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The original was posted on /r/singularity by /u/xlews_ther1nx on 2024-01-19 08:15:16+00:00.
This has been a though I have obsessed over for several months now. How stupid is this thought? Is it remotely plausible assuming technology exist to make a virtual world and a way to map a individual consciousness.
What if you were connected to a world identical to our own but digital. You lived out your life for a extended period, even excellerated. The world would run scenarios to gather information about your personality. Mundane to exciting. How you responded to fear in and happiness in various ways, bordem, hunger, what your favorite power ranger is ect. How the chemicals in your brain responded to stimulations and the scenarios. This went on for an extended time (at least in this world). Time after time constantly mapping who you are. Nothing unnoticed. No choice to litter or recycle unmapped. What makes you unique.
As time went on and a clear picture of you came into view. As you lived the digital you learns and begins responding or acted on its own without referring to your brain only some times. The program blocking input from individual parts of your brain, while keeping the whole going. Allowing your digital map to guide you decide what to cook for dinner. Until eventually it's respond without need to check with your brain at all. An outside if able to view ir interact with digital would not be able to distinguish a difference.
If done slowly, your consciousness would have never changed. It never stopped or it never started. As long as the organic "you" never regained its consciousness there would only be "you". A digital you that would be based off your (who knows decades...centuries long) responses and studied personality.
Just like theseus ship though the original parts if assembled could possibly pose a paradox if...so it must be destroyed.
Also is there any literature discussing something like this?