Who will we Be?

Although we come to the table with the senses that we have evolved with, like our eyes, ears, and our sense of touch, in theory there is no limit to the number of new senses we may create in the future. The brain is so flexible that it may be possible that, for instance, we develop new sensory channels that allow us to perceive weather data or stock market data.

Science and technology are giving us the tools to push the boundaries of the human life cycle.

David visits Alcor Life Extension Foundation where CEO Max More explains that the team’s aim is to give people a second chance at life.

Sebastian Seung explains how he and his team are beginning to build a three dimensional map of the brain’s connections, starting with a mouse brain.

It may be the case that the software of the brain can run on different platforms. Swapping out cells for circuits; oxygen for electricity it may be possible for the mind to one day exist digitally.

David meets iCub, a humanoid robot that is designed to interact and learn from the world.

Dr. David Eagleman demonstrates the Chinese Room thought experiment, which exposes the enduring mystery of how physical pieces and parts give rise to our experience of the world.

Dr. David Eagleman visits the Houston Zoo to see how a colony of ants, working together, can give rise to something much greater than the sum of its parts. And so it may be with the brain.

Imagine life inside a computer, in a simulated world. Could we be there already?

Dr. David Eagleman journeys into the future, and asks what’s next for the human brain, and for our species. He reveals that in the future our descendants may be so different to us that we will be strangers to them.