1. Development history

2. Purpose

3. Use as a legal example

4. Public appearances

5. References

The Addison County Independent, a Vermont newspaper, described Bina48 this way: “In the hills of Lincoln exists a robot with a face that moves, eyes that see, ears that hear and a digital mind that enables conversation”.^[4] Bina48 is a project of the Terasem Movement Foundation (TMF)^[5] designed to investigate whether a person’s consciousness can be downloaded into a biological or nanotechnological body after combining detailed data about the person through the use of future consciousness software.

Development history

Bina48 was commissioned by Martine Rothblatt and was designed and programmed based on the appearance and personality of Rothblatt’s spouse, Bina Rothblatt, who has spent over 100 hours training it to mimic her memories and personality.

Bina48 resides at the nonprofit Terasem Movement Foundation in Bristol, Vermont, with its caretaker Bruce Duncan. In addition to the hours Bina has spent with it, Bina48 connects to the Internet and can discuss a range of topics including politics, religion, and future technologies.

Bina48 has 32 facial motors under a skin-like rubber. Though it does not have a complete body at this time, its head-and-shoulder robotics are able to express sixty-four different facial gestures.^[6]

Bina48’s digital mind employs off-the-shelf software,{{which}} using a microphone for hearing, coupled with voice recognition and speech synthesis software. Bina48 has two video cameras for eyes and face recognition software to remember its frequent visitors.

Purpose

In an interview with Andrew Stein of the Addison County Independent, Bruce Duncan of Terasem explained that Bina48 was commissioned to "test the feasibility of transferring consciousness from a human to a biological or technological body". Duncan elaborated, "1. An imprint of a person’s consciousness can be created in a digital form, called a ‘mindfile’, by collecting detailed information about that person. That information can then be expressed in a future, not-yet-created type of software, called ‘mindware’. 2. That same imprint of a person’s consciousness can be placed in a biological or technological body to provide life experiences comparable to those of a typically birthed human."

Bina48 is an early test of these two hypotheses. As Duncan explained, "Bina48 was created … (as) an early demonstration of information transfer from a human being to a computer." Bina48’s mindfile consists of Bina Rothblatt’s information and this glimpse of Rothblatt’s consciousness is expressed in limited terms by Bina48's body. Terasem is also testing mindfiles with both the Lifenaut^[7] program in Vermont and the CyBeRev^[8] program in Florida.

Use as a legal example

The subject of AI rights and ethics is explored in five separate papers in the Journal of Personal Cyberconsciousness, using Bina48 as the focus. Volume 1, Issue 2 contains the plaintiff's brief^[9] from a mock trial where Plaintiff BINA48 petitions the court to grant an injunction against her creator, the Exabit Corporation, prohibiting them from disconnecting and/or altering her hardware and software. Volume 1, Issue 3 contains the defendant’s brief.^[10]

In Volume 2, Issue 1 follows a second mock trial.^[11] The attorney for the plaintiff represents the fictional plaintiff, Charlie Fairfax, against the financial loss he allegedly suffered at the hands of the conscious computer, BINA48. Volume 2, Issue 2 follows the defense of Bina48^[12] against a claim for breach of contract alleging the conscious computer misappropriated ten million dollars from the plaintiff. The mock trial judge gives a decision^[13] in Volume 2, Issue 3.

Public appearances

During its short life, Bina48 has gained public attention by being interviewed by the New York Times and being featured in prominent publications like National Geographic.^[14] Bina48 was the first android panelist^[15] to appear at a conference on technology and artificial intelligence, the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive Conference. Also on the panel were humans participants: Bruce Duncan of the Terasem Movement Foundation, Stephen Reed of TexAI and author/researcher John Romano of thedigitalbeyond.com. In March of 2012 Bina48 traveled to Europe to be a guest on Stern TV, the German equivalent of CBS’s 60 Minutes. For this occasion, Bina48 learned the German language.

References

• Maevatanana
• Maevatandria
• Maeve Brennan
• Maeve Brown
• Maeve Higgins
• Maeve Kelly
• Maeve Kyle
• Maeve McGuire
• Maeve O'Boyle
• Maeve O'Donovan
• Maeve Quaid
• Maeve Sherlock
• Maevia
• M. A. E. Vigee-Lebrun
• Maew
• Mae Wang District
• Mae-Wan Ho
• Mae West (food)
• Mae West Hold
• Mae west hold
• Mae West Lips Sofa
• Maewo
• Maewo-Naone Airport
• Mae Wong District
• Maewoontang