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 A.I. (artificial intelligence), 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 book to examine the ethical issues relating to cyberconsciousness and Rothblatt, with a Ph.D. in medical ethics, is uniquely qualified to lead the dialogue.

虚拟人类》探讨了当电子意识--通过软件和计算机技术模拟人脑--成为我们日常生活的一部分时，不远的将来会是什么样子。 认识一下Bina48，世界上最有智慧的机器人，由Martine Rothblatt委托，由Hanson Robotics创造。Bina48是Martine妻子的一个新生的Mindclone，它可以参与对话，回答问题，甚至有自发的想法，这些想法是由真正的Bina创建的Mindfile中的多媒体数据得出。如果你在Twitter或Facebook上很活跃，通过Instagram分享照片，或定期写博客，你已经在创建一个Mindfile的路上了--这是一个关于你的想法、记忆、感觉和意见的数字数据库，本质上是你思想的一个备份副本。很快，这个心灵档案可以通过特殊的软件--心灵软件--模仿人类大脑组织信息、创造情感和实现自我意识的方式而变得有意识。这可能听起来像科幻小说中的人工智能，但新生的技术已经存在。全球数以千计的软件工程师正在努力创造基于人类意识的网络意识，奥巴马政府最近宣布计划投资于一个长达十年的大脑活动图项目。虚拟人》是唯一一本研究与网络意识有关的伦理问题的书，而拥有医学伦理学博士学位的罗斯布拉特具有独特的资格来领导这场对话。