How close are we to uploading our minds? - Michael S.A. Graziano

翻译人员: Jiasi Hao 校对人员: Gabriella Hu

Imagine a future where nobody dies—

想象一个无人死亡的未来——

instead, our minds are uploaded to a digital world.

相反，我们的心灵 被上传到数字世界。

They might live on in a realistic, simulated environment with avatar bodies,

它们可能依靠数字化身 生存在一个逼真的模拟环境中，

and could still call in and contribute to the biological world.

并且它们仍旧可以被召唤， 为现实世界做贡献。

Mind uploading has powerful appeal—

心灵上传具有强大的吸引力——

but what would it actually take to scan a person’s brain and upload their mind?

但是这究竟需要怎样的准备， 才能扫描人类大脑并上传心灵呢？

The main challenges are scanning a brain in enough detail to capture the mind

主要的挑战是对大脑 进行足够详细的扫描来捕捉心灵，

and perfectly recreating that detail artificially.

并且完美地人工重现那些细节。

But first, we have to know what to scan.

但首先，我们需要知道扫描什么。

The human brain contains about 86 billion neurons,

人脑包含约 860 亿个神经元，

connected by at least a hundred trillion synapses.

它们之间 至少由 100 万亿个突触相连。

The pattern of connectivity among the brain’s neurons,

大脑神经元间的连通性模式，

that is, all of the neurons and all their connections to each other,

即所有神经元 和它们之间的所有连接，

is called the connectome.

称为连接组。

We haven’t yet mapped the connectome,

我们尚未能绘制连接组图谱，

and there’s also a lot more to neural signaling.

神经信号传递还涉及很多其它东西。

There are hundreds, possibly thousands of different kinds of connections,

总共有成百，可能至上千种 不同类型的连接，

or synapses.

或突触。

Each functions in a slightly different way.

每种连接的工作方式都略有不同。

Some work faster, some slower.

有些速度快些，有的则较慢。

Some grow or shrink rapidly in the process of learning;

有些在学习过程中会 快速增长或收缩，

some are more stable over time.

有的则一直比较稳定。

And beyond the trillions of precise, 1-to-1 connections between neurons,

除了神经元间上万亿的 一对一连接外，

some neurons also spray out neurotransmitters

一些神经元也会喷射出 能同时影响许多其他神经元的

that affect many other neurons at once.

神经递质。

All of these different kinds of interactions

所有的这些不同的相互作用

would need to be mapped in order to copy a person’s mind.

将需要被映射记录， 以用来复制一个人的心灵。

There are also a lot of influences on neural signaling

对神经信号的影响有很多，

that are poorly understood or undiscovered.

人们对此了解颇少，或未曾发现。

To name just one example,

就举一个例子，

patterns of activity between neurons

神经元间的活动模式

are likely influenced by a type of cell called glia.

有可能就受到一种 叫神经胶质的细胞影响。

Glia surround neurons and, according to some scientists,

神经胶质包围着神经元， 根据一些科学家，

may even outnumber them by as many as ten to one.

神经胶质和神经元的数量比 甚至可达 10 比 1。

Glia were once thought to be purely for structural support,

神经胶质一度被认为是 单纯以提供结构支撑的存在，

and their functions are still poorly understood,

我们对它们的作用依旧了解甚少，

but at least some of them can generate their own signals

但至少部分神经胶质 可以产生它们自己的信号

that influence information processing.

来影响信息处理。

Our understanding of the brain isn’t good enough to determine

我们对大脑的理解 还远不足以决定

what we’d need to scan in order to replicate the mind,

为了达到复制心灵的目的 我们需要扫描哪些东西，

but assuming our knowledge does advance to that point,

但假使我们的知识 已经可以解答这个问题，

how would we scan it?

那我们该如何扫描它呢？

Currently, we can accurately scan a living human brain

当前，我们能够精确地 扫描活体大脑，

with resolutions of about half a millimeter

使用我们最好的 非入侵性核磁共振成像（MRI），

using our best non-invasive scanning method, MRI.

其分辨率约为半毫米。

To detect a synapse, we’ll need to scan at a resolution of about a micron—

为探测突触，我们将需要 以微米的分辨率进行扫描——

a thousandth of a millimeter.

千分之一毫米。

To distinguish the kind of synapse and precisely how strong each synapse is,

为区分突触种类 和每个突触的精确强度，

we’ll need even better resolution.

我们将需要更高的分辨率。

MRI depends on powerful magnetic fields.

MRI 依靠于强大的磁场。

Scanning at the resolution required

为确定每个突触的细节，

to determine the details of individual synapses

扫描需要在一定的分辨率下进行，

would requires a field strength high enough to cook a person’s tissues.

这将要求场强要高到能 烹饪人体组织。

So this kind of leap in resolution

因此这般分辨率的飞跃，

would require fundamentally new scanning technology.

将从根本上 需要一个全新扫描技术。

It would be more feasible to scan a dead brain using an electron microscope,

而采用电子显微镜扫描死亡的大脑 将会比较可行，

but even that technology is nowhere near good enough–

但是这项技术 甚至还远不够成熟——

and requires killing the subject first.

它也首先要求杀死大脑。

Assuming we eventually understand the brain well enough to know what to scan

假设我们最终对大脑的了解足够多 到我们知道扫描什么，

and develop the technology to safely scan at that resolution,

也成功开发了能够在要求分辨率下 安全扫描的技术，

the next challenge would be to recreate that information digitally.

下一个挑战将会是 数字重现那些信息。

The main obstacles to doing so are computing power and storage space,

主要障碍是计算机能力和存储空间，

both of which are improving every year.

这两个方面的技术每年都在进步。

We’re actually much closer to attaining this technological capacity

实际上，相较我们对 自己大脑的理解或扫描

than we are to understanding or scanning our own minds.

我们更接近拥有这样的技术能力。

Artificial neural networks already run our internet search engines,

人工神经网络已经在运行着 我们互联网搜索引擎、

digital assistants, self-driving cars, Wall Street trading algorithms,

数字助理、自动驾驶汽车、 华尔街交易算法，

and smart phones.

以及智能手机。

Nobody has yet built an artificial network with 86 billion neurons,

目前尚未有人使用 860 亿神经元 建造人工网络，

but as computing technology improves,

但是随着计算机技术的进步，

it may be possible to keep track of such massive data sets.

跟踪如此海量的数据集 或许是有可能的。

At every step in the scanning and uploading process,

扫描和上传过程的每一步，

we’d have to be certain we were capturing all the necessary information accurately—

我们将必须确认 所有必要的信息都被准确捕捉——

or there’s no telling what ruined version of a mind might emerge.

或不会说 “被破坏了的心灵可能会出现”。

While mind uploading is theoretically possible,

尽管心灵上传理论上是可能的，

we’re likely hundreds of years away

但我们距离能让这真实发生的

from the technology and scientific understanding

技术和科学理解，

that would make it a reality.

可能还相差几百年的时间。

And that reality would come with ethical and philosophical considerations:

倘若它真实发生， 随之而来的是伦理和哲学的思考：

who would have access to mind uploading?

谁将获得心灵上传的权限？

What rights would be accorded to uploaded minds?

上传心灵的人将获得怎样的权利？

How could this technology be abused?

这项技术可能会如何被滥用？

Even if we can eventually upload our minds,

尽管我们可以最终上传心灵，

whether we should remains an open question.

但是否应该这么做， 仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。