Digital immortality (or "virtual immortality") is the hypothetical
concept of storing (or transferring) a person's personality in more
durable media, i.e., a computer. The result might look like an avatar
behaving, reacting, and thinking like a person on the basis of that
person's digital archive. After the death of the individual, this
avatar could remain static or continue to learn and develop
autonomously.A considerable portion of transhumanists and
singularitarians place great hope into the belief that they may
eventually become immortal by creating one or many non-biological
functional copies of their brains, thereby leaving their "biological
shell". These copies may then "live eternally" in a version of digital
"heaven" or paradise.The National Science Foundation has awarded a
half-million-dollar grant to the universities of Central Florida at
Orlando and Illinois at Chicago to explore how researchers might use
artificial intelligence, archiving, and computer imaging to create
convincing, digital versions of real people, a possible first step
toward virtual immortality.The Digital Immortality Institute explores
three factors necessary for digital immortality. First, at whatever
level of implementation, avatars require guaranteed Internet
accessibility. Next, avatars must be what users specify, and they must
remain so. Finally, future representations must be secured before the
living users are no more.
concept of storing (or transferring) a person's personality in more
durable media, i.e., a computer. The result might look like an avatar
behaving, reacting, and thinking like a person on the basis of that
person's digital archive. After the death of the individual, this
avatar could remain static or continue to learn and develop
autonomously.A considerable portion of transhumanists and
singularitarians place great hope into the belief that they may
eventually become immortal by creating one or many non-biological
functional copies of their brains, thereby leaving their "biological
shell". These copies may then "live eternally" in a version of digital
"heaven" or paradise.The National Science Foundation has awarded a
half-million-dollar grant to the universities of Central Florida at
Orlando and Illinois at Chicago to explore how researchers might use
artificial intelligence, archiving, and computer imaging to create
convincing, digital versions of real people, a possible first step
toward virtual immortality.The Digital Immortality Institute explores
three factors necessary for digital immortality. First, at whatever
level of implementation, avatars require guaranteed Internet
accessibility. Next, avatars must be what users specify, and they must
remain so. Finally, future representations must be secured before the
living users are no more.
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