World of cyber clones, tech med - "Eventually, these advances in software will rise to the level of consciousness."
Sirius founder envisions world of cyber clones, tech med
By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY 6:26 p.m. EDT March 15, 2015
AUSTIN – In a not-too-far-future, robotic mind-clones
will accompany us to the ballot box or grocery store, sit in on business
meetings we can't make, argue with us occasionally and keep our essence alive
long after we're gone.
That's the vision pharma tycoon and futurist Martine
Rothblatt shared Sunday with several thousand attendees during one of the more
popular events of Day 3 of SXSW Interactive.
"There will be continued advances in software that
we see throughout our entire life," Rothblatt told a packed audience in
the cavernous Exhibit Hall 5 during her keynote speech. "Eventually, these
advances in software will rise to the level of consciousness."
Rothblatt is the founder of Sirius Satellite Radio,
current chief executive of United Therapeutics and was recently named by Forbes
as the highest-paid female CEO in America. She is a transgender activist and a
trans-humanist philosopher who believes technology will one day grant humans
eternal life.
At the keynote, Rothblatt described how the inevitable
emergence of cyber consciousness – when machines act with a sophistication and
thought level equal to that of humans – will not be overnight but a more subtle
evolution.
"Every company will try to out-Siri Siri until we
have consciousness," she said, referring to the Apple/iOS application that
works as a personal assistant and navigator. "It will be like water that
rises and rises and rises and, before we know it, we're in an ocean of cyber
consciousness."
Artificial intelligence and robotics have been key – and
controversial – themes at this year's SXSW. A slew of panel discussions and
keynote speeches on the topic have drawn thousands of attendees, while films
screening at the film festival portion of SXSW, such as Ex Machina and Creative
Control, have addressed it in their plot lines.
The themes have also prompted protests outside the
conference warning of an over-reliance on artificial intelligence to the
detriment of humans. In one, a group of protestors held signs reading
"Stop the Robots" while chanting "A-I Say Goodbye!"
Rothblatt said robots and humans don't have to choose
sides – such as in the plotlines seen in popular Hollywood movies – but will
live in a peaceful co-existence that will make them virtually indistinguishable
from one another.
"It's not us versus cyberspace," she said.
"We're merging together."
She added: "We don't want to create a new slave-versus-free
motif. I'm all for merging everyone together. On the level of consciousness,
we're all one."
Rothblatt has applied many of her theories to practical
experiments, including creating a lifelike robotic replica of her longtime
wife, Bina Aspen. The robot, named Bina48, could answer questions and replies
using the real Bina's characteristics and mannerisms.
Robots in the future will have constitutional rights and
even "cyber psychiatrists" who will ease the cyber's anxiety of not
being completely human, she said.
Through United Therapeutics, a company she founded nearly
two decades ago to save the life of her daughter, who suffered from a rare
pulmonary disease, Rothblatt has overseen advances in organ regeneration and
the system used to ferry organs from donor to patient.
As those and other breakthroughs advance, coupled with
gains in software and robotics, cyber-technology will continue to push the
envelope of human existence, she said. That world, not too far off, will off
the chance to keep living well past traditional limits.
"We are the species that keeps pushing further and
further and further," Rothblatt said. "There is no line in the sand
at which point human consciousness has to end."
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