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The Roots of AI
Thinking Machines: The Quest for Artificial Intelligence—and Where It’s Taking Us Next
Luke Dormehl
This is a factual history of the beginnings of AI, and it’s written by a non-scientist, making it easier to read than more technical books on the subject. Dormehl, a science journalist, gives an overview of the advent of machine learning and problem-solving. He also shines a spotlight on opposing viewpoints. On one hand, true AI could mean the end of mankind. On the other, humanity could experience something akin to paradise once self-aware AI emerges.
The practical applications of AI, both real and predicted, are described in detail here. Dormehl’s take on the ‘threat’ of AI is that it’s only one in a long list of threats humans have experienced and surmounted throughout history. This opinion differs from the one expressed by some of the great minds of today, like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. The book is worth reading as a thoughtful survey of where we’ve been and where we’re headed in a future that includes AI.
The One That Influenced Elon Musk
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Max Tegmark
Many books have influenced Musk, the modern genius and billionaire who founded Tesla Motors and SpaceX, and this is one of them. MIT physics professor Tegmark has authored over 200 technical papers on AI and other topics, and one of the themes in this book is the rise of automation and how it will affect humanity. More rigorously written than Thinking Machines, the ideas in the book are nevertheless easy for an intelligent person to grasp.
A major contribution of the book is in keeping the conversation going about what will happen once the Singularity occurs. Tegmark doesn’t flinch from predicting that humanity could be in a bad situation if AI is allowed to flourish without intelligent and thoughtful oversight. Ultimately, however, he believes that true AI will be a boon to mankind as long as we have the foresight and wisdom prepare for its advent.
AI Discussion for Geeks
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
Nick Bostrom
Bostrom is not only a Professor of Philosophy at Oxford University; he’s also Director of the Future of Humanity Institute and is well versed in mathematical logic, physics and computational neuroscience. If you’re interested in reading about singletons, oracles, tripwires, mind crime, whole brain emulation and more, this is the book for you. His unique twist on the subject of AI includes not only a new superintelligence but also the possibility of a human brain/AI hybrid.
Like Tegmark, Bostrom believes that humankind has the potential to manage the Singularity if we play our cards right. The book isn’t a survey of what’s out there so far and what we can expect to happen as machines become more intelligent. Rather, it’s a well-researched and original discussion of scenarios regarding the mind, conscious thought and the impact of AI. Although the book is a bit pedantic in style, the unique perspective will keep you reading.
AI and Robots
The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies
Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee
If you’ve been reading these reviews thinking, “but what about the robots?”, then this is your book. Brynjolfsson and McAfee explore the ways that limited AI has already burst on the scene with the advent of self-driving cars and the automation of jobs that used to need human input. They also extrapolate about a future that will include medical robots and increased personal technology, musing on the effects these changes will have on the economy.
The authors are co-directors of the MIT Initiative on the digital economy, among other lofty-sounding credentials. Their research focuses on the impact of information technology on business, the economy and society. They describe the coming changes as a ‘reinvention’ rather than a disaster or utopia for mankind. This book is a positive treatise on the best ways to embrace the coming digital age by acknowledging it and taking immediate steps to deal with it.
AI is Coming
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
Ray Kurzsweil
This list wouldn’t be complete without the classic 2005 book by electrical engineer and scientist Ray Kurzsweil. Described as a ‘hyperbolic optimist’, Kurzweil firmly believes that GNR (genetics, nanotech and robotics) will soon lead to a flowering of humanity in a new, hybrid form. This is similar to Bostrom’s perspective, but Kurzweil has also been a hands-on creator of technology, responsible for breakthroughs in optical character recognition, flatbed scanning and music synthesizing.
One of the best books on AI, this isn’t an economic or social treatise on its effects but a technical discussion of the ways in which man and machine can form a synthesis that could lead to immortality. His projections about the future of AI are well-grounded with research, and some of Kurzweil’s predictions, like a neural network, are now seen as real possibilities.