The Futurist Ray Kurzweil is predicting that by the year 2045 it will be possible to upload the entire content of the human memory to a computer. Technologies are also currently being developed to assist the elderly with memory recollection, in an effort to alleviate the pain and stress associated with memory loss in later life.
Yet is there a reason our brains are wired to forget?
In this podcast Professor Noreen Herzfeld from St John's University Minnesota looks at recent studies on human memory, and asks whether capturing the past in a purely digital format will destroy the very thing that makes human memories precious in the first place.
Would you upload your memory?