About FOREVER, the book

The main characters are Christine Jacobs, a law professor who teaches Robot and AI Law n the US Midwest and loves Russian poetry and movies, a passion she owes to her mom; her former boyfriend, Paul Gantt, Founder and chief of Transhuman Technologist at Eidya; and his Dutch college buddy Bart, the other cofounder. Eidya, a technology company named after a Greek goddess of knowledge, aims to reach true transhumanism: allowing humans to transfer into humanoid robots that look like them using personal data, including data obtained via a subcutaneous chip Eidya invented. A feature of the book is its use of poetry to build a triangular relationship between humans, robots, and death.

The US military is interested in creating synthetic soldiers using data from its best soldiers, just as the UN begins to work on a new international treaty on the use of robots in war. Dr. Jacobs is called upon to provide advice both to Eidya and to the military while teaching her classes, in which she discusses what it means to be human in the age of AI, humanoid robots, and cyborgs as her boyfriend and his colleagues prepare the world for what’s next. 

Are Transfers "persons"? Will they behave like the humans they are replacing? How will they relate to humans, and to each other? How will governments react to their presence? What legal responses will their arrival trigger? The situation develops in unexpected ways on several continents. 

The supporting cast includes Koharu Tanaka, Chief Biologist; Jeremy Sigall, Chief Engineer; Jane Armstrong, a US Army General in charge of robot warfare; and a number of law students.

The story ends with a nod to climate change activism.

Available in hardcover, paperback or ebook