
As part of the Curious Kids format, which is part of the independent science platform The Conversation, a 15-year-old American boy asked whether human consciousness could one day be uploaded to a computer. Children and young people can communicate with real researchers and ask them questions through Curious Kids.
Cognitive scientist Dobromir Rahnev answered the 15-year-old boy’s question. He explained in a detailed article that from a scientific perspective, mind uploading is in principle possible. However, there are still two major hurdles to overcome. It will take many generations in the future before digital immortality can be implemented.
Human consciousness in the computer
The idea behind digital immortality is radical and fascinating at the same time. A person’s entire consciousness with their self-image, their personality, their thoughts and their memories could be transferred to a digital system. Theoretically, the digital self would continue to exist. The same experiences would also be possible. Mind uploading would open up even new possibilities.
The digital consciousness could experience scenarios that were not possible for humans during their lifetime. A journey to the interior of the earth would be just as conceivable as a departure to distant planets.
Mapping the brain and simulating sensory stimuli as challenges
Digital immortality presents scientists and technicians with enormous challenges. The human brain would have to be mapped completely in three dimensions with trillions of synapses and 86 billion neurons. So far this has only been possible with fruit flies.
All dynamic processes in the brain, which include the communication between neurons and their changes, would have to be precisely simulated.
Without sensory stimuli, an isolated digital consciousness could quickly collapse psychologically. People would have to remain mentally healthy in the simulation. This would only be possible if even the smallest sensations such as heartbeat, breathing rhythm or smells were realistically reproduced.
Mind uploading possible in the distant future
In addition to Raymond Kurzweil, other scientists also predict the technical singularity and the possibility that digital immortality can be implemented. Russian entrepreneur Dmitri Itskov founded the “2045 Initiative” in 2011. The non-profit organization aims to transfer human consciousness into a non-biological carrier system such as a hologram or avatar by 2045.
Dobromir Rahnev also believes mind uploading is fundamentally possible. However, he does not see implementation by 2045, but rather in 100 to 200 years. He considers previous targets to be completely unrealistic.
