It's not clear to me that a brain downloaded to a computer is the same consciousness.

IIRC, Daniel Dennett (the philosopher) was talking about trying to create an editor that experienced emotions. I kinda think he was talking out his backside, but I'm not entirely sure.

The idea of robots/AI's as being extensions of us and of human essences being downloaded to machines sounds exactly like Kurzweil's prediction in "The Age of Spiritual Machines."

Ray Kurzweil is a certifiable genius, but the idea seems so far-fetched to me that I almost think he's playing a joke. It's not that he predicts it, but that he says it will happen in the next 25 years or so.

Even brilliant people make mistakes.