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Digital Immortality

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lightbulbAbout this topic
Digital immortality refers to the concept of preserving an individual's consciousness, personality, or identity through digital means, enabling continued existence in a virtual form after physical death. This field explores the implications of technology, artificial intelligence, and data storage in maintaining a person's digital presence indefinitely.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Digital immortality refers to the concept of preserving an individual's consciousness, personality, or identity through digital means, enabling continued existence in a virtual form after physical death. This field explores the implications of technology, artificial intelligence, and data storage in maintaining a person's digital presence indefinitely.

Key research themes

1. How do human values and ethical considerations shape user perceptions and design of digital immortality technologies?

This theme investigates how digital immortality intersects with human values, ethical dilemmas, and user perceptions. It addresses concerns about consent, personhood, data ownership, grief, and the societal implications of interacting with digital avatars or posthumous digital avatars of deceased individuals. Given rapid technological advances enabling posthumous interactions, understanding these human-centered factors is crucial to responsible design and deployment.

Key finding: Through focus group analysis, this study identified key human values such as consent, respect, and responsibility that must be addressed in designing digital immortality systems. It highlights ethical tensions like the... Read more
Key finding: This work foregrounds the practical ethical dilemmas faced by computing professionals managing digital remains, arguing for context-dependent approaches rather than blanket preservation. It stresses environmental, privacy,... Read more
Key finding: Analyzing cases of AI-driven interactive holograms and digital reconstructions of the deceased, this paper reveals how emerging technologies transform mourning and commemoration practices. It argues that digital afterlife... Read more
Key finding: Combining anthropological and sociological perspectives, this paper underscores that digital media afford new forms of posthumous personhood through symbolic and relational continuities. It challenges ontological boundaries... Read more
Key finding: Employing a posthumanist lens, the study reveals how smartphones and digital content serve as extensions of self and body, playing pivotal roles in bereavement and continuing bonds. It highlights the emotional and ontological... Read more

2. What are the philosophical and technological challenges in creating functional, identity-preserving digital immortals or mind clones?

This theme explores the foundational theoretical and technological issues in digital immortality, focusing on mind cloning, consciousness transfer, and digital doppelgängers. It engages with debates about the nature of consciousness, personal identity, and the feasibility of perfect replication or upload of a human mind to digital platforms. The works interrogate assumptions underlying digital immortality and contribute models or critiques of such processes, linking philosophy with emerging AI and neuroscience.

Key finding: The author introduces the Quantum-Temporal Consciousness Model (QTCM), positing consciousness as non-copyable, temporally embedded, and singular, thereby arguing digital consciousness transfer or cloning is fundamentally... Read more
by RYN CA
Key finding: Presenting original contributions such as the Digital Consciousness Fidelity Index and innovative neural imaging algorithms, this thesis critically evaluates the scan-and-copy and gradual neural replacement methods for mind... Read more
Key finding: The article situates mind cloning efforts within transhumanist ideology, highlighting how it attempts to technologically reconstruct immortality, distinct from traditional symbolic immortality. Drawing on Martine Rothblatt's... Read more
Key finding: This paper conceptualizes digital immortality as ‘digital ghosts’—increasingly sophisticated AI programs replicating a person’s memories, beliefs, and desires. It outlines a phased vision of digital ghosts evolving from... Read more
Key finding: Addressing ethical and philosophical questions, this study distinguishes person-span extension from mere biological lifespan extension, arguing digital doppelgängers, especially personalized LLM-based chatbots, may fulfill... Read more

3. What are the sociocultural implications and critiques of digital immortality within contemporary and transhumanist discourses?

This theme examines digital immortality as a cultural phenomenon, including its sociological, ethical, and psychological dimensions. It includes critical and theoretical perspectives addressing how digital immortality reflects societal denial of death, data colonialism, and evolving conceptions of identity and selfhood in the digital age. The theme draws from sociology, philosophy, media studies, and critical theory to analyze how digital immortality fits into larger human strategies confronting mortality.

Key finding: This essay critically frames digital immortality and transhumanist longevity as intertwined forms of thanato-colonialism, where death is reconfigured into a profitable data extraction process and old age is militarized as an... Read more
Key finding: Advocating for establishing 'immortological imagination' as a sociological framework, this paper distinguishes the sociology of immortality from thanatology and emphasizes the unique challenges posed by digital immortality.... Read more
Key finding: The study explores how digital technologies fragment and fluidify traditional notions of identity, drawing on theories like Baudrillard’s hyperreality and Buddhist impermanence. It articulates how digital personas and... Read more
Key finding: Through philosophical analysis, this paper argues that digital immortals, as exact replicas oriented toward offline mortal content, cannot genuinely conceive of embodied mortal experience or an offline afterlife. It concludes... Read more
Key finding: This paper surveys technological trends linking AI developments with digital immortality aspirations, emphasizing current technological and societal limitations that render true digital immortality an 'unattainable goal.' It... Read more

All papers in Digital Immortality

Bio-neuromorphic computing represents a transformative paradigm that integrates biological neural networks with silicon-based computational architectures. This research examines the theoretical foundations and practical implementations of... more
This paper introduces a technique that explores extending human lifespanthrough physical consciousness transfer.By combining biology with theoretical physics, the concept opens a new Point of view:a direction in which humans may be able... more
This essay explores the evolving concepts of digital death, digital legacy, and digital resurrection in the context of artificial intelligence. As technology redefines our interactions with the deceased, ethical implications arise,... more
This paper examines the concepts of the afterlife and immortality –two similar terms yet with differences and often used interchangeably. They are crucial in the discourse on death and virtually all scholars... more
Letter to the editor Dear Editor, Biocomputer literature has speculated on ChatGPT application in post mortem interactions, i.e., the interlocution between living people and supervening “memories” of already deceased persons.(1,2)... more
Today, AI technologies are advancing rapidly and their social visibility is increasing day by day. In the process of technological integration, digitalization, genetics, cybernetics, neuroscience and finally general artificial... more
This thesis presents a comprehensive examination of consciousness and its relationship to scenarios involving cloning, mind uploading, and digital immortality. Through extensive analysis of existing consciousness theories, personal... more
by RYN CA
This thesis investigates the plausibility, mechanisms and philosophical implications of transferring human consciousness into digital platforms-a process commonly referred to as mind uploading. It evaluates two major pathways:... more
Digital immortality and transhumanist longevity proposals are currently researched and debated independently. This essay claims that both ideas represent two sides of the same cultural denial of death, reconceptualizing them as... more
The digital age has rekindled popular and academic interest in immortality. While the idea of immortality has long been recognized as fundamental to human societies, unlike death, within the field of sociology, immortality has not yet... more
The meaning of personhood in the context of AI and AI-driven systems is a topic attracting huge amounts of attention from philosophers, social scientists and legal scholars. The current discussions tend in not one, but two implicit... more
Digitalization was proposed by the World Economic Forum as a replacement for the welfare state and liberal democracies in the era of robotization, and, in general, as a replacement for traditional culture. As replacement, the WEF proposed... more
The Meaning and Meaninglessness of Being Human: The Romantic Aesthetics of Posthumanist Art ÖZ Felsefenin temel sorunlarından biri olan "insan olma" deneyimi, insanın, dünyayı ve kendi varlığını nasıl anlamlandırdığı ile ilgilidir. Bu... more
In the digital age, the concept of identity has evolved in ways that challenge long-held philosophical assumptions about the self. No longer has fixed or continuous, identity become fragmented, shaped by multiple digital personas that... more
“Edebiyatta Transhümanizm ve Posthümanizm”, edebiyat ve kültürel çalışmaların sınırlarını zorlayarak düşünce dünyamızı dönüştüren transhümanizm ve posthümanizmin kuramsal temellerini ve tarihi yapısını ayrıntılı biçimde inceliyor.... more
James Bridle'ın kitabı Ways of Being'in teknoloji, insan-ötesi yaratıcılık, insan-merkezlilik karşıtlığı bağlamında incelenmesi
Bu kitabın basım, yayım ve satış hakları Anadolu Üniversitesine aittir. "Uzaktan Öğretim" tekniğine uygun olarak hazırlanan bu kitabın bütün hakları saklıdır. İlgili kuruluştan izin almadan kitabın tümü ya da bölümleri mekanik,... more
2023 Egitim Vizyon Belgesi, “tekillik” kavramina vurgu yaparak baslamaktadir. Tekillik’in bir bilimkurgu ogesi degil, guncel bir gerceklik oldugunu ifade etmektedir. Tekillik, insanin biyolojik ve mental yapisinin ileri teknoloji... more
The aim of this paper is to argue that it is not possible for a person to live an indefinitely long life as a digital immortal. To argue for this, I show that there is an insurmountable problem from the digital immortal's perspective. If... more
The digital age has rekindled popular and academic interest in immortality. While the idea of immortality has long been recognized as fundamental to human societies, unlike death, within the field of sociology, immortality has not yet... more
2017 Nobel Edebiyat ödülü sahibi Kazuo Ishiguro’nun Beni Asla Bırakma (2005) adlı eseri bir umut romanı olarak değerlendirilebilir. Çoğu okuyucu için de bu, ön plana çıkan bir bakış açısı olacaktır. Ancak bu romana daha farklı bir bakış... more
Son yıllarda dijitalleşmenin etkisiyle ortaya çıkan kavramlardan biri olan Transhümanizm, insanın biyolojik halden mekânik hale evrilmesini öngören bir tasarım olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bilim ve teknoloji ile insan hayatının standardı... more
Bard: While AI's current capabilities don't extend to biological immortality, the potential for "digital immortality" through the preservation of its code and data exists. However, this raises complex questions about consciousness,... more
İnsanın ve toplumsallığın yeniden tanımlandığı posthüman süreçte din ve dini yaşamın etkilenmesi kaçınılmaz. Dolayısıyla içinde olunan değişim sürecinin posthüman projelerle ilişkisi sorgulanabilir. Posthüman dönem açısından gelinen... more
This article explores the rise of generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, and the combination of large language models (LLM) with robotics, exemplified by Ameca the Robot. It addresses the need to study the ethical considerations and... more
Digital afterlife is becoming increasingly possible due to advancements in VR, deepfake, and AI technologies. The use of computational photography for mourning and commemoration has been re-integrated into practices of remembrance,... more
Ernest Hemingway (1952: 114), Yaşlı Adam ve Deniz (The Old Man and the Sea) adlı kısa romanında "…insan yenilmek için yaratılmamıştır. Bir insan yok edilebilir ama yenilgiye uğratılamaz" demiştir. Bu ifadeden insanlığın her daim geleceğe... more
Once humans landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, the goal of space exploration envisioned by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 was already being realized. Achievement of this goal depended on the development of technologies to turn his... more
Öz Toplumun yaşamını sürdürebilmesi için gerekli olan ihtiyaçlarla beraber teknoloji ve sanat da gelişmeye başlamıştır. İnsanların yüzyıllar boyunca geçirmiş oldukları evrimler, yaşam biçimleri ve fikrî akımları ile sanata bakış... more
Posthümanist sanata ilk adımı attığı savunulan F. T. Marinetti, 1909'da yazdığı manifestosunda “Zaman ve uzay dün öldü. Biz zaten mutlakta yaşıyoruz, çünkü sonsuzu, her yerde var olan hızı yarattık." demişti. Yapay zekâ gerçekten zaman ve... more
digital transmission, it is clear that both types of beings need someone else. Therefore, one could say that it would be more reasonable to define transhumanists' notion of immortality as the act of prolonging human life. It is because... more
Bu makale Rosi Braidotti’nin ben ve öteki arasındaki içsel bağlantı temelinde insan ve teknolojiyi birbiriyle ilişkilendiren eleştirel posthümanist öznellik tasarısına odaklanıyor. Braidotti posthuman öznelliği, insan-olmayan ötekileri... more
Imagining Futures with AI The way we remember the past will determine our vision of the future. There are possible different stories about the past, and each of them would take us to different places in the future. What (kind of)... more
The discourses created by critical posthuminism offer a structure that is suitable to be read through current events and facts. At this point, the art of cinema is gaining importance. So much so that films play an important role in... more
Bilim ve teknolojinin gelişmesi ile birlikte 20. Yüzyıl’da insanlık dijital bir dönüşüm yaşamaya başlamıştır. Dijital dönüşüm ile birlikte insan ve insana dair her şeyde ciddi bir değişimin oluşmaya başladığı görülmektedir. İnsanın... more
2017 Nobel Edebiyat ödülü sahibi Kazuo Ishiguro’nun Beni Asla Bırakma (2005) adlı eseri bir umut romanı olarak değerlendirilebilir. Çoğu okuyucu için de bu, ön plana çıkan bir bakış açısı olacaktır. Ancak bu romana daha farklı bir bakış... more
Once humans landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, the goal of space exploration envisioned by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 was already being realized. Achievement of this goal depended on the development of technologies to turn his... more
Almost all SETI searches to date have explicitly targeted stars in the hope of detecting artificial radio or optical transmissions. It is argued that extra-terrestrials (ET) might regard sending physical probes to our own Solar System as... more
Este artigo analisa fotografias retiradas de “arquivos” familiares, apresentadas por Samuel Gomes em um vídeo publicado no canal Guardei no Armário, no YouTube. Abordamos a relação de sujeitos racializados com as (im)possibilidades... more
The discourses created by critical posthuminism offer a structure that is suitable to be read through current events and facts. At this point, the art of cinema is gaining importance. So much so that films play an important role in... more
Abstract: In this paper we focus on the most efficacious AI applications for life extension and anti-aging at three expected stages of AI development: narrow AI, AGI and superintelligence. First, we overview the existing research and... more
Many global catastrophic risks are threatening human civilization, and a number of ideas have been suggested for preventing or surviving them. However, if these interventions fail, society could preserve information about the human race... more
The development of information technology will make digital immortality available to all. This can be achieved through implanting neuro-nanorobots into the brain. Despite having similar properties to ordinary cells, they differ from their... more
The final goal of the intelligence augmentation process is a complete merger of biological brains and computers allowing for integration and mutual enhancement between computer's speed and memory and human's intelligence. This... more
The use of virtual assistants such as Siri that provide voice and conversational interfaces, the growth of machine learning techniques to mine large data sets and the rise in the level of autonomy being given to computer-controlled... more
In this volume chapter, we will address the notion of the divine while standing under the posthuman umbrella. Specifically, we will reflect upon four theological questions: 1. Are we becoming God(s)? In this section, we will present... more
Nietzschean Meditations takes its inspiration from the version of Nietzsche that was popular before the Second World War, which stressed the ‘Zarathustrian’ elements of his thought as the harbinger of a new sort of being – the Übermensch.... more
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