# A Perfect Copy of My Pattern Would Not Necessarily Be Me by Ray Kurzweil > “Although the copy shares my pattern, it would be hard to say that the copy is me because I would (or could) still be here. You could even scan and copy me while I was sleeping. If you come to me in the morning and say, “Good news, Ray, we’ve successfully reinstantiated you into a more durable substrate, so we won’t be needing your old body and brain anymore,” I may beg to differ.” > **— Ray Kurzweil**, *2002, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION? ... WHY?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Who am I? What am I?](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10746) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2002 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION? ... WHY?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2002 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2002 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Uploading Is Imminent|Uploading Is Imminent]] - **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]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Mind Uploading|Mind Uploading]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Mind Uploading|Mind Uploading]] - [[wiki/Ray Kurzweil|Ray Kurzweil]] - [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] - [[wiki/Identity Is Not What Matters|Identity Is Not What Matters]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Although the copy shares my pattern, it would be hard to say that the copy is me because I would (or could) still be here. You could even scan and copy me while I was sleeping. If you come to me in the morning and say, “Good news, Ray, we’ve successfully reinstantiated you into a more durable substrate, so we won’t be needing your old body and brain anymore,” I may beg to differ.” — Ray Kurzweil, 2002, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION? ... WHY?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-ray-kurzweil-perfect-copy-pattern-necessarily-me ```