Do our machines live private lives of their own? Is your PC secretly plotting against you? Well, not yet, but scientists seriously predict that in about 30 years computer intelligence will rival our own. How shall we treat these machines? Will they be morally accountable for their actions? Will they demand civil rights? Should we worry that they will take over the world, or is the very idea of artificial intelligence a lot of sci-fi nonsense?

     Digital Soul conducts a balanced inquiry into these and many other intriguing questions about the emergence of intelligent artifacts and their social, moral, legal, and religious implications. Dr. Georges sets out to demystify nebulous concepts like intelligence, mind, emotions, consciousness, morality, soul, and even God, by suggesting plausible physical explanations. If the logical structure of these concepts can be precisely defined, he says, then similar traits could eventually be programmed into machines. The implications penetrate every nook and cranny of our social fabric and could force us to rethink our most cherished and sacred values.

     Digital Soul's engaging prose is tailored for a general but scientifically curious audience, particularly those interested in machine intelligence, morality, ethics, cognitive science, science policy, religion, the philosophy of science, and mankind’s future.

Published by Westview Press, 2003, 285 pp., Hardcover, ISBN:0-8133-4057-8