BINA 48 (Breakthrough Intelligence via Neural Architecture, 48 exaflops per second processing speed and 48 exabytes of memory)
BINA48 is a social android that uses artificial intelligence based on the memories, attitudes, beliefs and mannerisms of a human being to interact with people. She is a part of the LifeNaut Project, an experiment in Artificial Intelligence and Cyber-Consciousness.
In the Summer of 2014 Bina Rothblatt, who contributed her personal information (along with several other people), visited and talked to Bina48 for the first time at the Terasem Movement Foundation in Vermont. This video documents their conversation.
Meet Bina48, the robot who can tell jokes, recite poetry and mimic humans.
Written by Aleesha Matharu | New Delhi Published on: March 24, 2015 1:20 pm
Would you want your consciousness to live on, long after your physical body is exhausted? Or have a ‘mind clone’ sit in on meetings as you take the day off? Is that even possible?
Meet Bina48, the robot who can tell jokes, recite poetry and mimic humans. One of the most sophisticated robots ever built, capable of independent thought, emotion, Bina48 is modelled on Bina Aspen, wife of Martine Rothblatt — the CEO of biotech outfit United Therapeutics.
A vision of a future where we all have such “mind clones” is what futurist 60-year-old Rothblatt shared on March 15 with several thousand attendees during the third day of the annual tech festival South by Southwest (SXSW 2015) in Austin, Texas.
How do you create a cyber-human?
The first step is creating what Rothblatt calls a “mind file” — a digital record that encapsulates your thoughts, mannerisms and more. And if you have a Facebook profile, says Rothblatt, your mind file is well underway.
How long did it take to create Bina48?
The flesh-and-blood Bina was interviewed for more than 20 hours, a conversation which touched upon topics throughout her childhood and her career. That conversation was then transcribed and uploaded to an artificial intelligence database.
Bina48’s hardware was created by robot designer David Hanson over the course of three years for $125,000. She has a “character engine” — software that tries its best to imbue her with a more cohesive view of the world, with logic and motive.
The “mind clone” has a head and torso that looks eerily like the real-life Bina. Her skin is made of a material called “frubber” that, with the help of 30 motors underneath it, allows her to frown, smile and look a bit confused.
What can Bina48 do? It, or rather she, can …
Bina48 has, in fact, even been interviewed by The New York Times. When asked by NYT, “What is it like to be a robot?”, she said, “Um, I have some thoughts on that. Even if I appear clueless, perhaps I’m not. You can see through the strange shadow self, my future self. The self in the future where I’m truly awakened. And so in a sense this robot, me, I am just a portal.”
When Bina’s mortal self dies, Rothblatt said the robot version of her wife will live on, making it possible for “our identity to begin to transcend our bodies”, truly making humans immortal.
Who is Martine Rothblatt?
She is a transgender activist and a trans-humanist philosopher who believes technology will one day grant humans eternal life. Recently, Forbes named her as the highest-paid female CEO in the US based on the $38 million she earns a year.
Her daughter’s rare lung disease is what spurred her to start United Therapeutics and develop an oral medication that changed the lives of thousands of patients.
Rothblatt is also working with Craig Venter, who helped sequence the human genome, to use organs from genetically-modified pigs for human organ transplants to create a never-ending supply.
Rothblatt founded a religion, the Terasem Movement, which puts together her cultural Judaism, Zen-like yoga and a deep belief in technology. One of the four founding beliefs: “Death is optional”.
She was the force behind SiriusXM radio, a worldwide satellite radio, and wrote the books Virtually Human and The Apartheid of Sex.
Virtually Human has been described by The Washington Post as “a big-think manifesto on the rights of yet-to-be-created cyber-humans, who might one day be uploaded with all of your thoughts, dreams, memories and online activity and live for eternity as a sort-of you”.
According to Rothblatt, robots in the future will have constitutional rights and “cyber psychiatrists” who will ease their anxiety about not being completely human.
"We are living in a world where all of your life is captured. There is work going on at Amazon, Google, and Apple that is Mindware. It is software designed to process and recreate all of these inputs to create a consciousness." — Rothblatt
Five other advanced robots
BEAR Made by Vecna Technologies, the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) is a rescue android. It can carry heavy objects, and has fire-resistant treads and batteries. Is capable of lifting up to 236 kg.
HRP-4C (Miim) Made by Japanese company AIST, Miim was fashioned after an average young Japanese female. She stands at 5.2 ft, is 43 kg and has the ability to recognise faces, speech, and ambient noise. She can even dance.
Morpheus Built by Rajesh Rao at the University of Washington, Morpheus has the ability to follow commands given as thoughts via a controller fitted with a swim cap filled with electrodes. Meant to provide companionship.
Actroid With a humanoid face and realistic body, the Actroid displays human behaviour. Manufactured by Kokoro Company Ltd, the Actroid can react according to different kinds of tactile data.
Atlas In July 2013, DARPA revealed Atlas, a six-foot tall robot with 28 hydraulic joints, arms, legs, head, torso and sensors. It can perform basic functions like walking, grabbing, turning, and giving visual feedback.
BINA48 is the world's most advanced humanoid robot.
BINA48 is modeled after a real person (Bina Rothblatt, the co-founder of TFM)-complete with humanistic movement and a digital mind capable of conversing with other humans. She recently appeared as the first android panelist at the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive conference and has made multiple TEDx event appearances. She speaks. She learns. She feels. BINA48 is like no other robot.
Bruce Duncan is Managing Director of Terasem Movement Foundation based in Lincoln, Vermont. TMF is a nonprofit interested in artificial intelligence and the ethical use of technology for human life extension. He is the caretaker of BINA48.
This event was co-sponsored by BYOBiz, the Emergent Media Center and the Master of Fine Arts in Emergent Media program.
WASHINGTON, DC: Martine Rothblatt, chief executive of biotech firm United Therapeutics, stole the show at this year’s South by Southwest tech festival when she shared her most advanced creation to date: Bina48.
Bina48 is a surreally lifelike robot who can recite poetry, tell jokes, and generally mimic humans to an astounding degree.
Rothblatt, a transgender and the highest paid female CEO in the US earning $38 million annually, told SXSW-goers that she envisioned a future where humanity can harness “mind clones” and live on in cybernetic shells long past the threshold of organic, biological systems.
The first step in the process would be creating a “mind file,” explained Rothblatt. If you happen to have a Facebook profile, then your mind file is already underway, the 60-year-old futurist elaborated.
Bina48 is modeled after Bina Aspen, Rothblatt’s wife. In order to create Bina48, the real flesh-and-blood Bina was interviewed for more than 20 hours about topics ranging from her childhood to her career. The conversations were later transcribed and uploaded to an artificial intelligence database in order to create Bina48’s personality.
When Bina48 was interviewed by The New York Times and asked what it was like to be a robot, she replied: “Um, I have some thoughts on that. Even if I appear clueless, perhaps I’m not. You can see through the strange shadow self, my future self. The self in the future where I’m truly awakened. And so in a sense this robot, me, I am just a portal.”
Rothblatt said that when Bina’s mortal self dies, the robot version of her wife will live on, making it possible for “our identity to begin to transcend our bodies”, truly making humans immortal.
Let’s see some of the breakthrough Robotic inventions:
Bina48: Bina Aspen, wife of Martine Rothblatt, was interviewed for over 20 hours, where she talked about her childhood, and career. The conversation was then transcribed into an AI database. Bina48 is a head and torso simulator, created by robot designer David Hanson costing $125,000. Her skin is made using Flubber, a kind of a rubbery polymer that reproduces expressions in the face using 30 motors hidden underneath it. The AI database of Bina Aspen was then uploaded into the robot along with “character engine” software that tries gives extra intelligence to the robot to understand the world with logic and motive.
BEAR: The battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot or BEAR is a military robot made by Vecna Technologies to help rescue soldiers from risky conditions that involve fire or in situations where fellow soldiers can’t reach. This remote controlled robot is capable of lifting up to 250 kg and manoeuvre through rough terrains such as stairs.
HRP-4C (Miim): The HRP-4C or Miim, is a robot created by a Japanese research firm called National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). This female robot is 158 cm tall and weighs 43 kg including the battery. Like in Bina48, Miim also can produce realistic expressions on her face. Adding to this she can move around like a human using 30 motors attached to her. She also has dedicated speech recognition software that helps her to understand and respond to questions using her vocal synthesizer Vocaloid.
Morpheus: Morpheus is a robot invented by Indian American Rajesh Rao at University of Washington. This robot has the ability to follow commands. A controller is fitted with a swim top loaded with terminals, allowing the robot to respond to commands.
Actroid: Actroid is a female humanoid robot developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Japanese company Kokoro. This robot can do human-like functions such as blinking, speaking and breathing. There are different versions of Actroid robots and the “repliee” model has the ability to recognize and process speech and respond, making it an interactive robot.