A New York Times bestseller
Superintelligence
asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in
general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick
Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and
intelligent life.
The human brain has some capabilities that
the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive
capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine
brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new
superintelligence could become extremely powerful - possibly beyond our
control. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on humans than on
the species itself, so would the fate of humankind depend on the actions
of the machine superintelligence.
But we have one advantage: we
get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed
Artificial Intelligence, to engineer initial conditions so as to make an
intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled
detonation?
This profoundly ambitious and original book breaks
down a vast track of difficult intellectual terrain. After an utterly
engrossing journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the
human condition and the future of intelligent life, we find in Nick
Bostrom's work nothing less than a reconceptualization of the essential
task of our time.
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
November 20, 2023
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