Virtually Human explores what the not-too-distant future will look like when cyber-consciousness-simulation of the human brain via software and computer technology-allows our consciousness to be present forever.
Meet Bina48, the world's most sentient robot, commissioned by Martine Rothblatt and created by Hanson Robotics. Bina48 is a nascent Mindclone of Martine's wife that can engage in conversation, answer questions, and even have spontaneous thoughts that are derived from multimedia data in a Mindfile created by the real Bina. If you're active on Twitter or Facebook, share photos through Instagram, or blogging regularly, you're already on your way to creating a Mindfile- a digital database of your thoughts, memories, feelings, and opinions that is essentially a back-up copy of your mind. Soon, this Mindfile can be made conscious with special software- Mindware- that mimics the way human brains organize information, create emotions and achieve self-awareness.
This may sound like science-fiction A.I. (artificial intelligence), but the nascent technology already exists. Thousands of software engineers across the globe are working to create cyber-consciousness based on human consciousness and the Obama administration recently announced plans to invest in a decade-long Brain Activity Map project. Virtually Human is the only book to examine the ethical issues relating to cyber-consciousness and Rothblatt, with a Ph.D. in medical ethics, is uniquely qualified to lead the dialogue.
