From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@ricochet.net)
Date: Wed May 30 2001 - 01:45:41 MDT
Hal Finney writes
>The thing I like to ask is, once you're uploaded (or a copy
>of you is), would you (supposing you find yourself as the
>upload) allow your program to be copied to another computer?
Hey, the more the better!
>That would presumably be just as much a discontinuity as uploading
>yourself. Is there a chance that your "self" only continues while
>your program is running on a single computer? Does it make sense
>to say that you would die if your program was stopped? (What
>about the time between clock ticks?)
Your self does continue only as you get runtime. If your program
permanently stops, and it's the only one running, then you die.
But who knows how long "permanently" is ahead of time?
I guess that you are saying that something is happening only
on the clock ticks---in that case, it's like you're in cryonic
suspension between those times.
It's not a bad thing for a program to be temporarily stopped, or
even permanently stopped on one computer if it gets runtime on
another. The total runtime is all that matters (and how worth-
while the experience is, of course).
Questions along these lines lead to awkwardnesses when undefined
"rights" are assumed for programs. That's why I had that open
invitation to all Sysops, AIs, Alien Intelligences, and anyone
else who could pull it off to run me---and stop me---whenever
they felt like it. And just as you say, would my rights be
somehow trampled upon if I were halted and started thousands
of times a second? It's ridiculous to drag in our old ideas
about death in cases like this.
Lee
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