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Ron Peters's Reviews > Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
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This book is basically a riposte to Ray Kurzweil’s (2006) The Singularity is Near. I wouldn’t recommend either one, though the factual information contained in both books is useful.
Kurzweil paints a glowingly positive portrait of the benefits of artificial intelligence along with a smattering of half-hearted cautions. Barrat takes every possible argument for the possible dangers of AI, flogs them to death in endless detail with many repetitions, while grudgingly admitting that AI may have possible benefits if we are lucky enough to avoid the impending AI apocalypse.
I agree whole-heartedly with some of Barrat's key concerns (autonomous weapons, high-speed trading, AI-informed hackers, including government hackers) but reality surely lies somewhere between these two views. In addition, Barrat’s book is thin on the ground when it comes to how we should respond to potential AI traps. It’s always much easier to identify problems than solutions.
Max Tegmark’s (2020) Life 3.0 is a better book for the average person who wonders what to make of the possible impacts of AI on our lives in the foreseeable future. Rather than trying so hard to sell you on a viewpoint, Tegmark clarifies the issues. He gives you as much technical and contextual information as you need to address these questions sensibly and arrive at your own conclusions. In other words, Tegmark is an educator rather than a lobbyist, which I greatly prefer.
Kurzweil paints a glowingly positive portrait of the benefits of artificial intelligence along with a smattering of half-hearted cautions. Barrat takes every possible argument for the possible dangers of AI, flogs them to death in endless detail with many repetitions, while grudgingly admitting that AI may have possible benefits if we are lucky enough to avoid the impending AI apocalypse.
I agree whole-heartedly with some of Barrat's key concerns (autonomous weapons, high-speed trading, AI-informed hackers, including government hackers) but reality surely lies somewhere between these two views. In addition, Barrat’s book is thin on the ground when it comes to how we should respond to potential AI traps. It’s always much easier to identify problems than solutions.
Max Tegmark’s (2020) Life 3.0 is a better book for the average person who wonders what to make of the possible impacts of AI on our lives in the foreseeable future. Rather than trying so hard to sell you on a viewpoint, Tegmark clarifies the issues. He gives you as much technical and contextual information as you need to address these questions sensibly and arrive at your own conclusions. In other words, Tegmark is an educator rather than a lobbyist, which I greatly prefer.
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