Are 'mind children' the future of reproduction? (The Guardian, 5/31/26 - Silicon Valley's interest in virtual children)

[highplainsdem]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/may/31/are-mind-children-the-future-of-reproduction

A few months ago, an AI researcher from Europe attended a dinner party in Silicon Valley. During one of the many courses, the host addressed his guests, all of whom worked in AI. The researcher paraphrased his message like this: “Isn’t it amazing that we are the last generation of humans who will need to think about procreating biologically? We were lucky enough to be born at a time where we can simply upload our consciousnesses instead.”

-snip-

Suddenly all the guests were talking about “mind children”, and the researcher turned to their neighbour to ask what this phrase meant. “He said, ‘Oh this is the book,’ and, ‘Haven’t you read the book?’ and, ‘Oh my God, you should really read the book.’”

The book in question was Hans Moravec’s Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence, which was first published in 1988, and which at the time, according to economist and futurist Robin Hanson of George Mason University, caused a big splash in a small pond – the community of robotics and machine-learning experts to which Moravec belonged.

Moravec’s book is more philosophical treatise than technological manual, but the central idea is that cultural evolution has long since taken over from biological evolution as the most powerful force shaping humanity, and the logical extrapolation of this is that the information that encodes our future selves would soon be packed into hardware and software rather than DNA. These mind children could be equipped with soft, squishy bodies, like real children, but they could also take a kaleidoscope of other physical – or indeed non-physical – forms.

-snip-

Much more at the link.

[MineralMan]

1. Oh, as long as some folks keep putting their parts in other folks' parts,

and depositing sperm there will be new baby humans. Biology will win out.

This is all wackadoo nonsense, my friends. Academic chatter.

[highplainsdem]

3. I agree it's nonsense, but it's nonsense that's popular with some Silicon Valley techies with a lot of

power.

And knowing the AI bros' fringe beliefs helps us know what sort of people we're dealing. Just as knowing about fringe RW beliefs influencing Republicans in power helps.

[MineralMan]

4. AI bros are often Incels, one way or another.

So...

[MineralMan]

5. AI bros are often Incels, one way or another.

So...

[The Madcap]

2. So stupid.

The sheer cost of keeping the AI infrastructure maintained as it is today will be staggering. All that water, not to mention the wear and tear on the facilities, will be a major drag. So the rulers have decided we need even more reasons to go hunting for a bunker or a cave. A yurt is looking better every day.

I fear for the future generations.

[patphil]

6. And where does this consciousness that we would be uploading come from?

AI can mimic the human brain, but I challenge the idea that consciousness is part of the brain.
The brain is simply a storage device that's programmed to maintain the body and provide context through memory for the purpose of experiencing 3D life.
From my point of view I see consciousness as that point where the physical links up with our non-physical, spiritual life. I see us as Angels who place a soul in a human body at birth for the purpose of gaining experiences in an environment where challenges are encountered every day. The purpose of these challenges is to gain a greater understanding of life, particularly in the area of learning the lessons of love.
Again, from my point of view, the problem with Humanity is that we have placed far too much emphasis on the physical nature of our existence. The physical body is simply a vehicle for experiences in the 3D world.
When our physical bodies die, the soul disconnects from the body, and returns to the Angelic consciousness from which it came.

That's where our consciousness resides, and no amount of clever AI programming can duplicate in 3D that which doesn't actually exist in 3D.