Whole brain emulation (WBE)
noun phrase
Definition: A hypothetical process in which the structure and function of a human brain are reproduced in a computational substrate so that its cognitive processes, and in stronger formulations its mental life, are emulated digitally. In current academic usage, whole brain emulation (WBE) is the more precise technical term, whereas mind uploadingis broader and more public-facing; recent literature still treats both as closely related, often near-equivalent labels for the same speculative technological project [Zanichelli et al. 2025].
Examples in context: “Whole brain emulation (WBE) has always been a spectacular and fascinating topic for the one-to-one functional modeling of the brain system.” [Wang et al. 2025]
“… the formal inverse problem that underlies whole brain emulation, and how solving it relies on scale separation.” [Koene 2025]
Synonym: WBE; brain emulation, mind uploading
Related terms: brain simulation; digital mind; computational neuroscience; substrate independence