What would happen if we upload our brains to computers? | Robin Hanson

Someday, we may have robots as smart as people

This section introduces the concept of robots with artificial intelligence (AI) and explores different routes to achieve this level of intelligence.

The Routes to Achieve AI

• Accumulating better software over time has been a method used for 70 years, but progress at past rates suggests it may take centuries.

• Some believe that the discovery of powerful theories of intelligence could accelerate the development of AI, but the speaker is skeptical.

• The third scenario discussed is porting the software from the human brain to create AI. Three technologies are needed: cheap, fast, parallel computers; detailed scanning of individual human brains; and computer models of brain cells and their functions. However, none of these technologies are currently advanced enough.

What Would Happen If We Uploaded Our Minds?

This section delves into the idea of "uploads" or emulations - creating digital copies of human minds - and explores what would happen if this were possible.

Questions About Uploads

• People often wonder if uploads would be conscious or just empty machines. They also question whether an upload would be considered the same person or someone else entirely. These questions will not be addressed in this talk.

• Instead, the focus is on exploring what would actually happen if uploads were possible.

The Life of Ems (Emulations)

• Ems spend most of their lives in virtual reality environments that can feel as real to them as physical reality does to humans. They can interact with these environments through a dashboard interface.

• While humans always run at a fixed speed mentally, ems can adjust their speed by adding or reducing computer hardware. They can also create copies of themselves and make archive copies to potentially achieve immortality.

• Ems have the ability to move their digital brains from one physical location to another, allowing them to interact more quickly with other ems in different locations.

Understanding Ems' Choices

• Ems are designed to emulate the actions of the human they are based on, meaning they would behave similarly in similar situations.

• To understand what ems choose to do, three key facts need to be considered.

The Age of Em Understanding the World of Emulations

In this section, the speaker discusses the world of emulations (ems) and how they live and work in their society. The focus is on their economic conditions, lifestyle, and relationship with humans.

Economic Conditions of Ems

• Ems are generally poor due to a growing population that outpaces the economy, leading to falling wages.

• Most ems have to work most of the time just to meet subsistence levels.

• Despite living in luxurious virtual reality environments, ems spend most of their time working at desks.

Comparison to Human History

• Subsistence wage scenarios are not uncommon in human history and among wild animals.

• Poor creatures prioritize survival over other desires, while rich creatures require more understanding to predict their actions.

The World of Ems

• The em world grows much faster than ours, experiencing a century or two worth of change in just a year or two.

• Typical emulations run roughly a thousand times faster than humans, perceiving thousands of years within a year or two.

• Ems reside in densely populated cities due to slow physical travel speeds. Most cities are self-sufficient, with cyber warfare being prevalent.

Humans in the Age of Em

• Humans must retire as they cannot compete with emulations.

• Initially owning all capital, humans experience rapid wealth growth but need to acquire assets or sharing arrangements to avoid starvation.

Coexistence between Ems and Humans

• Ems may allow humans to retire peacefully during the age of em to maintain social stability.

• Killing humans and taking their possessions would disrupt shared institutions and create uncertainty among other groups.

Characteristics of Ems

• Ems are copies of the most productive humans, making them elite compared to typical humans.

• Ems tend to possess traits such as intelligence, conscientiousness, hard work, marriage, religiosity, and middle-age.

• The em world exhibits a wide variety of industries and professions. Mind speed is a significant factor, ranging from human speed to a million times faster or a billion times slower.

Lifestyle of Ems

• Short-term versions of ems are created daily for specific tasks before they end.

• Slower emulations resemble retirees in literature - they can be interacted with but lack influence and are fixated on the past.

Timestamps may not be exact due to limitations in processing natural language.

Emulation and Coherent Designs

The speaker discusses how ems (emulated minds) can implement larger, more coherent designs. They give an example of an emulation plumber who only worked two hours a day for the last 20 years. In reality, there were a thousand copies of the plumber, each doing a two-hour plumbing job, with only one copy moving on to the next day.

• Emulation allows for larger and more coherent designs.

• Example of an emulation plumber working two hours a day.

• There are multiple copies of the plumber, each doing a two-hour job.

Subjective Perception vs Objective Reality

The speaker explores the difference between subjective perception and objective reality in ems. While objectively they work well over 99% of the time, subjectively they remember a life of leisure. The speaker compares this to individuals who take drugs at parties to forget what happened after that day.

• Ems have subjective memories of leisure despite objectively working most of the time.

• Comparison to individuals taking drugs at parties to forget what happened afterward.

Short-Term Copies and Attitudes

The speaker introduces the concept of short-term copies in ems. These copies are created to perform short-term tasks before ending. They discuss how these copies can have different attitudes towards their existence - either seeing themselves as new short-term creatures or as part of a larger creature who won't remember this part.

• Short-term copies are created for specific tasks before ending.

• Short-term copies can have different attitudes towards their existence.

• Attitudes include seeing themselves as new short-term creatures or as part of a larger creature.

Predicted Attitude of Short-Term Copies

The speaker predicts that short-term copies in ems will have the attitude of being part of a larger creature who won't remember their specific task. This prediction is based on the idea that this attitude helps them get along, rather than being philosophically correct.

• Prediction that short-term copies will have the attitude of being part of a larger creature.

• This attitude helps them get along, even if it's not philosophically correct.

Transparency and Trust in Ems

The speaker discusses how transparency and trust work differently in the world of ems. In this world, copies of individuals can go inside a safe to explain secret reasons for decisions, allowing others to know there is a good reason behind certain actions.

• Copies of individuals can go inside a safe to explain secret reasons.

• Transparency and trust work differently in the world of ems.

• Others can know there is a good reason behind certain actions.

Evaluating a Strange Future World

The speaker advises against judging a strange future world without learning more about it. They compare this to how our ancestors from thousands of years ago would have loved or hated our current world based on limited information.

• Advises against judging a strange future world without learning more about it.

• Comparisons to our ancestors' limited knowledge and opinions about our current world.