Bina48 was made by uploading a real person's mindfile - or a compilation of memories, beliefs and feelings.
Her hardware was made by robot designer David Hanson over the course of three years for a cool $125,000 at the behest of the Terasem Movement Foundation's president and Bina's partner, Martine Rothblatt.
Mr Duncan said he didn't know if Bina48 identified as a lesbian, like her 'mother.'
... Another application of the technology is education.
'Students can learn about Abraham Lincoln by talking to his avatar,' he suggested. Other greats, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Susan B. Anthony could be accessible to history students across the globe.
The current icon shows Polistra using a Personal Equation Machine.