NationStates Jolt Archive

It hit me while watching videos on Youtube. What if we could download memories straight into the brain as if we where the people who experienced the events instead of just watching it on the TV/web. What effect would it have on your life and on society at large?

My first thought is that I would only use it to share experiences with friends and family but on second thought I would find an interesting must have memory online, then another one and another one. I'd mainly download experiences I couldn't afford or dare to do myself and life in other cultures. I'd end up putting in just enough effort to survive and spend the rest of the time downloading memories instead of living. If a large portion of the population would do the same the economy would collapse but it would collapse anyway from people downloading memories of stuff instead of buying the stuff.

I think people would have to spend a lot of time downloading memories of going through educations or be left far behind those who do.

Some people would download memories of committing robbery, murder, rape and other crimes, I doubt they'd be punished since they didn't do it themselves but it doesn't seem right that they'd get away with it.

Personal identity and the borders between individuals would blur, it wouldn't be clear who is who if people share most memories with close friends and download memories from a lot of different people. For example one odd possibility is remembering yourself as a separate person by downloading memories of people talking to yourself or doing other things with yourself.

It's an interesting idea, unfortunately the only way it could work would for a person to be wearing a recording device capturing their experience of the events at the time (so not really downloading actual memories, and yes, this was the plot of a sci-fi film). Why? Because our memory system is not a video recorder. When we recall memories, we reconstruct them based on not only the information we store about a specific event, but also out scripts of how such situations should work (eg, if the memory was of you in your local coffee shop, you would recall the script of what that coffee shop *usually* looks like, what sort of general people are then, what interactions would take place... ) and integration of information you have gained at a later date (look up Loftus for example for some very interesting papers on this in relation to eye witness testimony).

So... nice idea, but even if we had a way of downloading our recall of events, they are unlikley to be accurate representations of the actions

I know kung-fu!


















Sorry... I couldn't resist.

There was also a movie called 'Strange Days' where such a technology played a critical role.

And a movie starring Christopher Walken called Brainstorm. *nod*

interesting.
I think total Recall did something along those lines with the usual macho man 'quade'.

In theory this could work, as people have been proven to make up false memories to justify what they have done.
I think Freud did some experiments with split-brain patients, testing the link between the left and right sides of the brain.]

EDIT; I suppose your imagination is a kind of make-up memory idea already which usually shows your ideal situations. Why bother downloading memories when it's potentially dangerous. mind you it would be useful for passing tests and such, for information you really need to know, might infringe on civil rights though.

Nope not for me.

You left the "I wouldn't do it" option off your poll.

I am made up of my experiences and beliefs. If I want a memory of doing something, I will do it myself.

And what about downloading the experience of sex and saying you're staying a virgin until marriage. Things like that would be dishonest. (Because usually the point of waiting until marriage is to have that first experience with your spouse.) I'm sure there are other examples, but I think I'm gonna go take a shower before I go to class.

The question here is are these actual memories, in which case some device must be able to rip out the events in mind from the brain, or are they advanced recording systems that record the mental state, sensations and thoughts at the time of its activation?

If the former, it's likely that half those memories would be pure fantasies, which could make for some interesting 'memory' downloads that wouldn't be possible in real life. All it would take is people with vivid and detailed imaginations.

If the latter, it would be in effect a system of total recall. Certainly less options for fantasies becoming fake realities, but at the same time raising a fair number of ethical questions. Especially in terms of identity. Memories are what more or less give form to the sense of self. If a person overloads too much on someone else's memories, would that person become whoever he downloaded the memories from?

Possibly a dangerous tool. Most likely a military elite's dream come true since he can load combat experience from one seed veteran to any number of recruits.

Or when expanded, probably a nightmare to those in the education field, since nobody would need to be taught when memories of lessons can be downloaded.

Some people would download memories of committing robbery, murder, rape and other crimes, I doubt they'd be punished since they didn't do it themselves but it doesn't seem right that they'd get away with it.Videos of rape and murder are illegal to poses and trade, so I don't see an exception being made for downloadable memories.

I imagine One night in Paris would be doing the rounds again

"I'd end up putting in just enough effort to survive and spend the rest of the time downloading memories instead of living. "

but when you donwload a memory and becomes your own, it is you who did that - same if your body did it and you remember it from your "own" experience.
Body experience is nothing without mind behind it. For example you could have flew the plane but slept throughout it (whole time) - did you fly at all?

Same as if you download and make your own memory of murder/rape - it is your own hence you id it.

If you only watch it as reported I would make distinctions, but lines are very hard to draw - a very big gray area.

If only we could...:p
*sighs, dreaming*

If I am not me, den who da hell am I?


It's Ahh-nUHld time, bitches!

what makes you think your not already living through someones memories? ;)

if such a thing was available I would use it like a to-do list so I don't forget :p

if such a thing was available I would use it like a to-do list so I don't forget :p

Stick the grocery list in your long-term memory; sounds effective.

I think I'd use it for educational purposes only. Probably do it for some engineering field, or something.

Stick the grocery list in your long-term memory; sounds effective.

but I don't really trust my long term either...

if only I could put it permanently onto something so I could have it in case I forget :confused:

I think I'd use it for educational purposes only. Probably do it for some engineering field, or something.

your going to use this magical technology to be bored?

I think I'd use it for educational purposes only. Probably do it for some engineering field, or something.

On that vein, I could finally get around to doing that how-to tutorial for a project I've been working on. Right now, building it from scratch so I can make a video tutorial is a bit too time consuming.

I would download all the engineering knowledge I could ever possibly need. It would make classes much easier. ;)
Beyond that, I would probalby download from close friends and family. I would also download memories from those from different walks of life. I mean all over, not any one group in particular. My world view could stand a little improvement.

You left the "I wouldn't do it" option off your poll.

I am made up of my experiences and beliefs. If I want a memory of doing something, I will do it myself.

And what about downloading the experience of sex and saying you're staying a virgin until marriage. Things like that would be dishonest. (Because usually the point of waiting until marriage is to have that first experience with your spouse.) I'm sure there are other examples, but I think I'm gonna go take a shower before I go to class.
Oops, sorry. First I was going to do a "How much would you download?" poll but then changed my mind and figured it was more interesting to know how popular different kinds of memories would be. I forgot about the "I wouldn't do it." option when trying to come up with categories.

Waiting with downloading porn memories until after getting married could be considered cheating. There'd also be stalkers who remember being in love with people they've never met and seek out those people.

Along that line it could get pretty confusing. If Tony downloads childhood memories from Larry and then meets Larry's twin brother Harry who has downloaded memories from Tony's ex Sally before they broke up. Now Tony remembers being Harry's brother while Harry remembers being Tony's girlfriend.

I wouldn't ever download stuff directly into my memory. It'd mess with it and my brain does that just fine by itself.

It'd be awesome to have the data, though, to rip apart and analyse. You could get it to filter the memories and upload a digest to play during maybe an hour of your sleep each night, and learn things that way. Speaking of sleep, dreams would be a great thing to record, play back and share, especially the really visceral ones. The way the brain works, though, I doubt dreams and complex things such as comprehension and association could be adequately recorded, leaving you with as Eofaerwic said just sensory input which would be pretty pointless.

what makes you think your not already living through someones memories? ;)

Awwww damn, now I'm spooked!:eek:

After all, it's the ultimate fear, what's going on in someone else's head?

Please, this is spooky. And I'm a wuzz.:D

Would we want to remember things though?

After all, it's the ultimate fear, what's going on in someone else's head?

interesting.
I think total Recall did something along those lines with the usual macho man 'quade'.

"We can remember it for you wholesale" the short story by Philip K. Dick that they based the movie on was better. Among other things Quade wasn't the usual macho man.

Ann Frank's Diary would probably be even more boring, and then even more sad.

I'm surprised nobody put "other people's memories opf their passwords"...

Personal identity and the borders between individuals would blur, it wouldn't be clear who is who if people share most memories with close friends and download memories from a lot of different people.
Larry Niven had that in one of his stories: a man makes contact with a telepathic alien, and starts thinking he IS the alien. Well of course, now he has two complete sets of memories, but one of those sets of memories includes the frequent experience of having to sort out who you are when you get overwhelmed with a double set of memories, and the other doesn't, so clearly, the alien memories were "his".

if only I could put it permanently onto something so I could have it in case I forget
Get a "2 pints of semi-skimmed and a loaf of wholemeal" tat on the back of your left hand :)

This whole concept is a dead horse! Let's beat it summore!

First, who likes school? Nobody. With downloadable memories, it could be done away with. At birth, when a person's mind is most malleable, you just download the memories, and presto! Functional member of society.

Okay, so everybody possesses the sum total of human knowledge. What now? Let's keep sharing memories. So, as with the previous example of Tom and Harry, they probably downloaded one another's memories as well at some point, therefore, Tom = Harry. And therefore, Tom = Harry = Joe = Mary = James = everybody. Basically, society would become some degree of a hivemind. There's actually a really cool Arthur C. Clarke short story about this. I think it's called Travel by Wire II.

Interesting thought about the hivemind: what would happen with social deviants? Would they effectively be "bad cells?" What would hive-society do with them? Disconnect them with the network?

Sorry for the long post, but it's a cool topic.
Zalanicia

I think people should ONLY be allowed to download basic scientific knowledge (history, geography, math, physics, chemistry, biology). I'd keep literature out 'cause I believe the medium (e.g book, movie etc) to be part of the art. This way, the children could spend their time learning more important stuff like human and religious sciences and have more fun.
I think the use of this technology (this way) would be a great plus because we've accumulated a lot of scientific knowledge that takes time to learn and we're getting more specialized in certain domains and forgetting the big picture.
And why don't we use it for other stuff ? Because it's messy, dangerous and not worth it. Messy because in a certain way memories are what makes you, you and if you're playing with that, well...while you could always reformat your computer if something goes wrong, I doubt you could do the same with your brain and even if you did, you'd end up with a zombie version of your self :).
Witch leads us to the dangerous part since this tech could also be used for brainwashing in a military violent way or a more devious commercial way (if you're worried about subliminal messages in ads wait till you see this). Finally, I believe downloaded experiences and memories could never equal the real thing because even if you could relive other people's memories in a lively, fresh manner not blurry or altered (like our own memories are usually), you'll always be just a spectator, no interaction (not cool).
On the other hand, a more matrix version of this tech, where you could download only basic info (I know jujitsu) and experience a virtual world of your liking (construct) is a nicer and cooler technology but I'd make it mandatory for construct programmers to add a repeating message (every 10 min) reminding the user that it's a virtual world :)
OMG that's a long post :D

No romance
Porn only
Final Destination

"We can remember it for you wholesale" the short story by Philip K. Dick that they based the movie on was better. Among other things Quade wasn't the usual macho man.

I was meaning Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As for what should downloadable memories be used for?
In reality only to help those who have learning difficulties. Other than that nothing, far too dangerous and freaky.

I imagine One night in Paris would be doing the rounds again
Is that the one Jimmy Fallon goes on about with "double occupancy", "back entrance" and such?
Oh, and i suspect porn is only slightly more popular than people might admit.

It would be one hell of a profitable market, that's for sure. People are willing to pay a lot of money for that sort of thing.

It would be one hell of a profitable market, that's for sure. People are willing to pay a lot of money for that sort of thing.
Translated: "pr0n."
*insert appropriate Kyronea sig here*

It hit me while watching videos on Youtube. What if we could download memories straight into the brain as if we where the people who experienced the events instead of just watching it on the TV/web. What effect would it have on your life and on society at large?

My first thought is that I would only use it to share experiences with friends and family but on second thought I would find an interesting must have memory online, then another one and another one. I'd mainly download experiences I couldn't afford or dare to do myself and life in other cultures. I'd end up putting in just enough effort to survive and spend the rest of the time downloading memories instead of living. If a large portion of the population would do the same the economy would collapse but it would collapse anyway from people downloading memories of stuff instead of buying the stuff.

I think people would have to spend a lot of time downloading memories of going through educations or be left far behind those who do.

Some people would download memories of committing robbery, murder, rape and other crimes, I doubt they'd be punished since they didn't do it themselves but it doesn't seem right that they'd get away with it.

Personal identity and the borders between individuals would blur, it wouldn't be clear who is who if people share most memories with close friends and download memories from a lot of different people. For example one odd possibility is remembering yourself as a separate person by downloading memories of people talking to yourself or doing other things with yourself.

People aren't taking this thread seriously, but they should, because this WILL happen, and within the lifetimes of the vast majority of people reading this thread. Human-computer interfaces are constantly improving, and people share information from them over the Internet to the highest technological extent possible. The brain, and thought architecture will become a new artistic canvas as we share the construction of our thoughts and whole of our beings. Individuality will become (is becoming) eroded as thoughts become shared memes, and our minds will become cells of a larger organism with patterns of thoughts moving across its virtual landscape. Each thought may be complex or simple, but what of the overall pattern? Whence will come direction to the metamind, should any come at all? Unless it is evolved to a purpose, forged into a new metasociety, it won't. Like an isolated infant's mind, it will not develop, but will merely assimilate and eat out our essence as the heir of society's current arcane governing complex, unintelligent systems. And as we wipe our minds like slates to serve as automata for the machine, so will end not only the era of humanity, but also our era of intelligence, until the system may fracture and it evolves again in different form. This Singularity event is the sea change of all sea changes, the end of history, our collective doom, the doom to a mindless collectivization forced by the uncaring economics of a ubiquitously technological society at its zenith, it's omega point. Woe is all. Pray to your non-existent gods in futile denial. Mourn for humanity and its many hosts. Mourn for yourselves, but most of all, pity the children, for hope is wasted on them all.

Strange Days indeed.

for me it would be all about how to. a lot of things.
of course experience has shown that learning by vicarious experiencing still needs hands of lab work to 'fix' the ability, just as any other form of learning.

as entertainment for me it would mostly be travellogs, and living the lives of certain creatures such as certain wild carnivours and a few strainger beasties.

believe it or not, this very subject HAS been written about, a number of times, and some very excellent stories has come out of it.

there was one where the research time inventing the tecnology, they were applying it to wildlife adventures first, kept getting interference when trying to record from human minds, that turned out to be someone doing insider trading, but it got better and they ended up foiling a raciest supremist plot by inadvertantly catching one of the plotters killing an other race cop, which would otherwise have been gotten away with.

that's one story of this sort that stands out in my mind. i think it was in analog a couple of years ago. sometime within the last decade or so.

there was a fact article speculating as to the bandwidth and storage requirements. i'd love to be able to interface with something like maya or blender and live record some of my dreams that way.

anyway there's been a bunch of stories along that line that i've read.

oh, i think the premise behind phillip k dick's "we can remember it for you wholesale" implied something a little like that, only in the other direction.
that's the story "total recal" with aaaahney was based upon.

but as for what i'd do; what i'd be interested in downloading from someone else, would be mostly seeing other places they've gone that i haven't.

creating and exploring are what i live for, so besides that of course, on the educational side there's a lot of creative things i'd like to be able to experience some doing, like how to tie five eggs and stuff like that.

=^^=
.../\...

Is that the one Jimmy Fallon goes on about with "double occupancy", "back entrance" and such?
Oh, and i suspect porn is only slightly more popular than people might admit.

No idea as I have never seen it. I was just assuming that lots of people would download the memories of some pointless celeb.

Witch leads us to the dangerous part since this tech could also be used for brainwashing in a military violent way or a more devious commercial way (if you're worried about subliminal messages in ads wait till you see this).
I'm more worried about the inevitable "Neural Rights Management." No Sony, you cannot install a rootkit in my brain...

People aren't taking this thread seriously, but they should, because this WILL happen, and within the lifetimes of the vast majority of people reading this thread.
Human-computer interfaces are constantly improving, and people share information from them over the Internet to the highest technological extent possible.
The brain, and thought architecture will become a new artistic canvas as we share the construction of our thoughts and whole of our beings.
Individuality will become (is becoming) eroded as thoughts become shared memes, and our minds will become cells of a larger organism with patterns of thoughts moving across its virtual landscape.
Each thought may be complex or simple, but what of the overall pattern? Whence will come direction to the metamind, should any come at all? Unless it is evolved to a purpose, forged into a new metasociety, it won't.
Like an isolated infant's mind, it will not develop, but will merely assimilate and eat out our essence as the heir of society's current arcane governing complex, unintelligent systems.
And as we wipe our minds like slates to serve as automata for the machine, so will end not only the era of humanity, but also our era of intelligence, until the system may fracture and it evolves again in different form.
This Singularity event is the sea change of all sea changes, the end of history, our collective doom, the doom to a mindless collectivization forced by the uncaring economics of a ubiquitously technological society at its zenith, it's omega point. Woe is all.
Pray to your non-existent gods in futile denial. Mourn for humanity and its many hosts. Mourn for yourselves, but most of all, pity the children, for hope is wasted on them all.

Are you always this cheerful?
Have you got evidence to prove that this is going to happen in any of our lifetimes?
How exactly would this be implemented?
I don't see how it can be used by any government.
That's providing it did really work.
A metamind? Riiiight okay, that seems pretty unrealistic, but maybe i'm being a bit harsh here.
Without evidence my points stand, and your doomspeech would be meaningless.
you could argue we all already copy all of each others ideas anyway, you wouldn't need a special machine to download information, i mean what kind of machine could hold enough information on one topic? and allow that to be applied to all people, just not even remotely possible in our lifetimes.
However maybe in a distant future a few thousand years ahead this may happen, but for now just deal with what you've got.

... but they should, because this WILL happen, and within the lifetimes of the vast majority of people reading this thread. Human-computer interfaces are constantly improving, and people share information from them over the Internet to the highest technological extent possible...

I will acknowledge that we are on the verge of some amazing new technologies, but memory transmission? In MY lifetime?! I doubt it.

Granted, interface devices are becoming far more sophisticated; I saw some PBS special about a monkey with a chip in his head that he used to play a video game (Without touching anything. A telekinetic monkey). Such a technology, however, would require far more than interfaces. In my lifetime, I can see MAYBE images broadcast directly to our heads or retinas, or whatever.

Actual memory transmission, however, would require a far more sophisticated understanding of the human brain that we have. The brain is essentially the final frontier of Anatomy. We can come nowhere near to replicating it.

Then I ask, how would we store memories? Your brain does not read ones and zeros, and cannot be programmed with source code. It can't scan C. Anything "memory" that you recorded with your brain would essentially be impossible to create in anything but another brain, but impossible to stream. What kind of format would it be?

It's an interesting topic, yes. Do I need to take it seriously? No.

I know kung-fu!


















Sorry... I couldn't resist.

That would be AWESOME...

I'm downloading Chinese...and Kung Fu

It's an interesting idea, unfortunately the only way it could work would for a person to be wearing a recording device capturing their experience of the events at the time (so not really downloading actual memories, and yes, this was the plot of a sci-fi film). Why? Because our memory system is not a video recorder. When we recall memories, we reconstruct them based on not only the information we store about a specific event, but also out scripts of how such situations should work (eg, if the memory was of you in your local coffee shop, you would recall the script of what that coffee shop *usually* looks like, what sort of general people are then, what interactions would take place... ) and integration of information you have gained at a later date (look up Loftus for example for some very interesting papers on this in relation to eye witness testimony).

So... nice idea, but even if we had a way of downloading our recall of events, they are unlikley to be accurate representations of the actions

Here's a proposal:

-Direct electronic output to visuo-spatial sketchpad and sensory lobes.
-Code translator to change electronic code in to brain and sensor signals.
-Feedback input from conscious mind (possibly prefontal cortex) to signal for additional, less, or different angled information.
-Secondary radio/cable input to download events from elsewhere.
-Implanted electronic storage.

By avoiding the memory altogether and instead going straight to sensory sensation, and then using the conscious mind to input signals for more, less, or differently viewed information, it is conceivable that you could indeed "Download" memories, but they would be downloaded to the memory of something other then your physical brain and merely instantiated at requested moments.

Of course, this might not work for a number of reasons, but perhaps the biggest is the "playing god" involved in surgically inserting electronic parts in to the brain. The other issues are largely technical and could be worked around, but that one would serve as a roadblock every step of the way and likely make the whole process politically and culturally impossible.

Are you always this cheerful?
Yes
Have you got evidence to prove that this is going to happen in any of our lifetimes?Yes. Firstly, our lifespans will probably be extended thanks to advances in medical technology. Secondly, a crude technological basis for transmission of emotional states already exists today. We have machines that we can put people in to scan their brains in real time and detect their state of mind. And we have the ability to stimulate portions ot the brain to create emotional experiences in the recipient. Simply put an Internet connection between the two and BAM, emotional unity using today's technology. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that our penetration of the mind will continue to advance.
How exactly would this be implemented?Free market, presumably.
I don't see how it can be used by any government.Off the top of my head, shared emotional states would be useful for many types of group activities, and would probably be implemented first in the military. Thought communication could lead to more efficient and accurate decision-making - it could make legislative bodies more effective, and eventually obsolete.
That's providing it did really work.It will eventually.
A metamind? Riiiight okay, that seems pretty unrealistic, but maybe i'm being a bit harsh here.What I was trying to say is that the metamind that many people expect to emerge as a result of technological advances probably won't be the intelligent thing they expect it to be - probably won't be a mind at all. I say this because it seems to me that for intelligence to evolve, it must either be a) constructed, or b) evolved in a social darwinian field of other evolving intelligences. The broader governing mechanism of the society-system is neither.
Without evidence my points stand, and your doomspeech would be meaningless.I think the weaker assertion is that somehow technological development will suddenly cease its rapid ascent. The driving phenomena would have to be somehow compromised. Oversimply put, trends in society are subject to Newtonian physics.
you could argue we all already copy all of each others ideas anyway, you wouldn't need a special machine to download information,In fact I would argue this, and the dangers in society can be observed now. Public opinion is regulated by an unintelligent mass media feedback system that automatically equivocates in politics for the sake of conflict creation, and ratings boosting. Our level of technology combined with capitalism REQUIRES that this kind of system evolve, and its intricacies will only grow more complex as technology finds itself coloringand filtering the majority of our information input so as to regulate our sentiments. The problem is not so much one of changing quality as it is one of scale and acceleration.

i mean what kind of machine could hold enough information on one topic? and allow that to be applied to all people, just not even remotely possible in our lifetimes.A computer. Memory capacity isn't the restricting factor - it will eclipse ours soon. Processing power is getting there, too. The current roadblock is the interface.

However maybe in a distant future a few thousand years ahead this may happen, but for now just deal with what you've got.Few thousand years? In a few thousand years we went from beasts to putting a man on the moon, and most of the progress was made in the final century or two.

I wouldn't download any memories. I would much rather experience the event, then think back on the memories at some later date, to be honest.

However, if I could upload all my memories somewhere to access at will, I would.

Yes
Yes. Firstly, our lifespans will probably be extended thanks to advances in medical technology. Secondly, a crude technological basis for transmission of emotional states already exists today. We have machines that we can put people in to scan their brains in real time and detect their state of mind. And we have the ability to stimulate portions ot the brain to create emotional experiences in the recipient. Simply put an Internet connection between the two and BAM, emotional unity using today's technology. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that our penetration of the mind will continue to advance.
Free market, presumably.
Off the top of my head, shared emotional states would be useful for many types of group activities, and would probably be implemented first in the military. Thought communication could lead to more efficient and accurate decision-making - it could make legislative bodies more effective, and eventually obsolete.
It will eventually.
What I was trying to say is that the metamind that many people expect to emerge as a result of technological advances probably won't be the intelligent thing they expect it to be - probably won't be a mind at all. I say this because it seems to me that for intelligence to evolve, it must either be a) constructed, or b) evolved in a social darwinian field of other evolving intelligences. The broader governing mechanism of the society-system is neither.
I think the weaker assertion is that somehow technological development will suddenly cease its rapid ascent. The driving phenomena would have to be somehow compromised. Oversimply put, trends in society are subject to Newtonian physics.
In fact I would argue this, and the dangers in society can be observed now. Public opinion is regulated by an unintelligent mass media feedback system that automatically equivocates in politics for the sake of conflict creation, and ratings boosting. Our level of technology combined with capitalism REQUIRES that this kind of system evolve, and its intricacies will only grow more complex as technology finds itself coloringand filtering the majority of our information input so as to regulate our sentiments. The problem is not so much one of changing quality as it is one of scale and acceleration.

A computer. Memory capacity isn't the restricting factor - it will eclipse ours soon. Processing power is getting there, too. The current roadblock is the interface.

Few thousand years? In a few thousand years we went from beasts to putting a man on the moon, and most of the progress was made in the final century or two.
And will this become available for everyone or for those who can afford it?
There would need to be many tests done to prove it doesn't have adverse effects, and even then the chance for corruption is dangerous.
I don't think the government needs this to control it's people, it already has taxes, laws, police, education to socialise it's population into a robotic like thinking, i don't see how it would benefit from people thinking the same thing.
All it would take would be a virus and the whole system would fall to ribbons.

Ah interface as in fitting a chip into your brain? sounds dangerous, difficult and expensive.
We don't know nearly enough about which parts of the brain uses information to manually engineer computer chips to fit in, i admit it has it's uses, but i doubt it would be used too much of an infringement on civil rights.

I think memory capacity is a factor, getting it right, and adapting it for each individual would be crucial to the process, imagine a chip that meant to give you a book by shakespeare but your brain didn't already understand some of the words, what would happen? would it replace them?
Just simply accept this new and bizzare information?
I think it would cause catastrophic siezures in people it didn't get it right in, also there is evidence to suggest the brain has limits on it's capacity to take in information, eventually this new info would be lost or rejected by new information.
If all these practical concerns were overrided then perhaps it could work, but as i said not for thousands of years.
Sure man can go on the moon, but it doesn't understand why the moon is even there or what created it, it can't even solve basic issues of what to do with starving people in various countries or even the foresight to prevent future disasters (see Flooding of New Orleans, flooding of various Northern English towns, forest fires in Australia, freak weather events) hell we still create weapons to kill more of ourselves, no way are we even near enough responsible for us to be trusted with other people's intake of knowledge, you can give them the facilities but you can't physically make them learn it.

Sorry i don't see how you can think this can all happen within our lifetimes.
But your argument is fairly good, however as i said above i show it's flaws, prove me wrong.

And will this become available for everyone or for those who can afford it?Not right away, but as is the case with many other technological advances, it will not only become affordable, but ultimately required in order to function in a technological society.

There would need to be many tests done to prove it doesn't have adverse effects, and even then the chance for corruption is dangerous.Indeed. However, much like the Internet and previous technological advances, it may come into existence long before regulatory framework is built. In fact, as with the Internet and automobiles, it may become sufficiently entrenched into society before regulation such that the types of restrictions the public might have wanted to implement had they known the implications of the technology may no longer be feasible.

I don't think the government needs this to control it's people, it already has taxes, laws, police, education to socialise it's population into a robotic like thinking, i don't see how it would benefit from people thinking the same thing.True, but a) government is addicted to controlling people - it is its function, and b) technology also allows new avenues for government subversion and creates new threates (flying planes into buildings, etc) such that it feels compelled to exert control over new frontiers.

All it would take would be a virus and the whole system would fall to ribbons.A scary thing indeed. Maybe anti-virus thoughtware will be developed?

Ah interface as in fitting a chip into your brain? sounds dangerous, difficult and expensive.Nanotech will probably be the ultimate solution. Prior to that you may see non-invasive macro-technologies that isolate and read electrical signals from the brain.
We don't know nearly enough about which parts of the brain uses information to manually engineer computer chips to fit in, i admit it has it's uses, but i doubt it would be used too much of an infringement on civil rights.We don't know enough yet, but we do know some. Already chips have been fitted to the visual cortices of blind people and fed data in order to give them sight. Also, the brain is astonishingly adaptive, and can self-wire to feed the appropriate data to interfaces.

I think memory capacity is a factor, getting it right, and adapting it for each individual would be crucial to the process, imagine a chip that meant to give you a book by shakespeare but your brain didn't already understand some of the words, what would happen? would it replace them?
Just simply accept this new and bizzare information?Who knows? Actually, I suspect it won't work like this. Firstly, our brains aren't used to storing entire texts. It's more likely that parts of our memories will be stored online, and we'll access them via the Internet. Actually, wikipedia is already like this for me - shared memories.

I think it would cause catastrophic siezures in people it didn't get it right in, also there is evidence to suggest the brain has limits on it's capacity to take in information, eventually this new info would be lost or rejected by new information.Oh yeah, even with an ultimate mingling of minds online, consciousnesses will be overwhelmed with information, and personalities will change themselves over and over.
If all these practical concerns were overrided then perhaps it could work, but as i said not for thousands of years.Why thousands of years? Why not hundreds or millions?
Sure man can go on the moon, but it doesn't understand why the moon is even there or what created it,I thought there was scientific consensus on that - oh well, it's not really a priority anyway.
it can't even solve basic issues of what to do with starving people in various countries or even the foresight to prevent future disasters (see Flooding of New Orleans, flooding of various Northern English towns, forest fires in Australia, freak weather events) .Sure we can and have easily solved problems like those. In the event that we don't, it means its simply not an economic priority for society.
hell we still create weapons to kill more of ourselves, no way are we even near enough responsible for us to be trusted with other people's intake of knowledge, you can give them the facilities but you can't physically make them learn it.Of COURSE we're not respsonible enough for it. That's my point! That's doesn't mean economic forces won't cause it to happen.

Who knows? Actually, I suspect it won't work like this. Firstly, our brains aren't used to storing entire texts. It's more likely that parts of our memories will be stored online, and we'll access them via the Internet. Actually, wikipedia is already like this for me - shared memories.


That's a curious thought indeed. Imagine 20 million people with shared memories, a collective consciousness if you will. No filters, except maybe those to prevent seizure and deliberate alteration of individual memories in the host body (you know someone will figure out how to do that).

What happens if 3 million of those people die? Say a catastrophic event. Flooding, meteor impact, whatever. The shared memories of 3 million death throes.

Will that burn out the entire collective?

What happens if 3 million of those people die? Say a catastrophic event. Flooding, meteor impact, whatever. The shared memories of 3 million death throes.

The living will feel a great disturbance in the Force.

That's a curious thought indeed. Imagine 20 million people with shared memories, a collective consciousness if you will. No filters, except maybe those to prevent seizure and deliberate alteration of individual memories in the host body (you know someone will figure out how to do that).

What happens if 3 million of those people die? Say a catastrophic event. Flooding, meteor impact, whatever. The shared memories of 3 million death throes.

Will that burn out the entire collective?I don't know. Presumably everybody will already be jaded by death-thought porn such that they will be desensitized to such an event. If that's not the case, hopefully everybody will make backups in case something bad happens.

I don't know. Presumably everybody will already be jaded by death-thought porn such that they will be desensitized to such an event. If that's not the case, hopefully everybody will make backups in case something bad happens.

But that's the thing. It's memories, not fantasies that are being transferred. And everything the person felt right up to the moment of expiry becomes yours. You basically "died" 3 million times.

Can the human psyche handle that?

It depends on the way to download said memories.

If it needed people to upload them (consciously), then they just wouldn't have time to upload...if it were by some sort of direction connexion, then I guess everyone would be pretty sad. Unless they could avoid the download, which is what I would do.

No idea as I have never seen it. I was just assuming that lots of people would download the memories of some pointless celeb.

I bet a lot of people would pick Jessica Alba, both sides.
As well as Alyson Hannigan and her hubby.
And Beckham & Posh.
Tommy Lee & Pam Anderson.
....et cetera ...

I'd grab Kip Thorne, Michio Kaku, Hawking, Mike Rowe, Stephen Colbert, Eliot Spitzer .... there's actually quite a few experiences i wouldn't mind having in that regard.
But, i don't really need any of them. I'd just be aiming for the epiphany ($) shots.

lol, the memory download thing actually happened in Red Dwarf once :p

I voted only "Friends and family."
Then I thought about whether I really wanted my parents' memories. It would be almost murder to later delete them, after the old folks are dead. Some of those memories (moral learning ...) were extremely limiting for them. Who am I to say what is a memory worth having and which is expendable?

No "educational" memory imports, no thankyou. By being educated differently, one would become a different person ... and not by a process of experience or participation. One would become different by simple dilution with another's selfhood.

I'd have to really love someone, and feel a great need for merging with them, to either accept their memories as mine, or let them adopt mine.

Let's say it's the not-too-near-but-not-way-too-distant future and everything's hi-tech. As a consequence, all the jobs are ultra-hi-tech, so much so that you have to be more educated than would be normally possible for a human, so you have to download the educational experience. And because there are still Republicans, if you don't get a job, you're fucked. Is that an acceptable situation - to be effectively forced into using this technology? If not, how do we as a society go about preventing such a situation from arising? THIS IS WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT!

Let's say it's the not-too-near-but-not-way-too-distant future and everything's hi-tech. As a consequence, all the jobs are ultra-hi-tech, so much so that you have to be more educated than would be normally possible for a human, so you have to download the educational experience. And because there are still Republicans, if you don't get a job, you're fucked. Is that an acceptable situation - to be effectively forced into using this technology? If not, how do we as a society go about preventing such a situation from arising? THIS IS WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT!

At this point, it's likely that traditional educational systems will have been replaced by memory implants, so that issue is moot.

Besides, if ultra-hi-tech was all the rage, how do you explain cheap sweat shops in China?

lol, the memory download thing actually happened in Red Dwarf once :p

ah yes, when Craig Charles asked for some food the ship went into a self-destruct sequence, so they downloaded a memory thinking it was a guy, when in fact it was a woman with a humerous Welsh accent.
Good one that.:)