"Immortal But Damned to Hell on Earth"

Bound_up

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/05/immortal-but-damned-to-hell-on-earth/394160/

With such long periods of time in play (if we succeed), the improbable hellish scenarios which might befall us become increasingly probable.

With the probability of death never quite reaching 0, despite advanced science, death might yet be inevitable.

But the same applies also to a hellish life in the meanwhile. And the longer the life, the more likely the survivors will envy the dead. Is there any safety in this universe? What's the best we can do?

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/05/immortal-but-damned-to-hell-on-earth/394160/

With such long periods of time in play (if we succeed), the improbable hellish scenarios which might befall us become increasingly probable.

With the probability of death never quite reaching 0, despite advanced science, death might yet be inevitable.

Isn't suicide always an option?

Not if you're an upload.

Perhaps it was discussed in more depth before I join LW but I think far, far more cautiousness should be exercised at considering an upload could ever be you.

If you can reduce personhood to information representable in bits, it also means each and any part of it is changeable and replacable, thus there is no lasting essence of individualhood. (My former Buddhist training is really kicking in here, although it is possible I am looking it up in a cache.) Thus there are infinite amount of potential lumps of information, each of which are "more you"... (read more)

0gurugeorge11y

Oh, true for the "uploaded prisoner" scenario, I was just thinking of someone who'd deliberately uploaded themselves and wasn't restricted - clearly suicide would be possible for them. But even for the "uploaded prisoner", given sufficient time it would be possible - there's no absolute impermeability to information anywhere, is there? And where there's information flow, control is surely ultimately possible? (The image that just popped into my head was something like, training mice via. flashing lights to gnaw the wires :) ) But that reminds me of the problem of trying to isolate an AI once built.