In Our Own Image
Will artificial intelligence save or destroy us?
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
'TIMELY AND IMPORTANT' JIM AL-KHALILI
In Our Own Image by Dr George Zarkadakis explores one of humankind’s oldest love–hate relationships – our ties with Artificial Intelligence or AI. Zarkadakis traces AI’s origins in ancient myth, through literary classics such as Frankenstein, to today’s sci-fi 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…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Greek science writer Zarkadakis, armed with a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and an eclectic tech industry background, rigorously and richly weaves together narrative threads on technology, philosophy, and literature to provide a fascinating history of AI. While many published studies of the human/machine analytic have tended to focus on one development or invention, specialists will recognize that Zarkadakis has left no cybernetic stone unturned Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, Ren Descartes, George Boole, Norbert Weiner, and Jacques de Vaucanson all play significant roles in this history. In doing so, Zarkadakis provides the most comprehensive history of AI for our digital age. With a rare combination of literary know-how and scientific knowledge, he demonstrates a keen ability to convey scientific, philosophical, and technical expertise. Zarkadakis passionately, yet carefully, leads readers chronologically through the development of key concepts in the understanding of mind and intelligence. While the book lacks analysis of AI from non-Western perspectives, particularly Japan's influence on cybernetic thought, Zarkadakis deftly addresses the West's obsession with the development of artificial beings. By the conclusion of this highly accessible work, Zarkadakis convincingly posits a future in which "post-humanism will have morphed into trans-humanism," showing how a romance with AI will present humans with a daunting dilemma.
Customer Reviews
Fresh perspective on what it means to be us
In Our Own Image is a wonderful blend of perspectives that gives the reader a more complete understanding of how to think about the fundamentally important question of AI. Zarkadakis has a very rare skill in being able to gift the reader with his vision and clarity of thought using wonderfully accessible, lucid writing. It's not an exaggeration to say this book has seriously increased my awareness of what it means to be human. And most importantly it has inspired me to care about what happens next.