British Telcom funds DALEKS

Sheldon Klein (sklein@CS.WISC.EDU)
Thu, 18 Jul 1996 18:02:38 -0500

This appears to be a BORG/DALEK approach to the problem of human consciousness.
[Strong AI people, in contrast, would do it all with hardware]:

" SCIENTISTS FORESEE HUMAN MEMORY CHIP IN 30 YEARS "
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SOURCE:
Copyright &copy 1996 Nando.net
Copyright &copy 1996 Reuter Information Service

> LONDON (Jul 18, 1996 10:29 a.m. EDT) - British scientists said on
> Thursday they believed a memory chip that can preserve a person's
> thoughts and experiences would be available in less than 30 years.
> The "Soul-Catcher" memory chip would be connected to the optical nerve
> in the eye and would store memory and sensual sensations such as
> smell, sights and sounds in the form of neuron pulses in the brain
> that can later be downloaded into a computer.
>
> People would then be able to relive their own experiences or their
> memories could be transferred to another person's brain.
>
> "This is the end of death -- immortality in the truest sense," Dr
> Chris Winter, head of British Telecom's artificial life team that
> developed the device, told reporters.
>
> "By combining this information with a record of a person's genes, we
> could recreate a person physically, emotionally and spiritually."
>
...

> BT has invested 20 million pounds ($31 million) in the project.