Now when I say a prosthetic body I mean a futuristic body that looks and acts human in every detail. Like in Ghost in the Shell but being cybernetic it would have superior computing (think of being able to solve problems much faster with faster thinking and a computer like database of knowledge and having the ability to connect to networks to access more data), superior strength, speed and stamina.

So if you were given the chance to to be "transferred" into such a body and maintain your humanity (everthing that makes you who you are: memories, feelings, conscious mind and thoughts) would you?

Download myself into an artificial body?

In a heartbeat.

No more aches and pains, no more growing old, just physical perfection for ever.

Sounds ideal to me.

Yup, i'm all for hardware upgrades

At the moment if it meant no more injury or illness, i suppose i would, being repaired wouldnt be much different than, medical procedures with the exception they could more than likely just switch you off while they repair you, ill pre-order one Motoko Kusinagi body now.

Well, unless we need it we don't know what we would do but I'm pretty sure if I could not walk I would be all for http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/15/rex-the-robotic-exoskeleton-aims-to-make-wheelchairs-obsolete/

No, someone could kill me with a magnet!

what if the cost was that you lose your free will and someone could shut you down or control you at will? Also there's no such thing as "perfect", every machine will eventually malfunction or break and your programming could fail.

As much as I suffer with this human body, I'd rather die a man then live on as a machine.

Depends on what abilities the body is capable of, what it's weaknesses are, and what the catch is.

This pretty much sums up my feelings about this. While I'm only 21, I have some difficulties with my bones, and my legs in particular, due to damage and injuries sustained from years of sports, and now my legs hurt permanently and they won't fix themselves. I'll require surgery in order to "fix" them, which is rather troublesome and expensive. I'd take the artificial body anytime.

Since my 50th B-Day is coming up sooner than I want it too, and I have experienced first hand the decay of the human body after turning 40, yes, give me a cybernetic body.

Neurologically, free will is an illusion anyway and there are plenty of ways to shut a normal body down as well.

Technologically, a machine body is quite a bit more durable and easier to maintain than one made of protoplasma.

As long as my current body works, I don't need another one. When it starts breaking, I'll consider na upgrade. Well, maybe not will - somehow I don't think I'll ever have a chance to use an artificial body.

Because organic bodies never malfunction or break, right?

Definitely. My human body is weak and often in pain, it would be nice to be free of it.

Think robocop everything has a flaw an unlike the movies your human side wont have a chance in hell to beat the hacker or flaw that brings you down.

That said i was born a daemon ill die a daemon even if the thought of going blind or losing the ability to walk or even have control of my own bowels frightens the frigging hell out off me.

i would never give up the pain an misery of hurt an loss because its those same things that let us know we are human without pain were either suffering from leprosy or were a computer.

Abilities: flight

Weakness: over heats in the sun an prone to combustion at under 20c

Catch: your Humanity

I disagree about the illusion thing but even if that were true, the illusion still gives us more control then if someone issued commands to a robot. Imagine if some hacker or your creator issued commands to kill your loved ones or something horrible along those lines where you had no choice but to carry out the commands yet were still alert as if you were watching yourself do it.

It's true that a machine is more easily maintained but the cost of my illusion of choice and my humanity is too great to buy into the better body. This coming from a man who suffers daily from human pains.

ha didn't mean that our bodies were better, only pointing out that he used the word "perfect" to describe the new body and there's no such thing as perfect.

Nope, there would have to be some huge catch for such a thing.

If it was to fix a broken or missing body part, then sure, unless it is connected to the Internet somehow...

"The prosthetic eye! Does everything a normal eye does and lets you browse the Internet...through your BRAIN!"

5 seconds later a hacker takes over my eyeball.

No more dying. Living foreverandeverandeverandever while watching all your friends and loved ones come and go repeatedly? No thanks, I'd rather not live like that, it seems like a miserable existence to me.

That's true. However, I still don't see how "it can be shut down and programming can fail" is an argument against artificial bodies. The same things happen to our bodies. As you point out, getting hacked is a danger - but without details about these new bodies it's difficult to say to what extent they could be controlled. Then again, internet access everywhere...

You're not forced into immortality, you can still die if you wish. And how do you know your loved ones couldn't use mechanical bodies too?

My body has more problems than I can keep track of, so yeah. As long as I can still see and smell and taste, etc. And as long as nobody else has the keys...

I don't want big brother using this to their advantage. So no.

As long as there weren't any turtles trained in ninjitsu...