VIRTUALLY HUMAN The Promise--and the Peril--of Digital Immortality

Rothblatt explores the increasing connections between humans and machines as society shifts towards what the author calls cyberconsciousness--the digital storage of culture and identity. Laural Merlington offers a narration that isn't nearly as stirring or intriguing as Rothblatt's ideas. She remains steady and clear throughout, but her tone lacks the energy of Rothblatt's prose. Jeff Cummings's contribution to the production is narrating the introduction by Ray Kurzweil. He is also lukewarm in his delivery as he fails to capture Kurzweil's enthusiasm for the book. The low energy of the narrators does not serve Rothblatt's exploration into digital consciousness well. She covers fascinating elements of the human-digital connection in terms of what it means for humans and what it means for potentially conscious machines. L.E. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2014]