Ancestral Archives and A Distributed Self: Speculations for Immortality

Drawing on science fiction and recent collaborative work across new media art, AI and biofabrication, this presentation outlines two creative propositions – Ancestral Archives and A Distributed Self – that collectively question the concept of a ‘downloadable consciousness’ and the ability to transfer information unchanged between material substances. By integrating biological material and artificial neural networks along with personal and medical data, the proposed works aim to examine current technological limitations and consider the implications of open and evolving techno-organic systems.

The presentation will include a short overview of current propositions for storing consciousness including chemical brain preservation and the development of avatars that use data archives and AI algorithms to create an ongoing digital legacy. By contrasting these examples with research from evolutionary robotics and cognitive science, the presentation will also signal some of the flawed perspectives that continue to inform popular perceptions of technologically facilitated immortality.