Technology.

Virtual Immortality for Virtual Eternity

Scientists endeavor to create more "lifelike" digital people.

For centuries, humans have been trying to beat mortality through technology, employing such fanciful (if chilling) methods as cryonics, the freezing of cadavers in the hope

that science might one day stumble upon a cure for all ills. Now, the National Science Foundation has awarded a half-million-dollar grant to the universities of Central Florida at Orlando and Illinois at Chicago to explore how researchers might use artificial intelligence, archiving, and computer imaging to create convincing digital versions of real people, a possible first step toward virtual immortality.

"The goal is to combine artificial intelligence with the latest advanced graphics and video game-type technology to enable us to create historical archives of people beyond what can be achieved using traditional technologies such as text, audio, and video footage," says Jason Leigh of the University of Chicago's Electronic Visualization Laboratory.

Leigh's lab will attempt to store and then digitize the appearance, mannerisms, voice, and (some of) the knowledge of a senior program manager from the National Science Foundation who is known for his institutional savvy. The researchers hope to then assemble the data into a "virtual person" or avatar that will be able to respond to questions and behave in a manner representative of the test subject.

"The technology we are developing isn't going to magically map memories and personalities," says Leigh. "There is a lot of work to be done. But one can envision--given sufficient computing power and information--that one can produce highly realistic characters."

A simpler form of this technology already pervades online environments like the popular game Second Life, says Leigh. One potential use might be to enhance the experience of such games, enabling players to archive their characters' experiences in the game environment, and, of course, to populate virtual worlds with characters who are more rich, interesting, and lifelike.

Stringing together the diverse technologies of live computer animation with artificial intelligence, speech recognition, speech synthesis, and facial expression recognition will be the biggest challenge of the project. Leigh doubts that the team will be able to create a totally credible and naturalistic avatar within the project's three-year time frame, but he is optimistic that the work will stimulate interest in the field.

The project seeks to not only further the research of scientists tinkering in virtual worlds, but also be of use to a public trying to make its way in a world increasingly dominated by computers.

"It goes beyond just creating technology for archiving people," says Leigh. "It encourages people to think about different ways in which they can communicate and interact with computers. For example, right now many computers have built-in web-cams. Most of them are turned off unless [they are being used] for videoconferencing. But imagine if the camera were active all the time and the computer was watching and listening to you as you work, just like an assistant or a secretary. It could use that information to provide you with assistance if it sees that you are frustrated. Human-to-human communication has evolved and matured over several millennia, but humans have really only learned to communicate with computers [in] the last 50 years."

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While the technologies, as well as the project itself, are still in their infancy, Leigh is hopeful that the research may one day lead to entirely new ways of thinking about memory, history, and even immortality. "In our efforts to capture the past by digitizing historical artifacts, using some of the most advanced imaging technology available today, we've forgotten to turn that imaging technology 'inwards' and try and capture the original creators of those historical artifacts," he says.

In the future, artificial intelligence, voice synthesis, and computer graphics may allow us to preserve much more of the departed than present technology allows and in so doing, infuse history, and memory, with new life.--Patrick Tucker

Source: University of Illinois at Chicago, Office of Public Affairs, 601 South Morgan Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607. Web site www.news.uic.edu.

Tapping the Power of DNA To Run Computers

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found a way to tap the chemical-electrical properties in DNA to create a microscopic electronic switch. The development is being called a bio-nanotechnology first and heralds many future breakthroughs linking living organisms to computers.

The device, tentatively named the nanoactuator, consists of a strand of DNA, a microchip, a "bead magnet," and a mechanical "dynamo" or lever less than one molecule in size. The DNA powers the nanoactuator through the substance adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the University of Portsmouth researchers explain.

ATP is a sugar-carbon nucleotide that exists in human cells. Its unique properties enable a number of cellular and larger biological functions such as metabolism, or the movement of fuel molecules across cell-membranes resulting in energy. In the nanoactuator, ATP runs the dynamo device, pulling the magnetic bead and creating an electric reaction. The chip reads the electricity and, in turn, sends signals to a computer.

"The possibilities are very exciting. The nanoactuator we have developed can be used as a communicator between biological and silicon worlds," says molecular biologist Keith Firman. "I could see it providing an interface between muscle and external devices. But it has to be pointed out that such an application is still 20 to 30 years away." Firman is leading the team of researchers from across Europe.

More immediately, researchers could apply the new knowledge to the problem of sensing and detecting airborne pathogens. Firman believes the experiments provide new and valuable insight into biology on the molecular level.

"The real breakthrough is that the nanoactuator can indicate events at the limits of chemical sensitivity by reporting events that occur between single molecules. This device could provide the spur that shows how biological machines can be used in nanotechnology and provide the start point for the revolution that bio-nanotechnology offers," says Firman.

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He reports that one of his most frustrating challenges was convincing potential financiers that the nanoactuator was possible. In view of the team's success, the European Commission has awarded them a grant of [euro]2 million (approximately $2.72 million) to conduct further research.--Patrick Tucker

Source: University of Portsmouth, University House, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom PO1 2UP. Telephone +44 2392 842726. Web site www.port.ac.uk. Project Web site www.bionano-switch.info.