An infomorph is a virtual body of
information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
that possesses
self-awareness
In philosophy of self, self-awareness is the experience of one's own personality or individuality. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While consciousness is being aware of one's environment and body and lifesty ...
and
sentience
Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '':wikt:sentientem, sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it fro ...
. The term was coined in
Charles Platt's 1991 novel ''The Silicon Man'', where it refers to a single biological consciousness transferred into a computer through a process of
mind transfer
Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information pr ...
. In the book, a character defines an infomorph as "intelligence held in a computer memory", and an "information entity".
In the 2002 game
Transhuman Space
''Transhuman Space'' (THS) is a role-playing game by David Pulver, published by Steve Jackson Games as part of the "Powered by ''GURPS''" (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'') line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the S ...
, an infomorph is any form of sentient or near-sentient
computer program
A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components.
A computer program ...
, which may exist either only in the computer networks or occupy a physical body: robot, android, a living thing ("wetware", "bioshell"). They may be of two main types: mind emulations (
mind-uploaded human intelligencies) and "native" artificial intelligencies. These types are further classified into subtypes.
In
EVE Online
''Eve Online'' (stylised ''EVE Online'') is a space-based, persistent world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by CCP Games. Players of ''Eve Online'' can participate in a number of in-game profess ...
, "Infomorph Psychology" and "Advanced Infomorph Psychology" are neural enhancement skills for pilots using "jump clones" to alleviate the unsettling effect of the detaching of one's consciousness and transferring it into a remote clone.
Ei NPC Ships Neural Enhancement Infomorph Psychology
eveinfo.com
See also
* Ascension (Stargate)
The mythology of the ''Stargate'' franchise is the historical backstory of the ''Stargate'' premise, which centers around xeno-mythology as experienced by humans during episodic contact. In the fictional universe of the franchise, the people of ...
* Mind uploading
Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information pr ...
* Omega Point
* Simulated reality
The simulation theory is the hypothesis that reality could be simulated—for example by quantum computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds that may or may not know that they live i ...
References
Science fiction themes
Transhumanism
Posthumanism
1990s neologisms
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