Imagine a future where your mind could be scanned and uploaded. Though we are far from achieving this goal, scientists have pondered the idea of mind uploading for many years. How could it be done? The first place to start is by studying the human brain. The human brain has at roughly 86 billion neurons and each are connected by at least a trillion synapses. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of different types of synapses, or connections, and each functions in a slightly different way. Regardless of the synapse type, all of these connections would need to be mapped out in a person’s mind. But currently, our understanding of the human brain isn’t as advanced yet. Scientists can accurately scan a person’s brain with resolutions of half a millimeter using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); however, to detect a synapse, scientists would need to scan at a resolution of a thousandth of a millimeter. Unfortunately, the kind of technology needed to safely scan a person’s brain without frying the brain tissues does not exist yet. The next challenge would be to recreate the information digitally. For this to happen, computing power and storage would be needed, two things that are continually developing and improving each year. The last challenge would be to ensure that all the necessary information would be accurately captured. But even with current technology and science, it’s still not enough. Even if mind uploading were achieved, there would still be ethical and philosophical matters to consider. The real question is not whether mind-uploading technology can be developed, but rather, should it be developed.
