Does the No-Cloning Theorem Block Mind Uploading? AI Researchers Debate
norabelrose · x · 2026-08-21
AI researcher Nora Belrose and others debated on X whether quantum no-cloning theorem matters for copying/uploading human minds. One side argued there's no physical law against atomic copies of a person and questioned whether requiring quantum coherence sets the bar too high; the other side said they don't believe in quantum theories of consciousness — if you lose coherence in a medical scan and rebuild a different quantum state, you're still you, so coherence may just be a speedup over a classical, cloneable architecture. The thread references Scott Aaronson's well-known after-dinner talk at QCRYPT, "The No-Cloning Theorem and the Human Condition."
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