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{{short description|Virtual body of information that possesses self-awareness and sentience}}
An '''infomorph''' is a virtual body of [[information]] that possesses [[self-awareness]] and [[sentience]]. The term was coined in [[Charles Platt (author)|Charles Platt]]'s 1991 novel ''The Silicon Man'', where it refers to a single biological consciousness transferred into a computer through a process of [[mind transfer]]. In the book, a character defines an infomorph as "intelligence held in a computer memory", and an "information entity".<ref name=SiliconMan>{{Cite book |last=Platt |first=Charles |title=The Silicon Man |year=1997 |publisher=Wired |isbn=1-888869-14-3}}</ref>

In the 2002 game [[Transhuman Space]], an infomorph is any form of sentient or near-sentient [[computer program]], which may exist either only in the computer networks or occupy a physical body: robot, android, a living thing ("wetware", "bioshell"). They may be of two main types: mind emulations ([[mind uploading|mind-uploaded]] human intelligencies) and "native" artificial intelligencies. These types are further classified into subtypes.<ref>David Burden, Maggi Savin-Baden, {{Google books|7tKFDwAAQBAJ|Virtual Humans: Today and Tomorrow|page=39 }}, 2019, {{ISBN|1351365274}}</ref>

In [[EVE Online]], players are posthuman entities known as capsuleers: immortal spacecraft commanders who can cheat death by scanning and transferring their consciousness into remote clones. "Infomorph Psychology" and "Advanced Infomorph Psychology" are neural enhancement skills for pilots using "jump clones" to alleviate the unsettling effect of the detaching of one's consciousness and transferring it into a remote clone. <ref>[https://eveinfo.com/npcships/i/24242/infomorph-psychology/ Ei   NPC Ships   Neural Enhancement   Infomorph Psychology], eveinfo.com</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ascension (Stargate)]]
* [[Mind uploading]]
* [[Omega Point]]
* [[Simulated reality]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Science fiction themes]]
[[Category:Transhumanism]]
[[Category:Posthumanism]]
[[Category:1991 neologisms]]


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