Digital Biology: The Creation of Life Inside Computers and How it Will Affect Us - Softcover

Can computers ever be alive? Can they have children? Can they repair themselves? Or grow from embryos? Or swarm like insects? Can computers think for themselves? Could they ever be conscious? The answer is "yes". But should we be worried? "Digital Biology" is the story of a new technology: biological computers. This text provides explanations of how new forms of life inside computers are created, and what this actually means for our future, clearly showing the vital benefits of this techology. The text describes how these digital creatures are helping us: finding fraudsters, searching for signs of cancer in our cells, controlling robots, smelling bombs and growing music. The text also demonstrates how digital biology is helping us understand how natural biology works, thus improving our medicine and keeping us healthy.

Peter Bentley is an honorary research fellow at UCL, and the founder of the growing field of Creative Evolutionary Design.