History Main / BrainUploading

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The greatest minds of Amphibia and past monarchs learned to cheat death by managing to upload their consciousness to a MindHive that would end up being known as [[Characters/AmphibiaTheCore the Core]].

* ''Fanfic/BlueSky'': It's revealed that [[spoiler:Wheatley used to be a human, too]]. The memories of the uploading could definitely be considered MindRape, since at the same time the Aperture scientists ripped out their victim's memories. They keep the body, though, and the story avoids the "cloning" question by [[spoiler:downloading Wheatley's memories back into his original body]].

** In the Greg Mandel trilogy, Philip Evans, the aging CEO of Event Horizon, has grand visions for the future but is dying with only his teenage granddaughter to carry on the torch, so he uploads his brain into a neural network bioware core. It also works as an UpgradeArtifact, enabling him to run a MegaCorp with the singular direction of a family corporation.
** Edenists in ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy'' upload themselves to the neural strata (brain) of living habitats at the moment of their deaths. Notably, the individual's consciousness only exists as a discrete entity for a few decades before it is absorbed into the habitat's gestalt personality. [[spoiler:Also, souls objectively exist. They are distinct from a person's consciousness and are ''not'' uploaded.]]

* Can the upload be copied? If the answer is "no," the work might be a softer sci-fi, although it's also possible to make it a little harder by running the [=AIs=] on a quantum computer and saying something about the "[[ShownTheirWork No-Cloning Theorem]]," or simply declare the recording to be [[CloneDegeneration analog]].

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_uploading_in_fiction This]] article from Website/TheOtherWiki contains a list of examples...

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession23BrainScratch Brain Scratch]]." A new religious cult is encouraging people to upload themselves to the net, [[spoiler:but it turns out that the upload machines are completely fake and the uploadees are unknowingly just killing themselves]].
* ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999'' has a couple of instances of a gigantic supercomputer being used to simulate the brain of a deceased human. Whether the series' main antagonists, the "Machine-Humans," also qualify or are simply disembodied human brains inhabiting robotic shells is not made clear.

** The second feature film, ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShell1995 Innocence]]'', features a multitude of ghost-dubbed dolls manipulated for the purpose of freeing [[PoweredByAForsakenChild the enslaved children used to dub them]]. It raises the question of whether, being imparted with some aspect of human consciousness, the dubbed dolls cannot be considered alive, and thus victims themselves in the film's violent plot.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'':
** A South American guerilla hero/Che Guevera [[CaptainErsatz analog]] undergoes [[MesACrowd multiple ghost-dubbings]] into clone bodies as a way to "miraculously survive" multiple assassination attempts. Both the Major and Batou considered this considerably dangerous and "macho." The dictator himself died after three ghost-dubs (still, as the Major notes, surviving just one was [[HeroicResolve testament to his willpower]]) but his dub was then copied into multiple clones.
** In one of the ''Stand Alone Complex'' episodes this golden rule gets oddly broken, when a disappointed indie movie director makes a perfect movie inside his [[BrainInAJar disembodied cyberbrain]], which caused people who connected themselves to it to lose themselves in the movie and become comatose in reality. Just how this could be possible when a brain should only be able to host one Ghost, and it's impossible for a Ghost to leave its original "data-storage" without highly specialized equipment as described above, is never explained. It's more likely that they're not entering that brain, rather just viewing particular data and encountering something not unlike the Individual Eleven meme.
* ''Anime/{{Kaiba}}'' explores the idea of digitizing one's memories/souls to achieve immortality and looks at the potential side effects of such technology such as the increasing gap between the rich and poor, the casual way people might just delete the memory chips of their loved ones to make more space for other people, and how quickly people can throw away their bodies to swap for new ones.
* In ''Manga/KingOfThorn'', one of the first things super-hacker Zeus does as part of his AGodAmI is download his mind into a new Medusa form. "That shell could never contain my potential..."
* The Prof. Shiba from ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'' who, before his death, transfer his consciousness and memory inside of a computer.
* ''[[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Mobile Suit Gundam]]'':

*** ''Skull Heart'' has an interesting example: the Jupiter Empire somehow got ahold of the original Gundam's battle computer, which had stored in it Amuro Ray's complete battle data from the One Year War. They used this to create a partial AI and uploaded it into a new Gundam... which went berserk and attacked everything in sight because someone didn't set the targeting parameters correctly. Although it's destroyed, it's briefly hinted, right as the machine "dies," that a true piece of Amuro's mind might have been present in the data.

*** Innovators have the ability to transfer their consciousness to Veda after [[spoiler: their deaths]] Used primarily by Ribbons [[spoiler:and Tieria Erde]] to [[spoiler:cheat death]].

** In ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray'', Lowe gains possession of a strange module from a [[GodGuise worshiper of George Glenn]], the so-called "First Coordinator." This black box just happens to contain ''Glenn's [[BrainInAJar actual brain]]'', and eventually Lowe's BunnyEarsLawyer teammate Professor hooks it up to a holographic projector, allowing George to captain the Junk Guild's battleship.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'': It turns out that [[spoiler:the Gundam Aerial contains the uploaded consciousness of Ericht Samaya, Suletta's elder sister... and the person Suletta herself was cloned from. Her mind was transferred as an EmergencyTransformation when Ericht's body started dying from the stress of living in space. The reason Aerial can be piloted safely without Suletta being affected by Data Storms is because Ericht is shielding her from it. It's also implied that the bits Aerial controls also have clones of Ericht's mind uploaded into them. However, Ericht has very limited autonomy inside the Gundam, which is why a pilot is still required to operate it.]]

** EVA units and the MAGI supercomputer are borderline examples. More like "[[SoulJar Soul Uploading]]" though.

* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': It's common for hunters to have a 'black box' of sorts installed in their body as part of an insurance plan to make them into a FullConversionCyborg if their original body dies, which causes Search and Rescue operations to treat dead bodies the same as wounded. It's also possible to back up someone's personality via the old world internet. Both of these serve as a means for villains to come BackFromTheDead.
* ''Manga/ShimejiSimulation'': Many of the residents in West Yomogi are revealed [[spoiler:to have been created by the simulation, with Shijima and Big Sis being the case as they were created next to the danchis and ''not born'' from their absent parents, who are also non-existent. Through Yomikawa's reveal regarding the true nature of the simulation and connecting two key events of ''Manga/GirlsLastTour'' through the story she read to Shijima — the RobotWar and Chito and Yuuri's visit to the space station after seeing the third rocket going to the end of the universe — it is revealed that humans ''actually'' continued existence by uploading their consciousness inside of it in order for humanity to survive after the RobotWar and launching the said supercomputer through space inside a space shuttle to prevent it from being destroyed.]]

** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' Annual #1 story "The Surrogate," a young tooljerk named Cryssia is hooked up to a wave amplifier which connects her mind to an invulnerable robot body on the surface of Praxis IX, a planet with a predominantly methane atmosphere and a surface temperature close to 1,000 degrees, so that its platinum reserves can be mined. However, almost as soon as she is connected, Cryssia's entire consciousness is transferred to the robot body. Having been told by the scientist who subjected her to this treatment that the mass of the robot body can be reformed at will, Cryssia transforms it into a giant, golden version of Supergirl with the ability to fly. In her childhood, her parents had told her stories of Supergirl's legendary exploits on Old Earth, and she had always imagined herself as the hero. Cryssia uses her new body to destroy the space station orbiting Praxis IX and kill the scientist who did this to her. Although her original body is destroyed, the process that transferred her consciousness to the robot body was irreversible.

* ''Webcomic/ScoobAndShag'': [[spoiler:Penny duplicated her own mind into the robot she built, giving him a personality.]] Initially, he considered himself a part of her; later on, he developed his own personality and individuality as "[[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget the Inspector]]."

* Deconstructed in ''Film/{{Advantageous}}.'' Gwen, the protagonist, loses her job as a corporate spokesperson due to age and racial discrimination, just as the company that's firing her is perfecting Brain Uploading technology. In order to support her daughter, she asks to be put into a younger body and return to her job as the company's spokesperson. [[spoiler:The technology is still in its infancy. When the newer, younger Gwen feels disconnected and distant from her daughter, she finds out that she wasn't "uploaded" so much as "photocopied." Fragments of Gwen's memories and experiences were put into a new host body and blended with the host's personality; in short, the original Gwen is dead, and the new spokesperson is an entirely new being.]]

** Similarly, in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', Data tries to help B4 become "more than his programming," and uploads his experiences and memories into B4's much simpler brain. [[spoiler:Later, when Captain Picard tells B4 of Data's death, B4 is understandably confused but later starts absentmindedly singing a song that Data did. When he gets stuck on a stanza, Picard prompts him with the next line, wondering if possibly Data is actually somewhere in B4.]]
* ''Film/TortureGarden'': In "Terror Over Hollywood," the Hollywood elite of actors, directors, and producers who seem to maintain their popularity and youth for decades have all had their brains uploaded into robot bodies.

** IKZ employees are able to upload their minds into Simulacron-1, appearing as themselves within the simulated world, mainly for the purposes of interacting with the contact unit nicknamed "Einstein."

** In "Learning to Be Me," children are fitted with a "jewel" -- a small solid-state computer that monitors all brain activity and emulates it, guiding (or forcing) a slaved A.I. to be a mental clone of the growing child. As middle age approaches, it is traditional to have the failing grey goo scooped out of your skull and let the jewel take over. If you ''are'' the failing grey goo, you have a horrible dilemma to face -- but are you ''absolutely sure'' you aren't the jewel?

** The short story "Finished" features a destructive form of brain uploading, called "finishing." The patient is immersed in a tub of microscopic machines, which infiltrate the body and begin to scan and record everything while destroying the tissue to power themselves. The scanned brain is then downloaded into a robotic body designed to mimic human appearance. However, because the scan is only of a few seconds of brain activity and because of the non-rewritable nature of the robotic brain, emotions recorded when someone is "finished" remain lingering for the rest of the time they remain alive in their artificial body. Thus, if someone is finished on a good day, they'll always be in a fairly good mood, but if they are finished while terminally ill or suffering, [[FateWorseThanDeath they'll be suffering for hundreds of years]].

* Discussed in ''The Biology of Franchise/StarTrek''. Athena Andreadis's general conclusion is "it's theoretically possible assuming a ludicrous amount of highly reliable data storage, but if it could be done, it's very likely you would go insane."

* This is the entire plot of ''Circuit of Heaven'' by Dennis Danvers. 99% or so of humanity has uploaded their consciousness into "The Bin," a giant computer storage that lets them all live virtual lives. Those who chose to remain behind live in a CrapsackWorld where everything's been abandoned. They are allowed to temporarily visit their relatives within The Bin, doing a temporary brain uploading.

* In ''Literature/{{Genome}}'', Alex eventually discovers that [[spoiler:"Edgar," the so-called artificial virtual personality, is actually the uploaded mind of Edward Garlitski, a brilliant geneticist, whose ideas were so controversial that TheEmperor ordered his mind to be uploaded into a [[DataCrystal gel crystal]] and his body destroyed (it doesn't help that, in the prequel, Edward's OppositeSexClone tried to start a rebellion in the Empire). This probably means that the original Garlitski is dead and gone, and "Edgar" is just a copy]].

** During the [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression First Galactic War]], the [[TheEmpire Earth Alliance]] [[AMechByAnyOtherName serv-machines]] used human pilots working in direct neural contact with A.I.s. Over time, an A.I. would learn from the pilot and even adopt some of the pilot's personality traits. One novel involves a lead designer putting an extremely complex A.I. module into a new series of serv-machines with a lot more {{Data Crystal}}s. All the members of that battalion end up dying in battle. However, their machines are recovered, repaired, and reused. Over time, the A.I.s end up resurrecting the personalities of the dead pilots. Later (in-universe chronology) novels deal with the implications of the ImportedAlienPhlebotinum called "logr." A logr is a small DataCrystal that's also an incredibly powerful computer. They were specifically designed millions of years ago to preserve the minds of dead [[StarfishAliens Logrians]] after death in a fully functional virtual world. Once humans get their hands on the tech, the implications are staggering. No one needs to die permanently anymore. They can survive in their own private world. Additionally, reliable cloning tech means that ResurrectiveImmortality could become a reality. This, though, is clamped down on, as it presents so many legal issues (e.g., inheritance, property, debts), it's easier to just make it illegal to clone a new body. Ultimately, a solution is found by sending volunteers to faraway worlds to settle them and start brand-new lives. There's also a very real fear of ImmortalityImmorality, as evidenced by the [[HumanAliens Harammins]], whose Immortal Quota has ruled a stagnant empire for three million years by using this tech.

* The ''Literature/JennyCasey'' series by Creator/ElizabethBear features a sentient A.I. with the memory and behavioral patterns of physicist UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman. Despite thinking of himself as "Dick" or "Richard," he's very clear on being a different person than the original Feynman. He also takes considerable advantage of the increased processor power he finds, duplicating himself many times [[spoiler:and eventually becoming a sort of guardian to the entire Earth]].

* In ''Literature/LineOfDelirium'', ResurrectiveImmortality called [=aTan=] (anti-Thanatos) is achieved by first performing an excruciatingly painful molecular scan (for the MatterReplicator) and implanting the person with a "neural net," which appears to be a series of brain implants with a SubspaceAnsible. According to the official story, at the moment of death, the net beams the total sum of the person's knowledge (including the memory of dying) into the [=aTan=] Corporation's databanks. If the person's resurrection has been paid (always in advance), the nearest [=aTan=] facility replicates a new body based on the saved template and downloads the person's mind into it. The real truth is that it's impossible for a neural net to send out so much information in a single burst, especially since it's entirely possible for it to be damaged or destroyed during the person's death. Instead, the net is constantly transmitting new memories, and the end of the transmission is treated as death. Attempts to block the transmission trigger a resurrection, except the new body might have all the person's memories but none of the consciousness. Should the original find a way to kill himself, the new body suddenly becomes a full-fledged person. That's right, OurSoulsAreDifferent. It's also possible, but highly illegal, to record and look through a person's memories like an audio-visual film.

* ''Literature/PostSelf'': In the 22nd century, brain uploading into a virtual reality known as "The System" is developed. By the 24th century, the System is hosted on a space station in Lagrange orbit, and Earth's ecosystem has degraded to the point that governments are paying people to upload. A major theme is the impact of "forking," creating copies of uploaded people, on personal identity.

* In "Staying Behind," a short story by Ken Liu, civilization has collapsed because most people chose to live forever in digital form, and those who refuse are left in a ScavengerWorld with little to offer their children.

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in the ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'' episode "Adam Ruins Death." Adam points out that copying our memories onto a computer, even when that becomes a possibility, will just make an advanced version of Siri. A clip shows an old man hooked up to a computer. The computer shows a simulated face that appears to be the man's uploaded mind. Then the old man realizes that ''he'' is still dying, no matter what. The episode's point is that death is inevitable and that we should just accept that it's going to happen and not expect science to solve that eternal fact.

%%* A similar plot happens in an episode of ''Series/AmazingStories'' called "The Eternal Mind."

** "[[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas White Christmas]]" has "cookies," digital assistants created by scanning a person's brain so that the system is truly personalized and knows exactly what its master wants. Problem is, the copy thinks that it's actually the person and requires ColdBloodedTorture in order to psychologically break it and render it wholly subservient. This becomes relevant at the end with [[spoiler:the fate of the Joe cookie. As vengeance against the real Joe, a police officer leaves the console on overnight and speeds up time on it so that "Joe" will [[YearInsideHourOutside live one thousand years for every minute]] that passes in the real world, with Wizzard's "I Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday" playing on an endless loop in the background (with the revelation that any attempt at stopping the song will simply raise the volume) and the frozen dead body of Bethany's daughter visible from the cottage window. The final shot of the program is of "Joe" screaming. He has to spend upwards of ''one or two million years'' in that cabin, alone with himself, that song on infinite repeat, and the little girl's dead body outside]].

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The demon Moloch the Corrupter, from "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E8IRobotYouJane I Robot, You Jane]]," was sealed into a book. After the book is scanned with an Internet-connected computer, the demon's mind [[HauntedTechnology escapes onto the Internet]] to seduce more victims, eventually getting them to build him a robot body.

* ''Series/TheCollector2004'' had an episode where the client of the week sold her soul to create a perfect robot. By the time her soul needs to be ferried to Hell, she plans on uploading her mind into the robot so that she will live forever and escape damnation. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong, she can't actually move the body, and the Devil decides it's a much worse fate if he leaves her soul in there and just pays the power bills so that the robot will never power down.]]

** This happens to [[SapientShip the TARDIS]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife The Doctor's Wife]]." Her mind is uploaded into a human body, while the MonsterOfTheWeek uploads itself into her original body. The rest of the episode consists of the Doctor and the TARDIS working together to get her back into her own body.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn The Bells of St John]]" has Miss Kizlet upload humans into the data-cloud using robots known as "spoonheads." The minds are [[AndIMustScream trapped]] inside the data-cloud, until they are either downloaded/freed, or [[spoiler:fed upon by the [[EldritchAbomination Great Intelligence]]]]. Minds can be modified during an upload, with her ordering one uploaded person to be "spliced with the computer skills package," granting them computer skills they didn't have before.

** The Twelfth Doctor's GrandFinale, "[[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime Twice Upon a Time]]," has the Testimony, a technology that travels space and time capturing humans at the moment just before death, uploading their memories and personalities into its database, and then returning the unawares humans to their destined fates. This is used to create Glass People avatars of the dead who retain their memories and personalities and can interact with others. As it was the Twelfth Doctor who dealt with the Nethersphere, he knows that there's something up with the Testimony too, and TheReveal is that this is being done to [[spoiler:allow the dead to live again after a fashion and provide their knowledge to future generations of humans, who created it in the far, far future. Twelve is surprised and embarrassed to realize there is NoAntagonist and no EvilPlan at work]].

** Many characters consider the technology to work like downloading computer files and don't think through the philosophical questions, but gradually other characters point out that it's just ''copying'' minds and doesn't produce "continuity of consciousness." The Rossum Corp. execs literally think it's the key to immortality, but it's a case of DidntThinkThisThrough. This is an issue even for the titular "dolls" -- their original consciousness is destroyed, even if an exact copy of it can later be restored. Later on, the FBI agent chasing them gets shot in the head and left brain-dead, but they restore him by imprinting an exact copy of his mind back into his brain -- nonetheless, he freaks out because he's just a ''copy'', and his original consciousness died.

** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E2SecondThoughts Second Thoughts]]," Dr. Valerian, who is dying of pancreatic cancer, is able to transfer his memories and personality into the brain of Karl Durand. Karl subsequently kills three other men (the first incident being an accident) and transfers their minds into his brain.
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S4E10IdentityCrisis Identity Crisis]]," the U.S. military is able to temporarily transfer the mind of a soldier named Captain Cotter [=McCoy=] into an indestructible android body. Their long-term goal is to use hundreds, if not thousands, of these androids with human minds on the battlefield. Two other unspecified countries are conducting similar experiments.
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S6E8SimonSays Simon Says]]," Concorde Robotics designed the Neural Archiving Project (NAP) as to a way to copy a person's memory engrams and transfer them into a robot. Although the company eventually abandoned NAP, Gideon Banks never lost interest in it and eventually used it to install his late son Simon's memories in a robotic body. [[spoiler:After killing his boss Ron Hikida, Gideon becomes concerned that he and the robot Simon will be separated. He uses NAP to copy his own memories into an old robot body so that they will always be together and then commits suicide.]]
** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S7E7Replica Replica]]," Zach and Nora Griffiths have developed a process for CloningBodyParts, which has secured their company [=TranGennix=] a contract for $1 billion. They tell their business partner Peter Chandler that they can expand their business as they have the technology to copy a person's neural engrams. Zach suggests that it could be used to copy the memories of a man in the early stages of Alzheimer's and these memories could be uploaded back into his brain after the disease becomes more advanced. Peter is extremely reluctant to go along with their plan as he believes that the only way to copy someone's memories is to clone them and human cloning carries a minimum 20-year prison sentence. Believing that Peter will try to take the neural mapping technology away from them, Nora elects to use it on herself in spite of the fact that she and Zach have not performed any tests on human subjects. However, the process leaves Nora in a seemingly irreversible coma. One year later, Zach decides to clone Nora as he can't stand the idea of living the rest of his life without her. He gives the clone all of the original Nora's memories. She doesn't even realize that she is a clone until Zach shows her that she doesn't have a surgery scar on her back. Things become more complicated when the original Nora wakes up from her coma.

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': In "[[Recap/PersonOfInterestS02E21 Zero Day]]," we learn that the Machine [[spoiler:is programmed to erase its non-relevant memories and reboot every night at midnight]]. In order to work around this, [[spoiler:the Machine prints hard copies of its memories out in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base64 Base64]] and hires typists to re-input them. Root describes it as "an external hard drive made up of people and paper"]].

* In ''Series/{{Scorpion}}'', Walter tries to perfect this as a way of saving his terminally-ill sister, Megan. It is presented as Walter grasping at straws and a symptom of his emotional inability to deal with the reality that his sister is going to die and that there's nothing he can do about it. [[ForegoneConclusion He fails]], and realizes that he's wasted a significant amount of time that he could have otherwise spent with her in her last days.

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E7WhatAreLittleGirlsMadeOf What Are Little Girls Made of?]]," it is revealed that [[spoiler:"Dr. Roger Korby" is a mind-uploaded android duplicate of the real Korby, who is dead. As with the [[RobotMe android Kirk]], he's a very imperfect copy. When he's finally made to realize how inhuman his mind is, he commits suicide]].
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E24TheUltimateComputer The Ultimate Computer]]," Dr. Richard Daystrom turned the M-5 computer into an A.I. by impressing his own engrams (mental patterns) on its circuits.

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E6TheSchizoidMan The Schizoid Man]]," Dr. Ira Graves uploads his brain into Data, [[GrandTheftMe essentially possessing him]]; at the end he [[spoiler:moves into the ''Enterprise'''s computer, where his knowledge exists but he has no conscious awareness]]. [[AndIMustScream We hope]].

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E9Inheritance Inheritance]]," Data finds out that [[spoiler:his "mother," Juliana, is an android with a mind based on a synaptic scan of Noonian Soong's dead wife's brain. The procedure was so successful that [[TomatoInTheMirror Juliana doesn't even know she's not human]]]]. Interestingly, there's no sign whether scanning a brain with this technique damages it or not; all we know is that [[spoiler:Soong performed the scan while the "real" Juliana was terminally ill and in a coma]].
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E19Lifesigns Lifesigns]]," the Doctor discovers that his dying patient has some sort of electrical implant in her brain that enables him to transfer her mind into the ship's computer and let her live as a hologram while he works on the disease in her actual body. Unfortunately, the circuitry containing her mind has only a limited time before it will degrade, thus causing her death unless she's transferred back to her body in time.
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E10EtInArcadiaEgoPart2 Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2]]," Dr. Altan Soong and Dr. Agnes Jurati manage to scan [[spoiler:Jean-Luc Picard]]'s mind and then temporarily store it in a complex quantum simulation before his brain functions fully cease; later, they upload it into the android golem and then sculpt the golem into a [[ArtificialHuman copy]] of [[spoiler:Picard]]'s body.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E11KillSwitch Kill Switch]]," Esther uses the A.I.'s equipment to upload her mind into the internet. It's confirmed that she survived when she sends the Lone Gunmen a message that simply says "bite me."

* The trope is played with in the ''FATE Core'' game ''TabletopGame/{{Mindjammer}}''. Most citizens of the New Commonality of Humankind are constantly connected to the Mindscape and copy many of their memories to it for later access by themselves or others, and can initiate a "thanogram thoughtcast" that creates a complete personality and memory snapshot at the cost of inflicting brain damage, so most only do it when dying. The resulting thanatograms can be used to create artificial intelligences called eidolons, but it is generally accepted in the Commonality that eidolons are not the people they are copied from. However, there is a persistent meme in many of the newly recontacted [[LostColony Lost Colonies]] known as the "Transmigration Heresy," which holds that eidolons ''are'' reincarnations of their progenitors.
* In ''TabletopGame/NovaPraxis'', brain uploading requires a process called "Apotheosis," which involves nanobots replacing brain tissues with nanogel over the course of a week. Afterwards the subject can remain in their original body until it dies or upload into a flash-cloned or robotic sleeve, or even live as a Sim on a server.

* "Ghosts" in ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' are produced by disassembling and scanning a human brain at the molecular level. They contrast with "shadows," which are non-destructively uploaded (or are the products of partially failed destructive upload attempts) but are imperfect simulations, and "eidolons," which aren't even made with a brain scan -- they are just fakes made from stock footage and biographical databases.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'' has this with "sublimation," the act of uploading your mind inside a computer. Among other things, Ouroboros is a secret faction hellbent on sublimating all the people in the world, and Fiona is unable to forgive her sister Cynthia after she tells Fiona she wants to sublimate her mind. (Don't panic if you don't know that: all that stuff is exclusive from the Japanese original; the American release [[{{Macekre}} had this engaging storyline replaced]] with a generic AIIsACrapshoot plot).

** Throughout most of the series the audience - and the characters - are led to believe that [[spoiler:Subject 16, Desmond's predecessor, went crazy and committed suicide. The first is definitely true, and the second may be as well, but before he did so, he was able to upload or at least copy his mind into the Animus program, where he is implied to be watching over Desmond.]] In ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'', [[spoiler:this is confirmed. He shows up for the first time, fully formed, ''marginally'' more stable than previously displayed, and confirms himself to be a copy in his database entry. Interestingly, despite stating in no uncertain terms that he is a copy of the original Clay Kaczmarek and that the original is dead, he still introduces himself as Clay Kaczmarek and seems to consider himself a real person in his own right]].

** ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' reveals in the ''Warmind'' expansion that the Exos' experience "Disassociative Exomind Rejection," or DER, a syndrome where the human mind rejects its mechanical body and suffers a degenerative breakdown where the human mind will eventually "die." The solutions to this were to periodically routinely "reboot" the Exo, wiping their memories while retaining the personality, although this causes long-term issues with memory retention if done too many times, and to program "humanisms" into Exos like letting them [[EatingMachine eat, drink]], sleep, or [[{{Robosexual}} copulate]] to mimic their old human bodies.

** However, Exominds lasting longer led to the discovery of DER, above: lacking somatosensory feedback from bodily organs such as the lungs, heart, and stomach, the mind would develop [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotard_delusion Cotard delusion]] and become convinced those organs had failed and go insane with terror about being trapped in a corpse. Returning that feedback with simulated "humanisms" was the only way to prevent the delusion, much to the annoyance of Clovis, who wanted his Exos to feel no such organic "weaknesses," and the reboots let Exos orient better to their new bodies, as they lost all memory of having an old one.

* This is how the virtual world EDEN works in ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuth''. Some extremely dark possibilities are explored, such as "EDEN Syndrome," a condition wherein being killed in EDEN renders the user brain-dead with no known cure. [[spoiler:There's also a company apparently exploiting EDEN users for OrganTheft.]]

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', the Dunmeri (Dark Elven) Tribunal [[DeityOfHumanOrigin deity Sotha Sil]] used his advanced understanding of Nirn's "[[MagicMusic Tonal Architecture]]" to create {{Steampunk}} and {{Magitek}} technological wonders while the rest of the world is stuck in [[MedievalStasis Medieval]] HighFantasy [[MedievalStasis Stasis]]. After the [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] strips he and the other Tribunes of their divinity during ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind''[='=]s main quest, Sotha Sil is thought to have been killed by fellow Tribune [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Almalexia]] during the ''Tribunal'' expansion. However, ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline''[='=]s ''Clockwork City'' expansion (a prequel taking place several centuries before ''Morrowind''), reveals that Sotha Sil had made himself into a {{Cyborg}}, replacing his arms and part of his head with mechanical components. It is also revealed that the Clockwork City itself is a massive computer and that Sotha Sil was capable of uploading his memories and consciousness into an "artificial astronomical matrix." Essentially, by the time of the events of ''Tribunal'', it is quite likely that he uploaded his consciousness and was no longer inhabiting his body when Almalexia "killed" it.

* ''VideoGame/IndependenceWar2'' takes Jefferson Clay from the first game and puts him in a "Brain Box," so that the main character over a century later can have a mentor and guide to the game. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], the digital Clay is not too happy about this state of affairs.

* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series:

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': David Archer, whose mind was uploaded so he could control an army of [[MechaMooks Geth]]. Unfortunately, his mind is unable to take the strain of being in charge of a highly advanced computer network, and he goes insane.
** In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' ending "Control," [[spoiler:Shepard performs this in order to take over the Reapers]].

* ''VideoGame/OneMustFall2097'' has the owner of WAR, [[BigBad Major Has Kreissack]], and the prototype Nova [[HumongousMecha HAR]]. As the Major is 103 years old, he has just about reached the practical limit on his body's lifespan... so he decides to transfer his mind into the Nova itself and ''become'' the 250-ton missile-launching war machine and presumably name himself immortal corporate tyrant of WAR. He goes about this in a far more analog fashion than most, by having his brain extracted from his head and put into the Nova. This ends poorly because the prototype Nova's reactor is touchy, such that DefeatEqualsExplosion. Kreissack's brain dies for good when the Nova's head is blown off its chest in the resulting blast. After seeing all that, almost everyone agrees that the brain implanting is a ''terrible'' idea, but that the Nova has potential, and they eventually design a stripped-down Nova with the normal BrainComputerInterface for mass production.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark [[{{Prequel}} Zero]]'' has an appearance by a character who appeared in the original game as an AI. He dies in the very mission you meet him in; the last mention he gets is [=dataDyne=]'s CEO calling over the intercom "I want his brain on ice!."

* This happens to countless people in ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}''. Their uploads, or "Traces," are what you use for active and passive abilities. However, Red isn't able to communicate with any Traces directly other than the Man, [[spoiler:because of all the people trapped in the Transistor, he's the one she knew the best and cared about the most]].

* ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar'' has Commander Orlok of the [[PlanetLooters Hierarchy military]]. The [[TheManBehindTheMan Overseers]] couldn't risk losing such a competent commander to death, so they had his consciousness transferred from his organic alien body to a HumongousMecha, effectively granting him immortality and thus giving him the title of "The Eternal."

* ''VideoGame/{{X}}'': The X-Encyclopedia speaks of "presence clouds," artificial nebulae made of a form of degenerate matter called computronium that forms a sort of DysonSphere around a star. [[{{Precursors}} The Ancients]] virtualized their consciousnesses into one and create replacement ones around other stars as dictated by stellar life cycles.

* In ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative'', this happens to [[spoiler:Kagami Sumika, who becomes the "00-Unit." Although the process killed her, she was [[AndIMustScream already just a]] BrainInAJar, so that actually isn't much. The end result is that she becomes a quantum computer with a practically human body that isn't quite human]].

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''WebAnimation/GenLOCK'':
** This is how the show's HumongousMecha function: rather than cockpits piloted in person, pilots have their minds uploaded directly into their mechs allowing them to move and fight as if they were their own bodies. It does have its drawbacks, however. [[PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements Only one in a million people can actually use gen:LOCK]] (you ''don't'' wanna know [[CruelAndUnusualDeath what happens]] if you try without being compatible), and only for a very short period of time. Staying in gen:LOCK for too long runs the risk of not being able to return to their bodies ''at all''.
** It turns out that there are some serious side effects to staying uploaded for too long, however. [[spoiler:The Union "Nemesis" mech is the original mind of Chase, captured by the Union, tortured and broken, and then copied hundreds of times over before being locked within the distinctly inhuman Nemesis chassis for far longer than it should be]]. Later on, in order to defeat Nemesis, [[spoiler:Chase chooses to stay within his own Holon well past the limit on uptime, forever locking him into his Holon. [[CursedWithAwesome As he's now permanently within a 40-foot-tall high-tech flying battle mech, rather than his crippled organic body, he doesn't consider it a bad trade]].]]
** There's also an age limit on gen:LOCK pilots. Even if a pilot is compatible, the technology's dependency on high neuroplasticity -- which decreases as one ages -- means that a pilot can age out of the program. [[spoiler:Leon is compatible but considered too old. When he uploads into a Holon out of desperation at the end of the first season, his brain is severely damaged when he tries to return to his body, leaving him comatose.]]
** Another example is [[spoiler:Caliban]], who contains an early prototype of the gen:LOCK technology and carries [[spoiler:a small part of Doctor Weller's own personality and knowledge in his chassis]].

* ''WebAnimation/MetaRunner'': This is what happened to the mind of [[spoiler:Lucinia following the Project Blue incident; while her physical body barely survived intact and was able to be restored by Lucks, her mind had ended up fragmented. While Lucks was able to obtain parts of it and put them in [=TASCorp=]'s servers, the other parts needed to fully revive Lucinia ended up being uploaded and merged into Dr. Sheridan's Turbo Artificial Rapid Intelligence (T.A.R.I.) AI, causing it to gain awareness before somehow ending up in a mysterious artificial body]].

* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', {{Artificial Intelligence}}s work much the same way as they do in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe which the series is based on -- they are created from a real person's brain, and you can make an A.I. of a still-living person by cloning their brain and whatnot. In ''[[WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Reconstruction]]'', it's revealed that the Alpha A.I. that Project Freelancer tortured to create {{Literal Split Personalit|y}}ies to harvest was based on a brain scan of the project's director, [[spoiler:Leonard Church]], specifically to [[LoopholeAbuse get around laws forbidding the mistreatment of artificial intelligence]], since he argued that any tortures he inflicted on the Alpha were more or less done to himself. The Beta fragment, [[spoiler:better known as Tex]], is an unusual variant in that it was created not through psychological torture but as a side effect of the Alpha's creation, born from the Director's strong memories of his [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]].

* In ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'''s Octangula ARG, [[spoiler:Mariah's consciousness is said to be residing inside the ONEPRISM computer]].
* In ''WebVideo/TruthpointDarkwebRising'', this concept is discussed by Derek, who advocates it as a method of avoiding becoming a "[[FutureSlang deathcuck]]."

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': In the climax of "Trading Faces," Jimmy and Cindy have their brains uploaded via a Virtual Brain Pod, and Carl, Sheen, and Libby have to sort their memories into the correct minds so they can reverse their FreakyFridayFlip.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The greatest minds of Amphibia and past monarchs learned to cheat death by managing to upload their consciousness to a MindHive that would end up being known as [[Characters/AmphibiaTheCore The Core]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E4LostSoul Lost Soul]]," Robert Vance does this because of an uncurable brain disorder. However, after being shut down for 35 years, he explores Gotham, discovers Terry's suit, and decides to find a new body.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In a segment from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS31E8ThanksgivingOfHorror Thanksgiving of Horror]]," the Simpsons buy a "Kitchen A.I." with Marge's memories downloaded into it. Marge finds it neat at first, but she soon starts to find it creepy and uncomfortable.

* The title characters of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' had their minds uploaded by Doctor Venture because they're death-prone and he keeps a stock of clones ready to [[BodyBackupDrive replace them]]. Even better, Doctor Orpheus, after being unable to find their souls in the afterlife, found them ''inside the recording device''. On one hand, this does mean the clones have the souls of the originals.... on the other hand, ''Rusty inadvertently made a SoulJar''.

* The "ghosts" in ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' are produced by disassembling and scanning a human brain at the molecular level. Contrast with "shadows," which are non-destructively uploaded but are imperfect simulations, and "eidolons," which aren't even made with a brain scan-- they are just fakes made from stock footage and biographical databases.