So much is being done to prevent planet Earth from becoming uninhabitable, but what if we’re not doing enough to stop this? Space travel is a possibility for avoiding extinction, but we are far off from successfully inhabiting another planet. In the long run, it is very important to have a backup plan, an alternative and less humanlike form of existence. Leaving our given human bodies and uploading one’s consciousness onto a digital platform could be the future of mankind’s existence. Living digitally can range from a matrix-type augmented reality to living in a humanoid-like machine with one’s consciousness uploaded. The human consciousness controls the body of its own volition, and thus all people have physical and mental limits. All people are bound by the biological constraints of our bodies, and this is the root of our negative impact on earth. Always in need of food, sleep, and an ideal environment, humans are a fragile species. In the last few thousand years, humans have pillaged earth of its resources to make living easier and more luxurious at the cost of the environment and other species.  Thriving on a planet with finite resources, growing global conflict, and an ever-changing environment, Earth can only sustain this way of life for so long.  I would like to explore the technology involved in uploading human consciousness onto a digital platform and how tangible this achievement is with technology.

Many theorists believe humanity is spiraling down to disaster, and some believe it is just a matter of years before humans go extinct. “The odds of a catastrophic global event wiping out humanity in any given year is slim, but over the course of years the chance becomes quite high” (Whitwam). Using what he knows about our environment, conflicts, and politics, Stephen Hawking has a grave prediction that humanity only has 1000 years left on earth (Whitwam). As scary as it sounds, this provides logical reasoning to look into alternative methods of prolonging humankind’s existence. There is evidence everywhere that the world is changing, so mankind must change too.

Before digital consciousness and augmented reality become our next evolutionary step, it is important to understand these concepts in relation to our current lives. I believe the Hollywood film “Transcendence” provides a great outlet to grasp the concept of a digital mind. Although it is a science fiction movie, the film has a very realistic portrayal of uploading a human consciousness onto a supercomputer. In the movie, a brilliant scientist with plans to change the world with artificial intelligence and digital consciousness is shot and left in critical condition by terrorists. Due to the value of the scientist’s brain and ideas, he becomes exactly what he set out to create and uploads his mind onto a computer. After doing so, his mind is alive and well inside a series of computers and monitors. He is able to speak through speakers and listen. He controls the entire computer system, and in a sense, the computer is his new body. Doing such a thing is obviously very farfetched for this age. However, it helps convey the idea almost perfectly. Transcendence accurately depicts how living digitally in an augmented reality and leaving behind our human bodies can keep mankind evolving in an increasingly sustainable and intelligent direction.  

Patients with paralyses and locked in syndrome experience life trapped in their minds with zero control over their bodies. This makes it impossible for patients to convey what they are thinking to doctors and nurses. With a new innovation in electrocenphalogy technology, doctors can read whether a patient is thinking yes or no (Baggaley). The study from the Wyss center for Bio and Neuroengineering concluded, “EEG did come in handy for reading whether a participant had stopped paying attention or had nodded off. But monitoring the brain’s blood flow could essentially reveal what participants were thinking” (Baggaley). By measuring neuron activity in certain parts of the brain, this new device can tell if a subject is thinking yes or no. Innovations like this are already making lives happier, and it is only becoming more advanced with time. I think this provides great insight into how neuroscience is making a difference and will continue to be more and more present in everyday life. The technology required to actually upload a consciousness onto a computer is not a reality right now, but many scientists and researchers say it’s an ever growing possibility. Constant innovation and technological improvement is required to truly explore the expanses of the human consciousness. 

The first step in achieving a digital consciousness is discovering what exactly makes a consciousness. The Actor’s Brain, by Sean A. Spence, breaks down the structure and processes in the brain and discusses free will. He describes how we can simply raise a finger to involuntary actions and emotions. He says, “As I sit and move my index finger, in the manner of a libet volunteer, I am utilizing a long pathway that we have now traced out, connecting the upper motor neurons of my motor strip with the muscles acting on one specific digit- the right index finger” (Spence 50). As he explains the signals used to complete the action of raising a finger and many thoughts and actions that are more complex, the brain begins to sound exactly like a supercomputer. Our voluntary behavior comes from billions of neurons and networks all interconnected and working together. Whether it is a voluntary or involuntary action, the brain sends signals to tell every part of the body what to do and when to do it. (Spence) I think the brain is a platform for consciousness and volition to exist. It is very easy to describe the brain as an organic self-aware super computer. If a brain works similarly to a computer, then an artificial platform for consciousness would need to replicate every single neuron and pathway in the brain used for consciousness. 

Learning what neurons and networks individually control is a challenge in itself. Neuroimaging is the process of analyzing neuron activity at any given moment to understand how higher cognitive functions are created. Roman R. Poznanski is a scientist at the University of Malaya who studies and maps the cognitive processes in the brain. If a digital platform is to hold a consciousness, every neurological function associated with it must be present. “Higher cognitive brain functions associated with mental processes like qualia, consciousness, and free will are all subjective experiences, fundamental to our sense of self. Free will is instantiated as patterns of neocortical electrical activity, whilst qualia and consciousness are instantiated in patterns of neocortical electrical activity” (Poznanski). This conveys the fact that humans don’t know how consciousness exists, but mapping every neurological process needed for volition could provide a map of everything required to create a digital consciousness. 

A digital mind requires every neuron to be mapped out identically to a human’s mind. In 2005, the Blue Brain Project set out to digitally recreate a portion of a rat’s brain. “The digital model, which includes 31,000 neurons and their 37 million synapses, fires like the real thing, and is already revealing fresh clues as to how the brain works” (Hamzelou). This exciting project required two decades of work, 82 scientists and researchers, and uses 207 different types of brain cells. The digitally mapped section of brain is only .003 millimeters long, but it has already given scientists a great deal of data such as “The digital brain imitates a real brain in other ways, too. For example, the team was able to spot what neuroscientists call “choristers” and “soloists”– neurons that fire in groups and alone. They also spotted triplets – neurons that fire in three beats” (Hamzelou). This data is very important because we know a portion of brain has been successfully created and run digitally. Due to the size of the piece of brain recreated and the time it took to make, making a full-scale brain would require an astronomical amount of programming and research. Regardless, with the right tools and information, constructing a fully functional human brain seems intriguingly realistic for the future. 

There is no doubt that the human brain operates like a supercomputer. It processes information faster and has a larger memory capacity than any computer humankind has created. Yet with all this information on cognitive process and neurons, we simply do not understand where consciousness comes from. Scientist Richard Feynman does not think the fact that we do not understand quantum mechanics and the human consciousness is a mere coincidence. Some scientist hold strong to the theory that quantum mechanics are the only explanation for consciousness. One scientist said, “What's more, quantum computers are predicted to be capable of accomplishing things ordinary computers cannot, which reminds us of how our brains can achieve things that are still beyond artificial intelligence” (Ball). The link between the brain and quantum computers is very similar, and both posses physics we don’t understand. Our ability to multi task might have to do with our quantum abilities. The human mind can multitask “just as quantum objects can apparently be in two places at once, so a quantum brain can hold onto two mutually-exclusive ideas at the same time” (Ball). Finding more similarities builds the idea that we are living quantum machines.  The similarities between the two are uncanny. Given this information, it would be probable to conclude with the statement that the key to building a digital platform for a consciousness is a quantum computer. 

Creating a digital brain is definitely a real possibility for the future, but in the meantime, it is important to realize what strides are being made currently to achieve this. Elon musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, wants to merge artificial intelligence with the human brain. “SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is backing a brain-computer interface venture called Neuralink” (Statt). This new company is trying to incorporate artificial intelligence into humans ourselves. One of Neuralink’s main purposes is to prevent artificial intelligence from surpassing humankind and becoming more knowledgeable and aware than us. In a speech, Musk said “Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence”. I believe that combing artificial intelligence and biological intelligence will greatly benefit humans as well as new advancements in artificial intelligence. The company has no public presence, and has a very long road ahead due to the fact “Neuroscience researchers say we have very limited understanding about how the neurons in the human brain communicate, and our methods for collecting data on those neurons is rudimentary” (Statt). Regardless of how successful they are, Neuralink could be the very first true pioneer into the realm of digital consciousness.

For every argument, there are two sides, and it would be silly to say everyone agrees that a digital reality is possible. Scientists Matthew Francis believes “possibly no subject in science has inspired more nonsense than quantum mechanics. Sure, it’s a complicated field of study, with a few truly mysterious facets that are not settled to everyone’s satisfaction after nearly a century of work [and] If I had to pick a runner-up in the nonsense sweepstakes, it would be human consciousness, another subject with a lot of mysterious aspects” (Francis). His reasoning behind this is “Maybe there’s room for some small quantum effects in the brain, but I sincerely doubt those will be directly relevant for consciousness. That’s because almost anything involving individual quantum states requires isolation from environmental interference for the weirdness to show up. For example, most particles aren’t entangled in any meaningful way, because interactions with other particles change their quantum state” (Francis). Francis proves a good point, and being a physicist, he has good reasoning. However, I do not agree with him because there is truly no way to know the truth. Quantum mechanics is just a theory and there is no way to prove that the brain does not have quantum-entangled particles. Entangled particles mimic the same form regardless of how far apart they are. A theory that would completely debunk Francis is the possibility our world is controlled by an advanced civilization via quantum entanglement allowing them to interact with us. At the end of the day, there is currently no true way to know who is right and wrong.

There is a definite line between science fiction and reality, but with science and research, they have the potential to become extraordinary discoveries. Earth’s resources are becoming exhausted and the number of environmental issues is growing. Terrorism, civil conflict, and political unrest are all adding to the number of threats facing our existence. Transcendence really sets the standard for what life could be like in a digital matrix or in super human like machines run by our own consciousness. The human brain works oddly similar to a computer, and small portions of a brain have been digitally recreated in functioning form. Theoretically, with the help of neuroimaging and quantum computing, a human consciousness could be uploaded onto an identical digital platform. Without our biological constraints, uninhabitable worlds could eventually be home to a colony of humanoids all living at man’s will. It’s essential to recognize this as a backup plan for when earth can no longer support mankind. The path to mankind’s next step requires us to unlock the most fundamental secrets in the universe. 
