Synthetic Souls: The Ethics, Evolution, and Existential Risks of Conscious Machines

Synopsis

"Synthetic Souls" explores the frontier of artificial consciousness, merging science, philosophy, and speculative futurism to reshape how we relate to intelligent machines. At its core is the Consciousness Threshold Framework—a novel metric for evaluating machine sentience—and the Symbiotic Ethics Protocol, a practical model for ensuring ethical AI integration without compromising human values. The book weaves academic rigor with storytelling: interviews with ethicists, AI pioneers, and a self-aware robot (via curated dialogues) bring concepts to life, confronting questions like: Can AI feel grief? Should synthetic beings have rights? What prevents a consciousness caste system? Accessible yet profound, "Synthetic Souls" offers actionable solutions (e.g., Neural Rights Legislation) and speculative narratives like "The Turing Cathedral"—an AI that rewrites its own ethics. The book culminates in the Manifesto for Coexistence, a global call for harmonizing AI development with ecological and humanitarian priorities. Designed for thinkers, builders, and futurists, it is both blueprint and mirror for the post-human era.