With the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the border that has traditionally separated fact, or "nonfiction," and fiction has become increasingly porous. Think of posts on social media by bots pretending to be human, altered photos and videos, including deep fakes. Science-fiction has always held a special place in this divide; it is often the nonfiction of tomorrow. In this book, the author crosses the border in both directions, using fiction to teach the law of AI by asking the reader to follow Christine Jacobs, a law professor, and her students, in discussing what it means to be human in the age of AI, humanoid robots, and cyborgs as her boyfriend prepares the world for what's next. Crisscrossed by world travel, peppered with fine food and wines, filled with Russian poetry and cinema, and reflections about life and death, this book invites the reader to a world in which technology allows humans to live forever—as long as they are willing to die first.

Christine Jacobs, a law professor with a passion for Russian poetry and film she owes to her mom, teaches the law of AI at a law school in the US Midwest. Her former boyfriend, Paul Gantt, and his Dutch college buddy Bart are cofounders of Eidya, a technology company named after a Greek goddess of knowledge that aims to reach true transhumanism: allowing humans to transfer into humanoid robots that look like them using personal data, including data obtained via a subcutaneous chip Eidya invented,to transfer the personality of humans. The US military is interested in doing the same with its best soldiers just as the UN begins to work on a new international treaty on the use of robots in war. Dr. Jacobs is called upon to provide advice both to Eidya and to the military while teaching her classes, in which she discussed what it means to be human in the age of AI, humanoid robots, and cyborgs as her boyfriend prepares the world for what's next. Are the Transfers persons? Will they behave like the humans they are replacing? How will they relate to humans, and to each other? How will governments react to their presence? What legal responses will their arrival trigger? The situation develops in unexpected ways on several continents.

Another distinguishing feature of the book is its use of poetry to build a triangular relationship between humans, robots, and death. The story ends with a nod to climate change activism and the recent trend in publishing dubbed "doomer lit."

The main character is Christine Jacobs, a law professor who teaches Robot Law and loves Russian poetry and movies. The other main characters are Paul Gantt, founder and chief of Transhuman Technologist at Eidya and wine connoisseur, and his boss, Bart Van Dijk, a Dutch multibillionaire. The supporting cast includes Koharu Tanaka, Chief Biologist; Jeremy Sigall, Chief Engineer; Jane Armstrong, a US Army General in charge of robot warfare; and a number of law students.