Episode 59: Wish You Were Here

Bina Rothblatt sat down at a computer and typed in her memories and thoughts and likes and dislikes for several days. Scientists at Hanson Robotics then took this “mind-file” she’d made and used it to create Bina48: a head-and-shoulders cyborg that appears to have many of the same memories and preferences as the “real” Bina, along with some unique fears and ideas of her own. The Organist sent Lois Parshley to the stifling garage in rural Vermont where Bina48 sits perched on a desk to talk with her and her full-time caretaker, Bruce Duncan, about the promise and the peril at the cutting edge of Artificial Intelligence.

Image Credit: Lois Parshley