The 2016 edition of the Terasem Annual Colloquium on the Law of Futuristic Persons was held in Second Life — Terasem sim — on Saturday, December 10, 2016. The Colloquium had two main themes: “Legal Aspects of Futuristic Persons: Cyber-Humans,” and “A Tribute to the ‘Father of Artificial Intelligence,’ Marvin Minsky, PhD.”
Each year on December 10th, International Human Rights Day, Terasem conducts a Colloquium on the Law of Futuristic Persons. The event seeks to provide the public with informed perspectives regarding the legal rights and obligations of “futuristic persons” via VR events with expert presentations and discussions. Terasem hopes to facilitate development of “a body of law covering the rights and obligations of entities that transcend, and yet encompass, conventional conceptions of humanness,” according to Terasem Movement, Inc.
12:10–12:30PM —How Marvin Minsky Inspired Me To Have a Mindclone Living on An O’Neill Space Habitat
Martine Rothblatt, JD, PhD
Co-Founder, Terasem Movement, Inc.
Space Coast, FL
Avatar name: Vitology Destiny
12:30–12:50PM — Formal Interaction
12:50–1:10PM — The Emerging Law of Cyborgs
Woodrow “Woody” Barfield, PhD, JD, LLM
Author: Cyber-Humans: Our Future with Machines
Chapel Hill, NC
Avatar name: WoodyBarfield
1:10–1:30PM — Formal Interaction
1:30–1:50PM — Cyborgs and Family Law Challenges
Rich Lee
Human Enhancement & Augmentation
St. George, UT
Avatar name: RichLee78
1:50–2:10PM — Formal Interaction
2:10–2:30PM — Synthetic Brain Simulations and Mens Rea*
Stephen Thaler, PhD.
President & CEO, Imagination-engines, Inc.
St. Charles, MO
Avatar name: SteveThaler
* Mens Rea refers to criminal intent. Moreover, it is the state of mind indicating culpability which is required by statute as an element of a crime. — Cornell University Legal Information Institute
Video Source: Terasem Movement, Inc.