A guide to AI's thorniest implications that asks: How shall we navigate our brave new world?
We are at a monumental turning point in human history. AI is taking intelligence in new directions. The strongest human competitors in chess, go, and Jeopardy! have been beaten by AIs, and AI is getting more sophisticated by the day. Further, AI research is going inside the human brain itself, attempting to augment human minds. It may even create greater-than-human-level intelligence, leading to a new generation of artificial minds-Minds 2.0. Susan Schneider, a philosopher, argues that these undertakings must not be attempted without a richer understanding of the nature of the mind. An insufficient grasp of the underlying philosophical issues could undermine the use of AI and brain enhancement technology, bringing about the demise or suffering of conscious beings. Examining the philosophical questions lying beneath the algorithms, Schneider takes on AI's thorniest implications.
"Humans may not be Earth's most intelligent beings for much longer: the world champions of chess, Go, and Jeopardy! are now all AIs. Given the rapid pace of progress in AI, many predict that it could advance to human-level intelligence within the next several decades. From there, it could quickly outpace human intelligence. What do these developments mean for the future of the mind? In Artificial You, Susan Schneider says that it is inevitable that AI will take intelligence in new directions, but urges that it is up to us to carve out a sensible path forward. As AI technology turns inward, reshaping the brain, as well as outward, potentially creating machine minds, it is crucial to beware. Homo sapiens, as mind designers, will be playing with "tools" they do not understand how to use: the self, the mind, and consciousness. Schneider argues that an insufficient grasp of the nature of these entities could undermine the use of AI and brain enhancement technology, bringing about the demise or suffering of conscious beings. To flourish, we must grasp the philosophical issues lying beneath the algorithms. At the heart of her exploration is a sober-minded discussion of what AI can truly achieve: Can robots really be conscious? Can we merge with AI, as tech leaders like Elon Musk and Ray Kurzweil suggest? Is the mind just a program? Examining these thorny issues, Schneider proposes ways we can test for machine consciousness, questions whether consciousness is an unavoidable byproduct of sophisticated intelligence, and considers the overall dangers of creating machine minds."--Provided by publisher.
"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers"
