[Technology] Neurotex Announces Mental Uploading Service for Pets

Neurotex Announces Mental Uploading Service for Pets

Illya T’lonak, Nos Astra Business Weekly

Neurotex Biotechnical announced that it would begin offering digital personality uploading to pet owners starting next month. “Few things bring a family more joy than the company of a beloved pet,” said Neurotex spokesperson Daia Velifex. “But the short lifespans of our four-legged friends brings tragedy with it. But what if our moxies, dogs, and neru didn’t have to die? Neurotex Biotechnical has the solution: uploading.” Under this new program, pet owners would be able to take sick or injured pets to the nearest participating veterinarian, where the animal’s neural connections would be scanned and digitized. The pet owners would then be provided with a complex VI simulation of their pet, which they could interact with via hologram or download into a suitable mech. “The virtual pet retains every aspect of its personality and doesn’t realize that anything has changed,” continued Velifex. “You can enjoy its company for as long as you like. Best of all, it won’t even need a litterbox.”

Neurotex’s future plans include downloading the pet’s VI into another animal. “We’ve been able to clone pets for ages, but the duplicates have never truly been the same. That is about to change. With Neurotex uploads, you’ll be sure that Fidex II is exactly like Fidex I. You’ll be able to keep the same pets forever.”

The new service has already been endorsed by several Nos Astra celebrities and media personalities. “Oh, I cannot wait to try this on my Lilo!” said Strange Bondmates star Liara Solaqin. “I’ve been so worried that she’s getting sick, and while the vets all said she’s doing fine, the said that about Tita and she DIED! But now that won’t ever have to happen again.”

Not everyone was so excited by the news, however.. Dr. Linia Nieli, Professor of Biology at the University of Serrice Nos Varda, criticized the ethics of the new procedure. “Despite Neurotex’s claims to the contrary, it is impossible to know how the uploaded animals will perceive their new state of being. The entire procedure could be horribly traumatic. Then there is the fate of the original animal – is it to be discarded once its owners have a ‘new and improved’ version? Not to mention this ridiculous talk of re-downloading into a cloned animal; either you would be dumping the virtual mind into the body of an infant clone, which would be psychologically scarring to the old ‘animal,’ or you would replace the mind of an adult clone, which would just be another way of killing it. Either option would unquestionably be a form of animal abuse.”

Genetidigm’s Hyat Kolus was more critical about the technological viability of the process. “Mental uploading is an expensive and poorly understood science. Even emulating basal brain processes, as in the case of UNAS President Huerta, is barely within our current capacity for cognitive computing, and it is certainly not financially viable. Anyone stupid enough to bring their pet in for such a process is likely to get nothing more than a crudely programmed virtual intelligence and a dead animal.”

Despite concerns from scientists, Neurotex’s stock rose 27 points after the announcement.

...All right. Let's get this started early.
Do you people think that any animal that goes through this is still alive or dies during the procedure?

This is concerning. If I were to become terminally ill, I don't think I would want to be turned into a VI, with all my memories and personality but my life completely different. I can't imagine that animals would feel any differently. Plus, they would have no idea what had happened to them, it would be unbelievably frightening. As for the clone thing, don't clones have minds as well. Sure, they're not the same as the original, but to replace their mind with the original animal, isn't that like killing the clone? This whole thing seems to me like unintentional cruelty.

This is absurd, a vi is just something that acts like your pet, it doesn't feel anything, it doesn't learn. What's the point of having a pet if it only pretends to enjoy your company and provides fake affection?

...

We got a little dog on board that is both very old and incredibly psychotic.

Installing the vicious little monster in a combat mech will be interesting.

Not a surprising turn of events given the recent advancements.

I doubt if my deceased cat were converted into a VI that it would be much the same thing. At the end of the day, a computer program is a computer program. Now an AI on the other hand may be more accurate, but I doubt they'll start letting those into the public's hands.

A mind upload at least the one that the virtual aliens employed is in effect an AI. Now they do not tell us if they are using the same or similar process, but for all we know they use the moniker "VI" purely for PR reasons.

Wouldn't that be hilariously illegal if those pets were actual AIs?

ooh ooh i got an idear HEY VENTS LET'S SLAP YOU IN ONE

I WILL CASTRATE YOU

ooh ooh we could even make a test outta it, like

IF YA DON' BITCH 'BOUT SPACEMINER EVERY FEW SECONDS DA WHOLE THING'S A SACKA SHIT

or

IF IT DON'T SHIT ITS PANTS EVER' HOUR'RE SO IT'S A SACKA SHIT

In Council space it would... probably, there has been a lot of legislation regarding AIs going around since the end of the war so the whole thing is a bit in flux since you do not want people shooting/deleting geth.

But in this case it that does not even matter; since the activity is on Illium and thus not in Council space jurisdiction.

I don't think I'll have to worry about this. As, well, my pet's a varren. and, well, they live fairly long. (well, for a human, anyway)

This is ridiculous. If you're going to do all that you might as well just get robot dog in the first place! Hell, purchase a Fenrir mech, program it with a standard personality VI subroutine and you basically have the same damn thing. It will walk around aimlessly in circles, sleep even though it doesn't have to, nuzzle against your leg and do pretty everything a regular pet would.

Such a waste of money and all because some people can't let their pets move on. Forget the ethical and moral problems this creates, or the myriad number of issues concerning the nature of existance, its just ludicrous on a social scale. They spend all this money on developing a technology that can preserve a personality and possibly even memories, why not use this technology to enhance the field of robotics or VI programming. I mean this stuff is incredible and they're using it to turn real dying dogs/pets into robot immortal pets!

I mean, seriously... the hell?

I personally think people are played for fools with this.
This sounds shady at best.

Aside from that, yes, wiping one mind and replacing it with another would be killing.

Reminds me a little of the quarian's ancestor databanks.

I'm already pretty close to being uploaded....I've got computer programs in my head telling my meat what to do now that I don't have nerves anymore. I'd be okay if someone uploaded me entirely when I died.

I wouldn't want to be downloaded into a new organic body though. A clone is....well, it's like an identical twin. He'd grow into his own person. He wouldn't deserve to have his body hijacked by my thoughts, my spirit.

I don't think this should be done to an animal. An animal can't decide if it wants to be a program. And we don't know enough to know if we can give it a good quality of life that way. A life inclined to be long.

It's a VI, it's not an animal. Just a creepy way to cash in on grieving petowners.

If the geth have pets then that would be a real "living" software animal, I suppose.

I predict that eventually you'll be able to buy copies of celebrity pet VIs. Seems like it'd be popular on Ilium or something. "Get your own holographic version of Desetta Rinior's prized Chelet, Starla.

This seems like a really stupid idea to me. And a waste of credits.