This essay is low-end SL4(link), or possibly high-end SL3. You should probably read that essay first, or you maybe won't much see the point of this one. My goals in writing this essay were to demonstrate the sorts of things that having access to one's software allows, and how those abilities relate to my own personality. I've had a decided lack of success at conveying to those close to me (who are almost without exception life-long SF fans; very SL2) the excitement, wonder, and terror I feel about SL4 ideas. (Side note: I no longer am so awe-struck as to consider myself really SL3; I'm probably not high SL4 yet (too excited), but I'm getting there.) I found myself casually daydreaming about some things I might use uploading (link) for one day, and realized that unlike most of my post-singularity fantasies (usually reserved for when I'm driving or otherwise unable to do anything useful), this one was genuinely _different_ from the things one can do now, as opposed to my standard fare of glorified LARP fantasies. I'm not going to tell you the _goal_ of this fantasy until the end. Here's a narrative of what the experience I was thinking about might be like. Please note that I'm assuming the availability of perfect uploading. In other words, if you knocked me out, uploaded me, and did something to make the body issue irrelevant (give me a perfect VR rig, or give the copy a perfect robotic body) when I come to neither of us should be able to prove which of us is the original. This idea requires flawless copying of a human conciousness onto an easily modifyable substrate (i.e. computer software). Whether the human is abstracted in some sense or merely simulated on a neuronal level is irrelevant. The uploading process needs to be non-destructive. - ----------- One day I decide to try an experiment. The first step is, of necessity, uploading, if I haven't already done so. My copy and I are arranged so that neither knows which is the original, and we spend a while validating the fidelity of the copy. That is, we spend some time (hours or days, at least) ensuring ourselves that we are both the same person in every respect. Having done so, we flip a coin; whoever gets heads goes back to whatever they were doing before; it is considered the orginal, and will be called the prime copy. I, however, got tails. I am the experimental copy. I'm fine with this (if I wasn't fine with being either copy, starting the experiment was pretty dumb in the first place). It is time for me to start modifying my conciousness. The first step is to try to remove my abitlity to feel boredom. I theorize that this is probably pretty easy, but that the easy ways of doing it are probably error-prone. In particular, I expect it would be hard to remove my capacity for boredom without resulting in catatonia (if staring at a wall never bores me, I might just do that forever) or obsessiveness (ADHD or OCD). Fortunately, my job is relatively easy, because obsessiveness is a perfectly acceptable outcome. Avoiding both obsessiveness and catatonia would be fine too, but obsessiveness is probably slightly prefferable in this case. To make the change I'm going to want to experiment on further copies of myself, to watch for obvious problems. Once I'm sure that a copy is a step in the right direction, I'll destroy myself in favour of that copy (which is then "me" for all purposes). I need to keep detailed notes at each step, in case problems crop up long-term, over many versions. For that same reason, prime copy needs to check in occasionally. - --------------------------------------------------------------------- To make the changes, I'm probably going to start by recording my brain state as I perform activities that bore the hell out of me, as well as those that really excite my interest. Ideally, the two activities will be as similar as possible; reading Darwin versus reading reading, say, Stross. The goal is to dampen those reactions associated with boredom and increase those associated with interest. I believe that those will be parts of the same system, but I'm not attached to that belief. I'd particularily like to find the mental bits that, more specifically than boredom in general, impel me to find another activity to engage in than what I have chosen to spend my time on. I would very much like to eradicate that reaction entirely. Fast forwarding at this point, let's assume that I've done as much as I feel is necessary with respect to eliminating my boredom related responses, as well as increasing my general sense of excitement at whatever it is I choose to do. It is very important that I've thoroughly documented what I've done, because if it turns out that some subtle early mistake or combination of seemingly minor changes is going to make me non-viable in the long run, such that the whole process will need to start from scratch, it's important that I leave clues so future versions don't simply do exactly the same steps as I did. At this point, I can't really be called human. At the very least, it is likely that a human psychologist would evaluate me as having multiple serious mental disorders. That's fine with me. It is prime copy's job to check that my psychosis are useful, in case I totally lose perspective. The next step is to spend a lot of time looking for music I haven't heard before. My specific goal is to record and examine my brain state as I experience the thrill of discovery at finding a new piece of music that I really enjoy. Ideally I'll be able to identify that experience as it relates to music specifically, but pumping my novophilia in general is fine too. I want to experiment with making the pleasure I feel from this sort of discovery really inordinate, on the level of multiple orgasms at a minimum, but I'm not going to leave it that way for now, just make a note of how to get there. The nest step is somewhat more subtle, I think. I want to spend a lot of time organizing things (prime copy's music collection in particular). The goal is to identify and (as before) ridiculously enhance the experience of satisfaction that I feel when everything has a place and everything is in its place. This is prabably the same sense of satisfaction I get when I write a fine piece of documentation. Unfortunately, this experience is not only subtle but (unlike boredom and novophilia) it is not one I experience very strongly. As such, this step is likely to be tricky. It is my hope that even if I can't make it work perfectly, lack of boredom will give me most of what I want here. As before, I would like to get to the point where precisely oganizing something is immensely pleasurable, and theb retreat from that, having made a note of how to do it. The last major step is that of enhancing the enjoyment I get from helping others. This shouldn't be hard, as it's already a strong response in me. It does, however, inrease my social vulnerability. It is prime copy's job to keep me insulated from anyone that could take advantage of this. While any memory enhancement I might easily achieve during this process would be useful, it is non- essential. - --------------------------------------------------------------------- I now turn on and waaaay up all of my new, semi-synthetic pleasure responses, and spend however long it takes _thoroughly_ organizing all of prime copy's music, across as many variables as I can think of. I'll also spend some time searching out new music that I like, under the assumption that, if I haven't screwed up, prime copy will like it as well. The one possible problem there is that I can't be bored by the music, but that's not really avoidable; I'l just have to wait for prime copy's feedback about those pieces of music that ey finds boring. The goal here is to make sure that I enjoy both of these activities (organizing and finding) so much that doing anything else seems pointless, and that I enjoy them about equally, or possibly with a slight preference for finding, as that is more relevant long term. Having done all of this, I contact prime copy and start taking requests for music ey would like to listen to (which I use my organized music set and intimate knowledge of my own preferences to provide), as well as present to em the new music I've found. At this point I do some last-minute tweaking to make sure that this third activity (helping prime copy listen to good music) is as enjoyable as the other two. Having worked out all the mind altering details, and being now a fair distance from human (more like an extremely happy idiot savant), I settle down to engaging in these three activities for the rest of my (extremely happy) existence. - -------------- The problem I was trying to solve, primarily, was that I often feel that there is so much media out there that I would really enjoy if only I had time to try it all and see what I liked. Getting a sentient jukebox was just a side effect. The first person I told this idea to is a rather high SL2, and ey was _horrified_ that I would waste a full sentience on such a relatively meaningless task. Ey felt that it wouldn't be so bad if the mind was at least doing other things as well. I don't think having it also review books would count, though. What I found fascinating about eir response was that the fact that this was self-chosen self-mutilation didn't make any difference. This from a person who is normally adamant about others' rights to self-modification. It was the first time that I had encountered such a strong future shock reaction. I knew that my attitude about this sort of thing was unusual, but I didn't know it was _that_ unusual. That conversation made me cerain I had to write this down. - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Personal Agents-1 Personal Agents-2 Personal Agents-3 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------