Uploading the Future: A Content Analysis of Whole Brain Emulation Representations in Science Fiction

Abstract

This dissertation explores how whole brain emulation (WBE), the theoretical process of digitally reproducing the human consciousness, is portrayed in contemporary science fiction and how those portrayals may influence future public perception. Although WBE remains technologically uncertain, it has long been imagined in literature, film, and television. These narratives provide a cultural space for exploring questions of identity, consciousness, autonomy, and digital personhood before this technology exists.

Using qualitative content analysis, this study identifies recurring themes across multiple science fiction works. The findings reveal that representations of WBE are often cautionary, highlighting risks such as exploitation, inequality, and loss of self, while also presenting hopeful possibilities such as medical preservation, expanded intelligence, and transcendence beyond biological limits. By framing science fiction as a form of ethical simulation, this research argues that cultural narratives may significantly shape how society ultimately responds to the prospect of mind uploading.

Disciplines

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Neurosciences | Philosophy

Subject Area

Philosophy; Ethics; Neurosciences; Artificial intelligence

Department

Humanities (HUM)

First Advisor

O'Callaghan, Sean

Second Advisor

Cowdin, Daniel M

Third Advisor

Demy, Timothy J

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

PhD.

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