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glumshoe: The problem with clones is that they require advance planning. If, at some point during...
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glumshoe:
The problem with clones is that they require advance planning. If, at some point during your life, you decide you want to clone yourself, you’ll just end up with a baby that has nothing in common with you but your DNA. Maybe it’ll share some of your weird quirks and talents, but it’s not you 2.0, no more than a natural-born child would be. It might not share your opinions or values at all–it might even vote Republican.
“That’s no problem,” you say. “I’ll just download my memories into it!”
You will, will you? Successfully uploading your intact consciousness into a computer is one thing–installing it into another biological brain is quite another. You begin building the physical matrix of your mind when you are still in vitro and continue constructing it throughout your life. Memory is not some abstract digital cloud–it’s also hardware. You can overwrite certain connections, but a clone’s brain is not built to contain “you”, not fully, unless you have been carefully shaping it since its earliest neural development. A brain cannot be built all at once, either–if you attempt to implant your own memories inside an infant or fetal clone, it’s just not going to take, because the hardware to store those memories simply doesn’t exist yet. Any attempt will most likely damage it irreparably.
This doesn’t even touch upon the issues with using an adult’s DNA for cloning rather than fresh material. DNA ages, just like the rest of your body, and your clone may suffer for it. If you have access to Dohrni rejuvenation tech, you probably see no need for a clone in the first place and will live indefinitely like that fucking jellyfish, whoop dee doo, we get it, you’re a billionaire.
ANYWAY. If you really want to preserve your legacy, clones aren’t the way to go. Start an organization in your name, write a book, adopt some kids, and upload your consciousness into a robot. It won’t be the same and you won’t be able to form new long-term sense memories, but you’ll save yourself some money and we won’t have to deal with the ethical problems of trying to mold a clone into an echo of yourself and the heartbreak of your inevitable failure. If you are still not satisfied, I’ll go into the problems of becoming a ghost some other time.
glumshoe:
The problem with clones is that they require advance planning. If, at some point during your life, you decide you want to clone yourself, you’ll just end up with a baby that has nothing in common with you but your DNA. Maybe it’ll share some of your weird quirks and talents, but it’s not you 2.0, no more than a natural-born child would be. It might not share your opinions or values at all–it might even vote Republican.
“That’s no problem,” you say. “I’ll just download my memories into it!”
You will, will you? Successfully uploading your intact consciousness into a computer is one thing–installing it into another biological brain is quite another. You begin building the physical matrix of your mind when you are still in vitro and continue constructing it throughout your life. Memory is not some abstract digital cloud–it’s also hardware. You can overwrite certain connections, but a clone’s brain is not built to contain “you”, not fully, unless you have been carefully shaping it since its earliest neural development. A brain cannot be built all at once, either–if you attempt to implant your own memories inside an infant or fetal clone, it’s just not going to take, because the hardware to store those memories simply doesn’t exist yet. Any attempt will most likely damage it irreparably.
This doesn’t even touch upon the issues with using an adult’s DNA for cloning rather than fresh material. DNA ages, just like the rest of your body, and your clone may suffer for it. If you have access to Dohrni rejuvenation tech, you probably see no need for a clone in the first place and will live indefinitely like that fucking jellyfish, whoop dee doo, we get it, you’re a billionaire.
ANYWAY. If you really want to preserve your legacy, clones aren’t the way to go. Start an organization in your name, write a book, adopt some kids, and upload your consciousness into a robot. It won’t be the same and you won’t be able to form new long-term sense memories, but you’ll save yourself some money and we won’t have to deal with the ethical problems of trying to mold a clone into an echo of yourself and the heartbreak of your inevitable failure. If you are still not satisfied, I’ll go into the problems of becoming a ghost some other time.