The digital mind. How Science is Changing Humanity

How can the achievements of science and technology contribute to the emergence of an exclusively digital mind — intelligent machines that are equal or even superior in power to the human brain? What do computers, cells and the brain have in common? Computers are electronic devices invented by humans, cells are biological entities that arose as a result of evolution, and the brain is the carrier and creator of our mind. But all of them are information processing devices one way or another. The power of the human brain is not yet comparable to any existing machine or known living being. Over the years of evolution, the brain has helped us come up with tools and technologies to make our lives easier. Our brains have even allowed us to create computers that are almost as powerful as the human brain itself. In the book, Arlindo Oliveira describes how advances in science and technology can contribute to the creation of a digital mind. Exponential growth is the principle of life itself, but today technological changes promise to surpass even evolutionary development. Oliveira describes technological and scientific achievements, starting with the discovery of laws that govern the behavior of electromagnetic fields, and ending with the development of computers. He calls natural selection the supreme algorithm, discusses the genetics and evolution of the central nervous system, and describes the role of computer visualization in understanding and modeling the brain. Given the workings of this unique system that creates the mind, he addresses the inevitable question: is the human brain the only system that can support the mind? If digital intelligence emerges — and according to Oliveira, it is difficult to find arguments that this will not happen — what will be the social, legal, ethical consequences? Will the digital mind become our friend or rival?