~Would any of you Programs do it, and why?

Sure, if it had been thoroughly tested beforehand. Why? I can think of a thousand reasons why, and not just for recreation.

~What would you do with your time?

Inside the computer? I dunno. Porn probably. (JUST KIDDING!)

~What would you want it to look like?

Just like Tron!

Hmmm - a digital consciousness... will we see it in our lifetime? Not sure. But it will become a reality at some point in time.

Actually, we probably will see it our lifetime. There are already high-level AI experiments going on where a computer is basically programmed to learn and grow. I read somewhere about a computer that has been raised to about a 6th grade level and had a fascination with books about animals (or something like that). I wish I remember where I read that - probably CNN's tech articles or something a while back. Very fascinating stuff!

But taking one's consciousness and digitizing it? That's different than the AI thing, though I would imagine there are similarities in the complex programming that would required to sustain such a thing.

Sony is working on developing a gaming system that basically interfaces with the nervous system via some kind of pulse beam directed at the brain. They've already acquired a patent for it. This would allow people to basically experience a virtual world as if it were a real experience - for all intents and purposes, the game player would really experience everything that was beamed in to their mind by this device. I can't even begin to describe my fascination with such a device! I only hope it is reality before I become too old to enjoy it.

I believe in technology such as this are the roots of forming an actual digital archival or perhaps even transfer of consciousness from human to machine... or should I say from biological machine (our brain) to synthetic machine (an human engineered computer capable of holding and processing brain function).

What would I do if I could play in an environment such as this? Haaaaa! What wouldn't I do! I would do EVERYTHING and experience EVERYTHING I could! I would want to do everything from role play as a character my favorite films or games (especially TRON) to living experiences that only can be dreampt about today.

Oh yes - I would want to do it all! Again, I can only hope that technology like this is developed AND made affordable before I'm too old to enjoy it!

Oh - and BTW - welcome to TRON-Sector, ALT.exe! This is a GREAT place for all things TRON... as well as many other things that us TRON fans have in common. I think you'll enjoy your stay here.
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I would only do it if they had already tested it on an orange. Then, I would make the computer angry, and it would shoot me with the laser.

Yes, that device Sony's developing would be an awesome gaming tool, and an even better training tool. It would also be the torture device to end all torture devices. Think about it, the ability to make your victim experience anything you want him to. The possibilites are horrifying. That's if the sensory simulation part worked, which I really doubt it would.

It's one thing to move neurons around, it's another to turn it into anything coherent. You see, we only have a very vague idea of how the brain's internal wiring works, but we've researched enough to find out that every person's brain is encoded differently. So, the software for this device would be the equivalent of a piece of software that worked for 6,000,000,000 completely different operating systems! I read a Popular Mechanics story where a neurologist said this about devices that interfaced with the brain: "Don't expect it any time in the 21st century, or the 22nd."

Oh, and don't get too excited about Sony's patent. To get a patent, an idea doesn't have to work, it just has to be original.

Even so, if this was able to manipulate neurons, you could probably use it to scramble parts of the brain so they don't work anymore. The possibilities of that just get scarier. You could blank out a person's senses, you could paralyze parts of their body one by one. You could corrupt their stored memory, making them an amnesiac, or even make them unable to remember anything at all, not even something that happened a few seconds ago. The worst part is, those sort of things could probably happen accidentally, through glitches in the programming or bumping the device.order abortion pill morning after pill price where to buy abortion pill

Boingo_Buzzard Wrote:Not to be a cynic.. but if this is to have commercial (meaning profitable) applications.. I can guarantee you the #1 use for this technology would be porn.

Oh come on! That's what the said about the internet... wait a minute...

Yep, there is sure to be a high degree of self gratification uses for devices that allow one to basically experience anything they want. I say so what? Let people play in whatever virtual realm they choose.

Conduit Wrote:...and an even better training tool. It would also be the torture device to end all torture devices.

Yep - there could be ALL sorts of bad uses for things like this.

Again ANY new technology that benefits human kind can also be turned around to damage it. I think its safe to say that devices like this could do as much harm as they could do good. I'm one of those "let us all reap the benefits of this great technology and punish those who would use it to harm others" kind of guys.

I don't fear technology - I EMBRACE it and LOVE it. I think it's safe to say you all do too (it's a trait common among TRON fans, I believe). I can appreciate concerns about such technologies though.

I've seen all the sci-fi moves where AI turns on its creator (man) and becomes evil and where people's brains become slaves to the machine that controls it, etc. They're fun pieces of entertainment and enjoyable to watch. But I don't believe for a second that they actually reflect the future. Nope - I see all kinds of GREAT things to come in the years ahead - things that will benefit us all and make life that much more enjoyable and perhaps even more meaningful. My worst feeling abuot all of this is that those who fear technology and fear what the "bad guys" will do with it, will try to prevent the technology from existing. The evolution of technology cannot be stopped, but it can be slowed down. PLEASE - don't slow it down! I've only got so much time on this planet and I want to experience all these cool things yet to come!

That's how I see it anyway.

Todd, I don't think I made myself clear. Sorry, I started the post with the torture thing and got new concerns in the middle of the post. Hopefully this voices my concerns better. Reread the second paragraph of my previous post, especially the part about not expecting this to come in the next 200 years. Here's the article I got that quote from: http://www.johnhorgan.org/work16.htm. Just because you can manipulate neurons doesn't mean you can automatically cause specific experiences.

It would, however be possible to create a bunch of random signals inside your brain as soon as they got it to work, maybe even corrupting parts permanently. It would surely be possible to scramble someone's memory. You would have a device that could possibly be used for a good thing in 2 centuries, but could now only be used for bad.

If there was a miracle and they somehow managed to program it in a way that actually works, you'd have to be really careful while using it. If you move your head in the slightest, suddenly the ultrasonic pulses are hitting a completely different part of your brain. Then there's the concern of bugs. Do you really want your game system to be able to mess up your brain?

That's if they can get the hardware part of the equation working. According to this article: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12780383-13762,00.html, they aren't building it. They called it a "prophetic invention" It's simply a theory, nothing more.

My worst feeling abuot all of this is that those who fear technology and fear what the "bad guys" will do with it, will try to prevent the technology from existing. The evolution of technology cannot be stopped, but it can be slowed down. PLEASE - don't slow it down!

Relax, I'm not going to bomb Sony's headquarters or anything. I'm not going to organize a huge protest either. If this technology, against all odds, is going to come out anytime soon, I'm not going to try to affect it in the slightest.

If you want, I could stop discussing whether this sort of thing could happen within our lifetimes and start discussing what would happen if it did. I think that was the original intent of the thread anyway.