The Technological Singularity (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series)

The author discusses a number of topics bearing on the feasibility and consequences of continued progress in AI. We have seen fairly significant advances, but always highly restricted to specialized applications, such as playing Go. The series of brilliant successes in weak AI, as opposed to AI at a human or even beyond, superintelligent, level, over the past 40 or so years has aroused some concern. There are indeed, some thorny and troubling aspects about this. Shanahan is looking to the far future, so this book is not related to much we are likely to see within the next twenty or thirty years. He writes in a simple, very clear, very understandable way. In addition, he keeps things at a level intelligible and accessible to people who are not specialists in AI. His philosophical and speculative style takes him into excursions that always remain superficial and overly general. He, therefore, opens himself up to serious counterarguments at almost every step. So I think that if you want something deeply insightful, this overview is the wrong place. On the other hand, to get a taste for some of the important, long-term consequences, of significant and continuing progress in AI, this book can be recommended. I had to be rather patient with my reading, because his speculative explorations are so easily questioned, and he is avoiding numerous thorny elements along the road to superintelligence. On the other hand, if you have an interest and tolerance for rather theoretical and airy speculation on extremely important matters that may or may not arise for us humans within the next half-millenium or so, this is an excellent, quick, informative read.

This is a nicely written short book about an event that's a little scary but which could happen, according to some, but not all, experts in the field of AI -- the idea that AI could "run away" and become arbitrarily smart (e.g. if they started to engineer and modify themselves). I picked up this book after seeing a TV interview of Bill Gates, who said (paraphrasing) that he thinks there is a very good chance of better-than-human AI being achieved in about 50 years. "They'll be a lot smarter than us", I remember him saying. That made me think it might not just be the stuff of science fiction and I started my hunt for books on AI. I picked this one (and another one) because it had good reviews, was brief, and was published by the MIT Press. It was very entertaining, well-written, and thought-provoking. I felt that I learned a lot about both the latest technology and the moral and social issues in a compact book that's quick to read.Leave it to humans with our supposedly superior brains to find new and more efficient ways to harm ourselves. In primitive times we discovered fire, then later guns, then the atomic bomb, and now the Terminator ? Well, let's hope we can control it and make it benign, if it happens.Edit (May 2020) As I've been learning more about AI lately, I've come to realize that most of the people who are actually working in this field find this idea of a singularity far-fetched, basically science fiction, and based on deep misunderstandings. The field is very far away from AGI. Still, it was an entertaining and well-written book, so I'll leave it at 4 stars.

Why should read this book:1) In this subject you can find many theory books. This book also contains conclusions, however, these are based on research results and expected developments.2) The author summarises the history of machine intelligence, describes two different way of future development (brain emulation, engineering AI), why is superintelligence is possible, which kind of consciousness is conceivable, and finally the impact of IA.3) I was quite sceptic related to TS. However, after reading this book I have a realistic view which kind of serious progress is being made during the last decades. You should read a lot of books, studies to have such a broad vision.4) The author has saved you a lot of time and energy, so if you want to delve into the subject, you should start with this book.

A bird's (or AI pigeon's) view of possible futures and issues with Artificial Intelligence.A number of very interesting concepts are discussed in this book, but not in any great level of detail. One of the most interesting things I learnt from this book was the power of the human mind (operating on 30W!) and the depth of the challenge to emulate.I enjoyed reading about the connectedness between the body and mind, as a condition of general intelligence or awareness. The author notes the challenges with managing any general intelligence AI but this, to me, highlights how little in-depth discussion there is on this topic.I would give this book 5 stars if it were to give us more on the author's thoughts on the next steps.

What happens at the apex of technology? I don't know yet, I have yet to read the book, though I doubt the author knows either. I expect this book will be highly speculative with much reference to other highly speculative works. Will update to reflect content upon reading.

I found this book remarkably readable - whether from impressive writing skills of the author or the skill of a brilliant editor, it flowed beautifully, coherent and well organized. The content itself provides an interesting, high-level overview of the topic, comprising many philosophical questions, concepts, and speculation. There's not much hard science here, a few tidbits (though there are plenty of references cataloged for follow-up). If you're interested in philosophical/moral questions and speculation about rather unbounded future possibilities you may well enjoy this. It's not really a summary of current and near-future technology or development trends. Chace's "Surviving AI" is a good alternative or complementary summary, and the 1200-page textbook "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (3rd. ed.)" also has extensive introductory, overview and summary material - it's brilliantly written, very readable, and very firmly grounded.

Murray's overview of issues relating to artificial intelligence is a deft, readable and comprehensive take on many of the theoretical and practical questions relating to artificial minds, their development and implications.This book is extremely digestible and forms an excellent introduction to many, if not all of the key debates, around AI. If you are new to the field, or have casual interest, I recommend starting with this one to give you a grounding of the issues. You can then move onto more detailed books like Shanahan's other word or Bostrom on Superintelligence, or the evangelicals like Kurzweil.

This is an excellent book - pragmatic and thoughtful. As many others have said, really enjoyed reading it and learnt many new ideas

Very interesting insight into A.I, if you wanna gain a head start before it becomes everyday discussion this is the book you need.

This is an interesting and concise book on the potential of AI. The author takes a very balanced approach, neither scaremongering or exaggerating the benefits of AI. The chapter on artificial consciousness is especially fascinating.

A beautifully written and easily digestible ladder into the cavern that is artificial intelligence and human consciousness research. A vital starting point for any with an interest.