If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that the future is going to be a really bizarre one. The world we live in has been rapidly changing and will actually continue to do so at a faster and faster rate.
As a result, the very fundamentals of our civilization are changing and societies have had to adapt and evolve countless times over the last few centuries and it has resulted in stark differences in the lifestyle of an average human being over that period.
All this change and progress, however impressive, will pale in comparison to where we are headed in the future as we slowly but surely start approaching a stage, technologically speaking, where we will begin questioning what it means to be human and experiment with different forms of our very existence.
I think you are all already aware of the idea of uploading our consciousness into a robot and thus achieving immortality in a way. This idea is being explored a lot in movies and TV shows, and an episode of Black Mirror, really got me thinking about this.
Bodies - Only Vessels?
Since ancient times, there is this idea that the body is only the vessel and the soul is who we really are. In the more modern times, we now say that our consciousness is what we truly are and if we could transfer it to another body/machine where it could find expression, then we would essentially have achieved immortality.
Recent studies have shown that our biological bodies may have a limit as to how old they could get and so, for those pursuing this seemingly impossible feat, the only option might be to look for a change of bodies.
It’s even weird talking about all of this right now because we identify a lot with our physical bodies and in fact they are the core of our existence if you think about it. Everything in the world, we experience through our bodies. So, to change them like changing clothes, is certainly one of the most bizarre things one could imagine.
But another argument can be made also, that, it is the collection of our consciousness, memories, preferences and nature, that constitute our identities, or “who we are”, so to speak. So, our bodies may be just vessels, at the end of the day.
What If You Could Really Do It?
It’s not a matter of if but when we will have such capabilities. Maybe it will take 50 years or maybe 100. Who knows. But if technological progress has shown one thing, it is that science fiction of today becomes reality of tomorrow.
So, if this type of tech is developed within our lifetime, would you be willing to change your bodies? You would literally have millions of options just like you have for clothes. Not only would you be able to choose a robot body, you would be able to choose a body that is part robot and part biological!
Who knows what crazy capabilities those bodies could come with and make us feel like superheroes. The feature enhancements that the manufacturers of the bodies could provide would be endless and you could live the way you desired and try out an endless “way of living”.
Apart from the ethical questions that arise when talking about immortality, I wonder if such a life is liberation (as it allows us to transcend our physical and mental limitations) or imprisonment (forever to remain on Earth with bodies as commodities). What do you think?