Slaves to Neurons ─ Are We Different from Machines?

Pete McRae, a robotics software programmer with a background in genetic engineering and neuroscience believes machines, in the very near future, will not only have the ability to think but will also have emotions. He is so obsessed with this belief that at times he cannot distinguish between biological life forms and machines. This strong belief and developments in the fields of robotics, neuroscience and nanotechnology lead him to develop a robot with an electronic brain that has the capabilities of a human brain. Could this mechanical brain think and feel like a human brain? The results of his experiment are not only shocking but they also bring back painful memories of his past. What does he learn about love and other emotions that go with it? Does he prove machines can have emotions and, dare we say, consciousness? What does his finding mean to the future of machines? Or for that matter, the future of biological life forms as we know them today?