What Makes Us Human?

Could we see an breakthrough in AI

technology in the near future?

One of the main themes that constantly arises in the novel is the question of what is it that makes us human? In the novel there are many different personalities. They include humans, ROM constructs, RAM projects and artificial intelligences. All of them have the ability to communicate and think, however they all different in special ways. In the novel humans aren’t different. Humans are humans.  RAM constructs think that they are real, however they are not. Case has to make a decision in the novel to be with a RAM construct of a past lover for the rest of his life but thinks better of it and decides not to because at the end of the day the RAM construct was not the person he fell in love with. ROM constructs are similar as they are not real people they are recordings of the personalities of dead people. In the novel Cases close friend the Dixie Flatline helped Case throughout the novel even though he passed away.  Although still being alive (well sort of) Dixie does not enjoy life. He is stuck his body at the time he died. In other words he cannot gain new experiences. Much like a Read-Only-Memory document on a computer Dixie cannot be changed. Near the end of the novel Dixie gets his wish and gets erased, no longer existing. Then there are the Artificial Intelligences or AIs for short. They can be beneficial but can also be detrimental. In the case of Wintermute, its intelligence is through the roof but it lacks personality, which is essentially what makes humans. However Wintermute can use other people personalities when talking to people.