Virtually Human, Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.
Virtually Human, Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.
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Virtually Human
The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality

Author: Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., Ray Kurzweil

Narrator: Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.

Unabridged: 12 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/09/2014


Synopsis

Virtually Human explores what the not-too-distant future will look like when cyberconsciousness—simulation of the human brain via software and computer technology—becomes part of our daily lives. 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, but the nascent technology already exists. Thousands of software engineers across the globe are working to create cyberconsciousness 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 audiobook to examine the ethical issues relating to cyberconsciousness and Rothblatt, with a Ph.D. in medical ethics, is uniquely qualified to lead the dialogue.

About Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.

Martine Rothblatt is a lawyer, technologist, and medical ethicist. In 1990 she created and served as chair and CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. When her youngest child was diagnosed with a rare disease, Martine left Sirius to search for a cure. She started the biotechnology company United Therapeutics in 1996 and is its chair and CEO. Martine is also a leading legal advocate for human rights and has led the International Bar Association in presenting the United Nations with a draft treaty on the human genome.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kseniya

This book reads thickly and dryly- like a legal document for something that doesn't exist yet. And by legal document I mean exactly like a legal document (minus occassional examples sprinkled throughout that break up the drudgery). The text is a long monologue, not once trying to include the reader......more

Goodreads review by Thijs

1) Review + 2) personal highlights: Review Interesting to read some theory behind Bina48 and mindclones. The questions it addresses are relevant and inspiring (What is consciousness? When I merge with a mindclone, will we still be 1 me? How about the voting system when we have digital mindclones and......more

Goodreads review by Steve

Plenty of substance and food for thought, even if several major arguments (and many supporting arguments) don't hold up. I was largely unconvinced by Rothblatt's insistence that a virtual mindclone would maintain continuous identity with its biological analogue. I do believe such an entity would be......more