Would it make a difference if the laws of physics prevent or allow a machine from operating in ‘duplicate’ mode?

  • CarlSagansMeatplanet@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    17 hours ago

    I imagine even if there is a strong philosophical argument that it’s a “you die and it’s a copy/clone that comes out” in this scenario that people would still use it just from social and economic pressures. It would become normalized to work on the other side of the planet and just teleport there, your friends might be scattered across the globe, and not using the tech would put you at a massive disadvantage to everyone.

    It’s a fun one to think about though - our consciousness is interrupted at different levels all the time (Sleep, injury, anesthesia etc), would a teeny tiny interruption from being rebuilt, make you any less you? Perhaps the scary thought is “you” aren’t something continuous, and that teleporting (dying/being rebuilt) isn’t really that different than just normal living.

    All that said - I’d probably grow up with the technology and use it while trying my best to never ever think about the details!

    • SpicyAnt@mander.xyzOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      17 hours ago

      I think similarly…

      Hypothetically: I spent my childhood and early teens using teleportation machines and I never had an issue. As a teenager, I learn about people who are strongly opposed to teleportation. People around me talk negatively about these people, and are perhaps annoyed at the laws that are made to accommodate those who choose not to teleport. They are seen as a nuisance because they complicate workplace dynamics because they don’t want to do something simple and convenient that most in society do. The belief they hold makes most people uncomfortable because of the philosophical implication.

      So, as a teenager, I realize that to become a ‘non-teleporter’ I need to accept that I have already chosen to destroy myself multiple times, and that my family and friends who leave are not the same that come back. It would be so difficult to make this philosophical mind-shift and stop teleporting so that copy #4,242 gets to live.