[GA - UP NEXT] Virtual Mind Convention

Virtual Mind Convention
Category: Civil Rights | Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Moduland, Co-authored by: Cessarea, General TN | Onsite Topic​

Believing that all sapient individuals have certain inalienable rights protected by their member state and the World Assembly;

Acknowledging that technological advances in certain member states can or will allow for a sapient individual to upload their consciousness and mind onto a machine and / or virtual device;

Affirming that the rights of an individual should not end if their mind is restored electronically after leaving their original body;

The following shall be enacted:

1. Defines:
   • "Virtual mind" as an uploaded, complete version of a sapient individual's mind and consciousness into a computer or other electronic device capable of emulating the original mind of the individual.
   • "Original mind" as the sapient individual's first mind and consciousness originating when their life began.
   • "Original body" as the sapient individual's first body originating at initial creation.
2. No individual shall be denied the right to prepare, or have a third party prepare, a virtual mind for themselves.
3. An original mind may not be uploaded into a virtual mind without the explicit written consent of the individual as outlined in Section 4.
4. A pre-emptive document shall be prepared by an individual or one provided with power of attorney over said individual, in the presence of one or more different individuals and certified through existing processes defined by individual member states, which shall define how copies of an individual's virtual mind shall be used.
5. Member states and individuals are required to comply with the limitations pre-emptively imposed by any individual on the use of their virtual mind in accordance with Section 4.
6. Member states shall codify under law that any violation of an individual's mandates for their virtual mind under Section 4 shall be a crime and prosecuted accordingly.
7. Virtual minds may be implanted only into the original body of the individual or new bodies as approved under the binding document described in Section 4.
8. Member states shall codify under law that all individuals who are living with a virtual mind shall retain all rights they had prior to uploading their mind and consciousness into said computer or other electronic device.
9. Any limitations imposed on the individual in the jurisdiction of law while the sapient operated as their original mind will transfer over to the individual’s virtual mind.
10. The WA Commission on Human Rights (WACHR) shall review member state laws and periodically inspect to ensure laws are sufficient and adequately enforced to protect the rights of those individuals who are living with a virtual mind. If a violation of the rights of an individual living with a virtual mind is identified, the WACHR shall inform the World Assembly Compliance Commission who shall take appropriate action toward the violating member state to ensure compliance.
11. A member state organ shall establish guidelines for the installation, setup, and transition of virtual minds into new bodies based on the available medical technology in said member state and provide copies of said guidelines to the Biomedical Innovation Organization.
12. The World Assembly Biomedical Innovation Organization shall be tasked with the following:
    • Review all guidelines provided under Section 11 to confirm said procedures are safe and effective;
    • Establish a comprehensive database of guidelines provided from member states under Section 11; and
    • Assist member states, when requested, in establishing their own guidelines based on existing medical technologies, the database per 12.b, and reasonable safety precautions.

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• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
• Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
• Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
• Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.

Gorundu:

This proposal is on a very much still speculative technology IRL. You don’t need to be a bioethicist to know that there are plenty of ethical issues associated with copying someone’s brain and uploading it to another body. Since clause 2 of the proposal essentially requires this speculative technology to be legal across all WA states, I am against on this basis alone.

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Moduland:

[Non-WA / Cit] Thanks for the feedback, Gorundu. I disagree, obviously, as the primary author. What this proposal does is legalize said futuristic tech; however, it does not mandate that member states provide said tech to individuals. Nothing in this forces a member state to upgrade or import said technology. It's like space tech or vehicle regulations in the WA in that the regulations exist if said technology exists in your nation. The difference here is because this is personal tech where a person's mind is in the midst of it, so we're ensuring civil rights are protected in case a person decides to use said technology in a state where it exists.

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Gorundu:

I understand that nations are not required to develop or import this technology if they are not capable, but the phrasing that "No individual shall be denied the right..." leads me to believe that there is a reasonable legal argument that can be made by an individual to demand their government to allow the individual to import the technology if they have the ability to do so.

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Moduland:

[Non-WA / Cit] Thanks for responding. The line reinforces that member states cannot make it illegal for a person to do this to themselves. The proposal is entirely consent-dependent. If an individual from a member state without this technology decides to import it and chooses to use it on themselves, then I still don't see the issue. I do not see the difference between that and an individual in an RP low tech nation importing a car from a modern tech nation?

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