★美國亞馬遜書店的暢銷人工智能書#6、科技歷史書#8、文化叢書#9
★已授權英、美、巴、中簡版權
★曾任谷歌工程總監的未來學家雷．庫茲韋爾（Ray Kurzweil）撰寫序言

多年前的基因複製科技，製造了克隆（無性繁殖）綿羊多莉，預視未來可以製造一個與自己一模一樣的克隆人類，但是性格、思想和行為卻不盡相同。可是，機械人Bina48的發明突破此障礙。它是克隆思想（Mindclone）的一大突破，擁有思考、情緒、有意識機械人的新生階段。證明了有意識機械人不再是科幻小說的情節，但是它對人類的未來將帶來什麼樣的改變呢？

Bina48是現今世界上最敏感的機械人，是本書作者Martine Rothblatt委託科學家Hanson Robotics創造而成的。他花費三年時間，外型以Martine的同性伴侶模樣複製，內部擁有快速的馬達控制面部表情，只要輸入某個人的記憶和性格，機械人就會擁有同樣的思想和感情，既能對話、回答和發問，還能從多媒體數據庫的資料中提供自發性的思考。數據庫被稱為「思想檔案」（Mindfile），可連接臉書、推特和Instagram等社交網路，思想檔案成為你的思想、記憶、感覺和意見的數據庫，等同一個思考的後備檔案。

有了這些資料，Bina48能充當某人的替身；協助繁忙的專業人士接受訪問或教學授課，甚至可以充當已經去世的人。當思想檔案在不久後的將來製作成思想軟體（Mindware），機械人可以透過軟體模仿人物的思考模式、組織資料、產生情緒和自我覺悟。事實上，此科技已存在，全球有上千名軟件工程師正在創作以人類意識為本的有意識電腦。不久的將來，有意識的電腦將會成為我們日常生活的一部份。

在《Virtually Human》一書中，作者從科技發展、法律、電子優生學，乃至家族系統等方面，探討有意識機械科技對人類世界的影響，展現了克隆思想的存在如何在社會不同層面中發揮作用，同時，從醫學道德和社會倫理問題等進行分析，提供一個全面藍圖和審視，幫助我們對人類未來發展進行一趟深入有趣的思考。

Martine Rothblatt，是一位律師、企業家和醫學倫道學家。在1990年，她創辦Sirius Satellite Radio(現已改名為Sirius XM)，並出任該組織的主席和執行長，當她發現女兒被診斷患上罕有疾病時，她離開Sirius，專心尋找醫治方法。1996年，她創辦治療學聯會（United Therapeutics），擔任主席和執行長。她同時是人權法的倡導者，以及聯合國美國律師協會的代表，起草有關基因的條約。

“We are in the midst of a war between biological and electronic brains for dominance in our hybrid population. Bio-brains are, so far, ahead based on their inventiveness, energy-efficiency and exponential improvement rate. Will ethics asymmetrically restrict engineering humans or will it equally apply soon to ‘virtually human’ electronic brains? Martine’s insights on these and many other topics are timely and welcome.” —George Church, Harvard Professor, and author of Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves

“Virtually Human is a fascinating read that clearly brings Alan Turing into the 21st century. I have argued that we are DNA-software driven machines and as we expand digital-biological interconversions, Martine’s ‘mind clones’ and functional avatars are a logical outcome. Only by attempting to recreate models of humans will we truly begin to understand ourselves. Virtually Human is a great beginning.” —J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., author of Life At The Speed Of Light and creator of the first synthetic cell

“Martine Rothblatt delivers an engaging exploration of the pathway to the near-term realization of our digital clones, and through the many ethical, legal, and spiritual challenges their advent will pose. Even skeptics, like myself, will find Virtually Human an intriguing vision filled with profoundly challenging ideas.” —Wendell Wallach, Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, co-author of Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong

“Advances in cognitive and computer sciences render artificial humans possible, some duplicating natural individuals with increasing fidelity. When must we confront the ethical, legal, and social implications? Now, in Virtually Human!” —William Sims Bainbridge, author of Personality Capture and Emulation and eGods: Faith Versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming

“Exponential technologies are driving a new dimension of human evolution. In her compelling book, Virtually Human, Martine Rothblatt outlines how artificial consciousness is just around the corner, and explores the scientific and ethical ramifications.　Science fiction is rapidly becoming science fact and the implications are breathtaking. Virtually Human is critical reading to anyone who plans to be around for the next couple of decades.” —Peter H. Diamandis, MD, CEO, XPRIZE; Exec Chairman, Singularity University; New York Times bestselling author of Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think