M.J. Rose

I have always been afraid of robots. But now that I am all grown up, I think I mostly worry for them. It seems that one day in the future we will quite possibly create artificially intelligent life – but what then? Will these creatures live and then die? Will they have souls? Here we are still fumbling with the concept of our own human souls, wondering if we will maintain our consciousness in some way after we die – when we are slammed with an overlapping question: Where do the artificial lifeforms go when they die? And if they have souls, are those souls going to be included in the circle of life and rebirth? And, even more mindboggling is this intense question:

Is it possible that one day you and I could possibly be reborn into the body of an artificial lifeform?

Artificial life ‘could be created within five years’: researchers from the USA have claimed.

Laboratories across the world are closing in on a “second genesis” – an achievement that would be one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time.

Prof David Deamer, from California University, said although building a new lifeform from scratch is a daunting task he is confident it can happen in five to 10 years.

He said: “The momentum is building – we’re knocking at the door.”

A synthetic, made-to-order living system could produce everything from new drugs to biofuels and greenhouse gas absorbers.

Opponents of the controversial research claim the technology could lead to machines becoming “almost human”…

[the rest, here]