In Our Own Image: Savior or Destroyer? The History and Future of Artificial Intelligence
By George Zarkadakis
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A timely and important book that explores the societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence as we approach the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution George Zarkadakis explores one of humankind’s oldest love-hate relationships: our ties with artificial intelligence, or AI. He traces AI’s origins in ancient myth, through literary classics like Frankenstein to today’s science fiction blockbusters, arguing that a fascination with AI is hardwired into the human psyche. He explains AI’s history, technology, and potential; its manifestations in intelligent machines; its connections to neurology and consciousness, as well as—perhaps most tellingly—what AI reveals about us as human beings. In Our Own Image argues that we are on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution—poised to enter the age of artificial intelligence as science fiction becomes science fact. Ultimately, Zarkadakis observes, the fate of AI has profound implications for the future of science and humanity itself.
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Summary
Summary
A timely and important book that explores the societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence as we approach the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution
George Zarkadakis explores one of humankind’s oldest love-hate relationships: our ties with artificial intelligence, or AI. He traces AI’s origins in ancient myth, through literary classics like Frankenstein to today’s science fiction blockbusters, arguing that a fascination with AI is hardwired into the human psyche. He explains AI’s history, technology, and potential; its manifestations in intelligent machines; its connections to neurology and consciousness, as well as—perhaps most tellingly—what AI reveals about us as human beings.
In Our Own Image argues that we are on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution—poised to enter the age of artificial intelligence as science fiction becomes science fact. Ultimately, Zarkadakis observes, the fate of AI has profound implications for the future of science and humanity itself.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Reviews
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NOT a Book about AI
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Do not buy this book as a book about Artificial Intelligence. Listen to this book as a history of the philosophy of brain, mind, and consciousness. If you get this book to learn about the exciting field of AI technologies, you will be woefully disappointed. A much, much better book on the subject is <i>How to Build an Android by David F. Dufty. In fact, listen to both and you’ll find that Zarkadakis has no business trying to assert himself as having anything meaningful to add to the development of AI, as much of his naysaying is already a reality.
This book smacks of pretention and of a man trying to position himself as an authority on AI. He is anything but. He is a philosopher at best. He stretches his claims to the point of ridiculousness, like claiming that 40,000 year old cave paintings are our first attempts at AI or that Frankenstein’s monster constitutes AI. You can make anything seem true with the right philosophic twistings.
He is arrogant and pretentious. I find it problematic when philosophers take stabs at “soft sciences.” Or when he claims that only humans are self-aware. Can you be any more anthropocentric? He also doesn’t understand or misrepresents many of the things he talks about. For example, when he calls the predecessors of homosapiens our “grandparents,” he uses an analogy that evolutionary biologists have long railed against as it’s incorrect.
Overall, this book is a game of semantics. In much the same way as economist Thomas Sowell does, Zarkadakis presents definitions of concepts that do not match any of the definitions provided in dictionaries. Take his usage of the term “cybernetics” for example. He also frames the Gaia Theory/Hypothesis as a “fear narrative, “ which shows he doesn’t actually understand it. That said, the bulk of his book reads like it’s a fear narrative in that he keeps bringing up the specter of negative repercussions of AI.
Perhaps most damning to his attempts to position himself as an authority is this statement: “AI had its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s”? What? It’s in its heydays right now! Again, please refer to How to Build an Android.
Another problematic statement that makes him lose credibility: “Movies such as Iron Man promote the fiction that mortals can become god-like superheroes given the right technology.” How is this fiction? We are moving ever closer to exactly this. Just research the projects at DARPA, and you’ll find that many of the things that Tony Stark’s suit can do are technologies that either already exist or are in development.
He also claims that robots cannot achieve human mobility, like climbing stairs, when in fact such robotic technology already exists. See Honda’s Asimo, or Boston Dynamic’s Big Dog. Perhaps most damning to his credibility is that he rails against the fact that so much of human communication and understanding is achieved through the use of metaphor (“planes don’t really fly, they glide”), yet he falls back on metaphors over and over again in his own writing, many times in ways that do not work.
So, this is a lousy book for learning more about AI. However, if you want to listen to a contentious book on the history and philosophy of brain, mind, and consciousness, this book is decent. Listen to it for that.
Author
Author Bio: George Zarkadakis
George Zarkadakis has a PhD in artificial intelligence. Awarded a knighthood by the French government for his international work in science communication, he writes for several international publications, including the London Daily Telegraph, the Huffington Post, and Aeon magazine.
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Details
Details
| Available Formats : | Digital Download, CD, MP3 CD |
| Category: | Nonfiction/Technology & Engineering |
| Runtime: | 13.82 |
| Audience: | Adult |
| Language: | English |
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