Do Neons dream of electric sheep?

For decades, ethicists, philosophers and science fiction writers have wrestled with what seems increasingly like an inevitability in the evolution of humankind's technological discovery: The creation of a new species of artificial humanity. Enter stage right: The eerily realistic interactive CGI avatar, Neon. It's the literal brainchild of Samsung-funded Star Labs' Pranav Mistry, who also serves as CEO of the company he says is building "the first computerized artificial human." "Neon is like a new kind of life," Mistry said when unveiling the technology this week at CES. "There are millions of species on our planet, and we hope to add one more." Read more: Neon's CEO explains artificial humans to me and I'm more confused than ever And it's hard to see, just now, whether Neon will live up to the terrifying promises of its creator, or whether it will ultimately be proven to be a glorified chatbot with a bit more nuance than the notoriously creepy AI news anchor revealed in 2018.