Summary: Researchers report that science fiction enthusiasts tend to view the prospects of uploading consciousness, neurotechnology, and brain digitization more positively than the general public.
Source: University of Helsinki
“Mind upload is a technology rife with unsolved philosophical questions,” says researcher Michael Laakasuo. “For example, would conscious experience transfer when a brain is copied? Could a digitally emulated brain feel pain, and would switching off such an emulation be morally equivalent to killing? And what would a potentially everlasting digital life look and feel like?”
A positive outlook among science fiction fans
Although many of these questions sound like science fiction, early steps toward brain digitization are already underway. Researchers have modelled the nervous system of a roundworm (C. elegans) and implemented it in a small robot capable of autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance. Other teams have produced functional digital models of portions of the rat somatosensory cortex. These developments bring future-facing questions about consciousness uploading and neurotech into both scientific and philosophical debate.
The Moralities of Intelligent Machines research group at the University of Helsinki is studying public attitudes toward mind upload and related technologies from the perspective of moral psychology—mapping who tends to approve or condemn their use and why.
In an initial sub-study conducted in the United States, researchers found a gender gap in approval: men were, on average, more approving of mind upload technologies than women. However, when participants’ interest in science fiction was taken into account, much of that difference disappeared. In other words, familiarity with science fiction strongly shaped acceptance.
Across the studies, greater exposure to science fiction correlated with a more positive outlook on mind upload and brain digitization in general. Conversely, traditional religious beliefs tended to be associated with more negative reactions to the technology.
Disapproval linked to sexual disgust sensitivity
A separate sub-study based in Finland showed general disapproval of uploading a human consciousness, regardless of the target substrate—whether the consciousness was transferred to a computer, a chimpanzee brain model, or an android. In another experiment, people who reported anxiety about death and who disapproved of suicide were more receptive to the idea of mind upload, perhaps seeing digital continuation as a way to avoid finality.
Unexpectedly, the researchers also discovered a consistent association between disapproval of mind upload and higher sensitivity to sexual disgust. People with high sexual disgust sensitivity find, for example, viewing pornographic films or hearing intimate noises from neighbors aversive. Although mind upload does not directly involve sexual behavior or reproduction, the authors suggest that deeper concerns about what it means to be human may explain the connection. If digitized minds reproduce by copying or division—rather than through biological reproduction—this could challenge long-standing assumptions about human sexuality and identity. That perceived threat to fundamental aspects of humanity may underlie some moral rejection of brain digitization.
Funding and the humanistic perspective
The research was supported by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The Moralities of Intelligent Machines project also received additional funding—a one-year follow-up grant—from the Weisell Foundation, emphasizing the importance of humanistic reflection on machine intelligence and robotics.
Mikko Voipio, chair of the Weisell board, explains the rationale: rapid advances in artificial intelligence and its expanding role in everyday life raise urgent ethical and humanistic questions. When systems are developed and trained, are their ethical consequences and the human context properly considered? The board sees research on the moral psychology of AI and robotics as timely and necessary to balance technological enthusiasm with thoughtful scrutiny.
According to Michael Laakasuo, longer-term funding prospects for moral-psychological research on robotics and AI remain uncertain, but the research group appreciates its funders and the continued public interest and engagement from Finnish society.
Source: Michael Laakasuo – University of Helsinki
Publisher: NeuroscienceNews.com (originally reported)
Image source: Public domain image used in the original report
Original research: Open access research titled “What makes people approve or condemn mind upload technology? Untangling the effects of sexual disgust, purity and science fiction familiarity” by Michael Laakasuo et al., published in Palgrave Communications (July 10, 2018). DOI: 10.1057/s41599-018-0124-6.
The concept of transferring a person’s consciousness to another medium—often called “mind upload”—is being actively discussed in science, philosophy, and fiction. The technology has practical development paths pursued by private initiatives and has attracted funding in research communities. Despite its ethical and existential importance, little is known about public attitudes toward mind upload. This set of studies (four investigations, total N = 952) examined psychological factors that predict approval or condemnation of mind upload. Results indicate that cultural and biological dispositions—such as valuing purity norms and high sexual disgust sensitivity—are linked to stronger condemnation. In contrast, anxiety about death and disapproval of suicide predicted greater acceptance, as did higher familiarity with science fiction. The findings were robust to controls for personality, values, reasoning styles, and theory of mind, and they held across variations in how the upload was framed (e.g., substrate and whether the original biological body dies). The results highlight that mind upload is a culturally salient issue with deep moral dimensions for many people.