11 "Mind Upload" Science Fiction Book Recommendations
My recommendations on books that explore the "mind copy"/"mind upload"/"digital immortality" trope
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I've mentioned before that I love the mind upload science fiction trope. It confronts head-on some of the most interesting philosophical questions about consciousness and personal identity. If a brain scan can digitize our mind so it can be simulated on a computer, it would mean our minds can be represented in data. Data can easily be copied or altered. This leads to some of the classical questions of personal identity, like the teletransportation paradox—if we could create a copy of your mind, forking it into two separate continuations, is there a real answer to which one is truly "you"?
Mind uploads are pretty implausible as technology we'll see soon, if ever. But under the most popular view of consciousness among philosophers and scientists (functionalism, which posits that consciousness is constituted by the functional processes the brain performs), mind uploads are at least a theoretical possibility. Some think this implication is an embarrassment for functionalism, but others (myself included) think it's a strength—if we had a mind upload that (if properly hooked up to a robot body) could do everything a normal person could, by what criteria would we decide they're not conscious?
Mind uploads also naturally lead to existential questions about what we value—if we were virtual entities that were easily alterable, would we change things about ourselves, even about the things we desire? Just as it's hard to declare one copy of a mind upload as the "true" you, it's hard to privilege certain desires as central to who we are if all of them are completely malleable.
In other words, mind uploads tickle my brain in all the right ways. So I wanted to share a few science fiction books I really like that use that trope. Most of these are novels, but there are a couple of short story collections thrown in, hence me repeatedly saying "books" instead of the more specific "novels".
Speaking of short stories, if you don't want to commit to a full book but want to whet your appetite for the trope, there's a few freely available short stories:
Where Am I by Daniel Dennett is a lovely short story—Dennett was a giant in philosophy of mind, and as far as I'm aware this is the only fiction he ever wrote, but it's a lovely bit of philosophical fiction to give you a flavor for mind upload stories.
Lena by qntm is a darkly humorous story in the form of an encyclopedia article about the first mind upload.
If you really want to flatter me, you could read my stories in this vein: Sacrificial Copy is about someone needing to make a choice about uploading their mind in a crisis where the stakes are higher than life or death. Rest In Virtual is about a dying man undergoing a mind upload, only to wake up still trapped in his failing body and then has to confront his copy.
Now on to some books!
Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm
This is a short story collection full of quirky, smart stories. Not all of the stories include mind uploads, but two of the most notable are—Lena (mentioned above) and the title story, Valuable Humans in Transit. The writing tends towards smart dark humor and has a real nerdy bent (qntm is a software engineer). qntm (the pen name for Sam Hughes) is one of my favorite writers—I've previously reviewed one of his most popular novels, There Is No Antimemetics Division. This collection is an excellent introduction to him if you haven't read his work before.
Read if you like: Short stories; smart, nerdy, dark humor
Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer
In this world, mindscans are a new technology for those who can afford it when they're near death—but then their flesh-and-blood originals go to a luxury retirement center (on the moon for some reason). What I liked about the book is that it explores the legal and social implications as well as the philosophical questions mind uploads raise. The writing is very accessible, but the character development is about on par with a thriller—cardboard cutouts meant to move the story along to the main show: the big ideas.
Read if you like: Stories that focus on the ideas; accessible reads
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams
At times gruesome, this book is mostly about exploring what makes life worth living. All of humanity has been uploaded against their will by a superintelligent AI and has to find various ways to amuse themselves in a world where they can have whatever they want and it isn't possible to truly die. What do you do when you no longer have something to strive for? It's a thoughtful, short, and amusing read, but also a bit gratuitously violent1.
Read if you like: Graphic content; existential questions; AI ethics questions
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
A cyberpunk noir thriller where everyone has their mind stored in a "stack" that can be placed into different bodies ("sleeves"). It's dark and gritty, and the whole concept of being able to "resleeve" (getting a new body) goes surprisingly well with the usual cyberpunk themes—the wealthy elite use the technology for immortality, while the rest of the populace isn't so lucky. This is likely the best known book on this list, since they made a Netflix series out of it (which was pretty good!).
Read if you like: Cyberpunk; noir; thrillers
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Taking place in the far future when humans are spread across many different planets, this book has a lot of cosmic horror elements. Super powerful but poorly understood technology, artifacts from ancient alien civilizations, and transhumanist monsters are common throughout. There are multiple types of mind uploads, from true simulations based on brain scans to entities modeled on one's behavior but lacking true self-awareness/consciousness.
Read if you like: Space operas; great imagery; dark stories
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor
This is the most light-hearted read on this list. Full of nerdy pop-culture references, the protagonist (Bob) has his mind uploaded into a self-replicating probe. Then Earth goes downhill, and Bob has to fix it, mostly by making many copies of himself. It's fun, though lighter on the philosophy side than the other recommendations here.2
Read if you like: Humor; nerdy references
A bunch of books by Greg Egan
Greg Egan is my favorite science fiction writer, largely because mind uploads play a role in a lot of his writing. But another reason is how well thought-out the concepts in his stories are. Even when he's writing extremely speculative stuff, he grounds it heavily in an understanding of science and doesn't shy away from philosophical questions.
I wasn't able to choose a single mind upload Greg Egan book. Instead, here's a few, in the order I would recommend them in.
Read if you like: Hard science fiction; mind bending fiction
Permutation City: My favorite science fiction novel, this is about a near-ish future where uploading minds to a simulated reality becomes possible. Questions of what to do when you can shape your reality—and yourself—in any way you want is one of the themes, along with other speculative philosophical questions about consciousness.
Axiomatic: A short story collection, containing various stories of mind uploads and mind augmentations. Incredibly thought provoking.
Schild's Ladder: This is a far-future story where people are digital. The protagonists make a new discovery about the laws of physics, and scientific adventure begins. The title of this story is a reference to a method in differential geometry for, roughly, following the same direction in a curved surface. It's a nerdy metaphor for how we find our way, both as we change personally, as a species, and through chaotic environments. It's very Egan to make such a reference.
Diaspora: This is often recommended alongside Permutation City, as it explores similar themes and could be seen as a spiritual sequel. It takes place in the distant future, and has less of a traditional narrative arc, but explores many of the same ideas. If you liked Permutation City, this would be a good follow-up.
Zendegi: An interesting blend of Iranian politics and mind uploads, this is a near-future novel that has the most plausible version of "mind uploads" I've read—they're explicitly copies instead of true uploads. The philosophical questions aren't as central to the story, but it's a good book and makes it on this list for the plausibility of the technology.
Let me know in the comments if you have any favorites that use the mind upload trope or that touch on philosophy of mind more generally!
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Pro tip: If you want to read this book to your kids, do it when they are too young to understand anything—ideally as young as possible, like in the hospital the day they are born. The kid won’t be disturbed at all by the details, though you might get a glare from the new mother after you read aloud a passage about someone getting shot in the face. I might know this from experience.
Pro tip 2: The light, humorous nature of this book makes it perfect for reading to a new mom while she is breastfeeding your firstborn son, to get back on her good side after reading The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect to your newborn. I might know this from experience.
revenge of the nerds by cory doctorow and charles stross . must read. I know you said Egan. But I gotta say: EGAN!!. I also recommend my paper Metaphysical Daring as a Posthuman Survival Strategy if you’d rather read an academic blabberer blabber about Egan than read Egan
More books to add to my TBR list! 🥳
Another couple of books that I read recently that very effectively centre on this trope are The Stone Canal and The Cassini Division by Ken MacLeod, part of his Fall Revolution quartet. I might disagree with his take on it on a philosophical level, but he's a great storyteller.