Would you exchange your soul for immortality?—existential meaning and afterlife beliefs predict mind upload approval

Laakasuo, Michael; Sundvall, Jukka; Francis, Kathryn; Drosinou, Marianna; Hannikainen, Ivar; Kunnari, Anton; Palomäki, Jussi

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1254846

Would you exchange your soul for immortality?—existential meaning and afterlife beliefs predict mind upload approval

Laakasuo, Michael; Sundvall, Jukka; Francis, Kathryn; Drosinou, Marianna; Hannikainen, Ivar; Kunnari, Anton; Palomäki, Jussi

Authors

Michael Laakasuo

Jukka Sundvall

Kathryn Francis k.francis@keele.ac.uk

Marianna Drosinou

Ivar Hannikainen

Anton Kunnari

Jussi Palomäki

Abstract

Mind upload, or the digital copying of an individual brain and mind, could theoretically allow one to “live forever.” If such a technology became available, who would be most likely to approve of it or condemn it? Research has shown that fear of death positively predicts the moral approval of hypothetical mind upload technology, while religiosity may have the opposite effect. We build on these findings, drawing also from work on religiosity and existential mattering as predictors of perceived meaning in one’s life. In a cross-sectional study (N = 1,007), we show that existential mattering and afterlife beliefs are negatively associated with moral approval of mind upload technology: people who believe there is a soul or some form of afterlife and who also report a high level of existential mattering, are least likely to morally approve of mind upload technology. Indeed, mind uploading—if it ever becomes feasible—is a form of technology that would fundamentally redraw the existential boundaries of what it means to be human.

Citation

Laakasuo, M., Sundvall, J., Francis, K., Drosinou, M., Hannikainen, I., Kunnari, A., & Palomäki, J. (2023). Would you exchange your soul for immortality?—existential meaning and afterlife beliefs predict mind upload approval. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1254846. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1254846

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Nov 21, 2023
Online Publication Date	Dec 14, 2023
Publication Date	Dec 14, 2023
Deposit Date	Dec 22, 2023
Publicly Available Date	Jan 3, 2024
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	14
Article Number	1254846
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1254846
Keywords	mind upload, moral psychology of AI, moral judgment, meaning in life, terror management, multidimensional existential meaning scale, afterlife beliefs, existential mattering