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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Software that performs human-like functions is generally regarded as artificial intelligence, until it is so commonplace that no one is impressed any more that something more complicated becomes the next target of AI. There have been several AI winters – where early success in one area failed to develop into wider progress. But recently, narrow AIs have become superhuman in many games including chess, backgammon, scrabble; and more recently Jeopardy! and Go.

I'll leave the philosophical debate of can a machine really be conscious, or is its intelligence really only the output of the human written software, to the academics, but what is definitely coming soon is machines far more powerful than a human brain. Think how many times more powerful a modern day PC is compared to one 20 years ago - eventually that will be the difference between human level intelligence and a super-AI-intelligence. It won't be the difference between someone of average intelligence and Einstein, it will be like a mouse trying to understand quantum physics. We will be the new mouse and won't be able to understand the thoughts and capabilities of this superintelligence.

And we will have no choice but to give those machines control of our lives, for example it won't be humanly possibly to control the increasing air/rail/road traffic so those quick decisions will have to be made by some sort of artificial intelligence. Why it's a question of survival is because we don't know if, Terminator style, the machine will suddenly decide that its existence is more important that its day job.

Or as Nick Bostrom explains in his excellent book, Superintelligence, it may not even be a malevolent AI - but one that tries too hard to please as (its creator) and uses up all the resources on the planet in doing so. Alternatively, if we didn't clearly define the goal for the AI, then it may solve world hunger by killing most of the humans on the planet meaning there was plenty of food to go around.

This is one area that I did disagree with Ray Kurzweil in his book The Singularity Is Near - he assumes that any human created higher intelligence would treat us as a curiosity and care for us. As this isn't how we treat lower animals to us (which we cull, abuse and eat) I don't think we can be sure that we would be treated any differently.

Resources

Click on resource name for more details.

Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality

Amazon

In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it

Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence

Answers to the most common questions about Artificial Intelligence

Emerj

Market research and publishing on the business impact of artificial intelligence

Singularity Rising: Surviving and Thriving in a Smarter, Richer, and More Dangerous World

Amazon

This book focuses on the implications of a future society faced with an abundance of human and artificial intelligence written by James D. Miller

Our Final Invention

Amazon

Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era written by James Barrat

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

Amazon

Superintelligence asks the questions what happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence, written by Nick Bostrom

Gero

AI-powered platform for drug discovery and drug repurposing for age-related diseases.

Surviving AI: The promise and peril of artificial intelligence

Amazon

A guide to what's coming, taking you through technological unemployment and the possible creation of a superintelligence written by Calum Chace

Prospects for Human Survival

Amazon

Book written by Willard Wells where author discusses several of the most frightening hazards to our survival

Cyber-Humans: Our Future With Machines

Amazon

Book about artificial intelligence and robots written by Woodrow Barfield

More Artificial Intelligence (AI) resources

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Blog Posts

Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom - Book Review
12-Nov-2019

Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom - Book Review

Review of Nick Bostrom's book Superintelligence on the risks of artificial intelligence

Homo Deus - review and quotes
29-Jul-2018

Homo Deus - review and quotes

The history of mankind and society - then looking to the future where dataism ousts the need for humans

Kurzweil v Hawking - good AI v bad AI
04-Dec-2014

Kurzweil v Hawking - good AI v bad AI

Better to err on the side of caution when it comes to artificial intelligence development

Recent News

Research Scholars Programme at Future of Humanity Institute - now open

Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) - 12-Aug-2020

Research long-term consequences in Oxford with world leading thinkers such as Nick Bostrom

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IBM Watson will be better than other commercial artificial intelligence systems

Independent - 11-Mar-2020

Will artificial intelligence surpass human intelligence one day?

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DPhil Scholarships available at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute

University of Oxford - 04-Oct-2019

An amazing opportunity to work with some of the world's leading thinkers

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James Lovelock predicts the Anthropocene may quickly be replaced by the Novacene

NBC News - 25-Aug-2019

He doesn't think humans will merge with technology (Kurzweil style)

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UN reports massive growth in AI patents

United Nations - 31-Jan-2019

No mention of artificial general intelligence (AGI) which will be the real revolution

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More Artificial Intelligence (AI) News