Death and immortality have always been a fascinating field of interest for humans. Ever since we learned how to make fire and use it to our advantage, we have wanted to learn more about life, death and life after death. The idea to stay alive forever however, seemed like a far fetched idea. Until now!

The past couple of decades has seen technology develop at an alarmingly fast rate. Starting from the telephone to connecting people around the world through one small device, tech advancements have made many things that once seemed far fetched, a reality. Scientists, researchers and inventors alike have claimed that soon humans will be able to download their personality onto a supercomputer.

Dr. Michio Kaku, an American theoretical physicist, futurist and popularizer of science, is one of the believers of virtual immortality. Speaking about the idea of living through a computer program, in the documentary Curiosity Stream, he said, “Imagine being able to speak to your loved one after they died, but it is possible if their personality has been downloaded onto a computer as an avatar. You would be able to communicate with them as if they were still here. They would, in effect, become immortal.”

Following the same school of thought, many startups around the world have been researching for means to preserve the personality of people. Advanced artificial intelligence, cryogenics, anti aging research and virtual reality are helping people move from blind faith and towards science and technology as a source of hope for immortality.

In a post about why you should upload yourself to a supercomputer, Canadian bioethicist, transhumanist and futurist, George Dvorsky said, “Many credible scientists, philosophers and futurists believe there’s nothing inherently intractable about the process. The human brain an apparent substrate independent Turing Machine adheres to the laws of physics in a material universe. Eventually, we’ll be able to create a model of it using nonbiological stuff and even convert, or transfer, existing analog brains to digital ones.”

USA based startup Human Resurrection through Artificial Intelligence or HUMAI also plans to make immortality a reality. According to HUMAI’s CEO Josh Bocanegra, when the time comes, the company would be able to freeze the brain, create a new, artificial body, repair any damage to your brain and transfer it into your new body. On their website, the company further adds, “We’re using artificial intelligence and nanotechnology to store data of conversational styles, behavioral patterns, thought processes and information about how your body functions from the inside out. This data will be coded into multiple sensor technologies, which will be built into an artificial body with the brain of a deceased human.”

A software developer from the US, Eugenia Kuyda, developed a chatbot which is almost identical in speech to her late friend, Roman Mazurenko, by feeding some 8,000 lines of text messages into a Google programme. The programme is designed to allow people to create chatbots which in turn creates an experience as if it were two humans chatting. While the programme is very similar to an episode of Charlie Brooker’s futuristic TV show Black Mirror, the bot would help people who are grieving, find peace and solace.

Although the predictions seem like they belong in a science fiction book or movie, there are people all over the world contributing to a form of technology that may one day allow humans to live forever.