# Backed-Up Minds Lose Only Their Latest Memories by Max Tegmark > “Subjectively, these machines wouldn't feel like we do. Would they feel anything at all? I believe that consciousness is the way information feels when being processed. I therefore think it's likely that they too would feel self-aware, and should be viewed not as mere lifeless machines but as conscious beings like us—but with a consciousness that subjectively feels quite different from ours. For example, they would probably lack our strong human fear of death: as long as they've backed themselves up, all they stand to lose are the memories they've accumulated since their most recent backup.” > **— Max Tegmark**, *2013, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT *SHOULD* WE BE WORRIED ABOUT?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Life As We Know It](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/23690) — the official response page preserves this exact, continuous passage and its surrounding argument. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2013 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2013 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response object and all canonical reminder links derived from it. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Mind Uploading|Mind Uploading]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Mind Uploading|Mind Uploading]] - [[wiki/Memory Continuity|Memory Continuity]] - [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] - [[wiki/Substrate Independence|Substrate Independence]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Subjectively, these machines wouldn't feel like we do. Would they feel anything at all? I believe that consciousness is the way information feels when being processed. I therefore think it's likely that they too would feel self-aware, and should be viewed not as mere lifeless machines but as conscious beings like us—but with a consciousness that subjectively feels quite different from ours. For example, they would probably lack our strong human fear of death: as long as they've backed themselves up, all they stand to lose are the memories they've accumulated since their most recent backup.” — Max Tegmark, 2013, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT *SHOULD* WE BE WORRIED ABOUT?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-max-tegmark-backed-up-minds-latest-memories ```