The hypothetical process of scanning and mapping the complete structure and state of a biological brain at a synaptic (or deeper) level and transferring that information into a computational substrate—a computer, a synthetic brain, or a network. This would create a digital consciousness, a "mindfile," that is a continuation of the original person's identity, capable of existing in virtual realities, controlling synthetic bodies, or achieving a form of immortality. It's the ultimate divorce of mind from meat, raising existential questions about the nature of self and continuity.
Neural Uploading Example: In Black Mirror's "San Junipero," the minds of the elderly are Uploaded to a perpetual virtual resort after death. The concept assumes we are nothing but patternable information, and that copying that pattern is the same as moving the soul. The "you" that wakes up in the computer is the central philosophical dilemma of the tech.
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026
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