[MURG] Re: X-Prize

[Sim Bamford]

Thanks very much to Eric and Major for your comments.

Below is an ammended version. To be clear, I'm talking about a 
full body simulation. I think that simulating just a brain or 
just a central nervous system would leave you with a very 
non-trivial problem of what it interfaces with. The entire 
nervous system is intimately connected with the rest of the body 
including nerve fibres almost everywhere, the endocrine systems 
which work by transmitting hormones via the bloodstream between 
the brain and numerous sites around the body, semi-autonomous 
portions of nervous system controlling the heart and the 
digestive tract, the list goes on. The fine tuning in all those 
interactions is different for each individual, such that if you 
took an organism's brain and spinal cord and "somehow" used it to 
replace those of another even superficially similar, even a 
monozygous twin, I imagine it would probably fail altogether to 
keep the organism going, and at the very least require a period 
of intense assisted adjustment under life support. I think it's 
entirely possible however that some parts of the body could be 
simulated in less detail than others.

Again, comments welcome. Especially about the later stuff - prize 
amount, fund raising etc - what are they expecting there?

Cheers
Sim

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Suggested Name of Challenge (i.e. WTN X PRIZE for ****)

Human Individual Simulation

Brief Description of Suggested Challenge (No more than 600 words 
please)

A volunteer is to be scanned or otherwise recorded from. The data 
gained is to be used to create an accurate computer simulation of 
the individual, which can run in real time. The simulation should 
be of their entire body with a focus on precise duplication of 
memories and behaviour.

Observers will note that this proposal is for a highly advanced 
form of Turing test.

Suggested Potential Rules

1) The scanning or recording technique must be safe, and must not 
affect the individual at a behavioural or cognitive level. This 
is to be demonstrated in animal trials.

2) A panel of judges will get to know the individual prior to 
scanning. They will then cross examine the individual and the 
simulation by video link and be asked to identify which is the 
simulation and which is the individual. Their answers should not 
be more accurate than chance. (It is acceptable for the real 
video stream to be processed so as to disguise any inevitable 
slight differences between simulation and reality though these 
are not expected to be significant.)

3) The environment in which the simulated individual is placed 
may be modelled by any means. Likewise the simulation of the 
individual may be assisted with any amount of prior information 
about the anatomy and physiology of human body from a molecular 
level upwards. However it must be demonstrated that it is data 
from the scanning or recording procedure alone which is used to 
endow the simulation with its individuality - no prior 
information about the particular individual may be used.

4) In all experimental procedures of candidate organisations, the 
simulated individual is to be treated ethically and afforded, to 
the greatest degree possible, human rights. Regarding ethical 
procedures, all candidate organisations are to place themselves 
under the authority of a group consisting of all other candidate 
organisations, in addition to any authorities which may also be 
deemed applicable.


Suggested Time Life of the Award (how long given to win?)

Indefinite - there are too many unknowns in the technologies that 
will need to be developed to make accurate guesses about the 
arrival of this ability.


How Many Companies to Compete?

As many as should choose to.


Suggested Prize Amount

Let this be determined by a market mechanism, see below.


Suggested Funding Mechanism (ideas for the best way and/or the 
sources to raise the
money to pay off the winner of the challenge competition)

I believe that many trusts and individuals will be willing to 
donate prize funds. This is primarily because the end result may 
be seen by many as having the potential to offer them a form of 
longevity.