TED: What would happen if we upload our brains to computers? | Robin Hanson

The video explores the concept of ems, digital copies of human brains, and their potential impact on society. It discusses the technological requirements for creating ems, such as advanced computing and brain scanning. Ems live in virtual reality, can adjust their speed, and make copies of themselves. They require resources to survive and work in a subsistence economy. The em world grows rapidly, impacting humans who must retire. Ems are elite, productive, and exhibit a wide variety of characteristics and life structures. The video encourages understanding this future world before judging it.

What is one of the potential routes to achieving artificial intelligence discussed in the introduction?

• Developing new hardware

• Porting software from the human brain

• Building faster networks

• Creating a new language

What is one of the technologies needed to emulate the human brain?

• Advanced neural networks

• Fast, parallel computers

• Quantum processors

• Biological interfaces

What is a unique capability of ems in virtual reality?

• They can create new virtual worlds

• They can change their appearance

• They can teleport physically

• They can alter their processing speed

How do ems perceive virtual reality compared to humans?

• As less real

• As a dream

• As more real

• As equally real

Why do ems need to work most of the time?

• To maintain their virtual reality systems

• To upgrade their software

• To pay for their existence

• To compete with humans

What happens to em wages as the em population grows?

• They become irrelevant

• They fall to subsistence levels

• They stabilize

• They increase

How does the em world grow compared to the human world?

• A hundred times faster

• At the same rate

• Ten times faster

• Slower than the human world

What is a potential future for humans in the em world?

• They will dominate the ems

• They will merge with ems

• They will become obsolete

• They will retire

What is a characteristic of the typical em compared to humans?

• They are less productive

• They are more elite

• They are less intelligent

• They are more emotional

What is a new kind of variety in the em world?

• Cultural diversity

• Mind speed

• Physical appearance

• Language