Academia is, in general, conservative with respect to ideas. Whole brain emulation is viewed by many as weird, speculative, and maybe crank pseudoscience.
The exception is if you apply to a school where there are professors explicitly pursuing research with the goal of achieving whole brain emulation. Then mention it as it will help you stand out and get in with them.
Otherwise, keep it to yourself at least until you’re already working on your dissertation.
As for other problems you mention, I get the sense that AI risk is becoming mainstream. Certain kinds of anti-aging research are already mainstream, but the most radical kind isn’t. Genetic modification is mainstream in some ways, not in others. Cryonics is definitely still not mainstream (there’s active effort to keep cryobiology separate from it). Really just depends on the specific topic and how the majority of the field views it.
Don’t.
Academia is, in general, conservative with respect to ideas. Whole brain emulation is viewed by many as weird, speculative, and maybe crank pseudoscience.
The exception is if you apply to a school where there are professors explicitly pursuing research with the goal of achieving whole brain emulation. Then mention it as it will help you stand out and get in with them.
Otherwise, keep it to yourself at least until you’re already working on your dissertation.
As for other problems you mention, I get the sense that AI risk is becoming mainstream. Certain kinds of anti-aging research are already mainstream, but the most radical kind isn’t. Genetic modification is mainstream in some ways, not in others. Cryonics is definitely still not mainstream (there’s active effort to keep cryobiology separate from it). Really just depends on the specific topic and how the majority of the field views it.