stephen cave, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. it s a great pleasure. you believe that our human awareness of our own mortality is absolutely central to the human story. why? well, all creatures strive to live on, to keep going. they wouldn t be around us any more if they didn t. the mouse that didn t care about surviving wouldn t pass on its genes. so we come from a long line of creatures that are determined to keep going. but we have these big brains, that s part of our survival mechanism, if you like, that allow us to see the future, to generalise. and we re conscious of ourselves as individuals, and that means we re conscious of our own deaths. and of all the billions of creatures on earth, very few creatures have to live with that terrible awareness that, one day, all of their efforts will come to nothing. and so, if we look back through human history, what we see is humanity struggling to make sense of this. some of the earliest archaeological evidence we f
isn t that going to be a form of immortality? well, it is certainly something that some people believe is a form of immortality, and is already on offer. i mean, there are already companies promising something like this, whether as a way of managing grief so if it s a loved one that dies or as a route to immortality when thinking about your own prospects. but i don t think this is a route to immortality. you know, it s notjust a means of maintaining sort of memories, it s not like keeping photos on your phone. this can be generative. this can be the essence of you, which generates new thoughts, new conversations, which keeps you, in a sense, alive. now, your institute works on technology in the future and humanity. is that not something that actually is a realistic possibility? yes, it s a great question, and we re in deeply philosophical territory when thinking about is that really you? i don t think it is. i think i m this particular animal, this particular body, this organism,
thinking about your own prospects. but i don t think this is a route to immortality. you know, it s notjust a means of maintaining sort of memories, it s not like keeping photos on your phone. this can be generative. this can be the essence of you, which generates new thoughts, new conversations, which keeps you, in a sense, alive. now, your institute works on technology in the future and humanity. is that not something that actually is a realistic possibility? yes, it s a great question, and we re in deeply philosophical territory when thinking about is that really you? i don t think it is. i think i m this particular animal, this particular body, this organism, and no organism is transferred when my psychological data is transferred onto a computer. but there are philosophers who differ, and we do, in fact, have a research project that s thinking about what this will mean for how we grieve, how we think about our own mortality, for religion, if this becomes a common practice, which
ourselves, that is what happens in ourselves, download the memories, the thoughts, the emotions, the material that makes us us. onto a computer, to digitise it, to turn ourselves into digital cells which can be kept in a metal box forever. isn t that going to be a form of immortality? well, it is. certainly something that people believe is a form of immortality and is already on offer. there are already on offer. there are already promises like this, whether as a way of managing grief, so if it is a loved one that dies, or as a route to immortality when thinking about your own prospects. but i don t think this is a route to mortality. it think this is a route to mortality. . . mortality. it is not a means of maintaining mortality. it is not a means of maintaining memories, i mortality. it is not a means of maintaining memories, it| mortality. it is not a meansl of maintaining memories, it is not like keeping photos on your phone. this can be generative. this can be the essence of yo
well, it is certainly something that some people believe is a form of immortality, and is already on offer. i mean, there are already companies promising something like this, whether as a way of managing grief so if it s a loved one that dies or as a route to immortality when thinking about your own prospects. but i don t think this is a route to immortality. you know, it s notjust a means of maintaining sort of memories, it s not like keeping photos on your phone. this can be generative. this can be the essence of you, which generates new thoughts, new conversations, which keeps you, in a sense, alive. now, your institute works on technology in the future and humanity. is that not something that actually is a realistic possibility? yes, it s a great question, and we re in deeply philosophical territory when thinking about is that really you? i don t think it is. i think i m this particular animal, this particular body, this organism, and no organism is transferred when my psycho