The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity“The Fourth Age not only discusses what the rise of A.I. will mean for us, it also forces readers to challenge their preconceptions. And it manages to do all this in a way that is both entertaining and engaging.” —The New York Times As we approach a great turning point in history when technology is poised to redefine what it means to be human, The Fourth Age offers fascinating insight into AI, robotics, and their extraordinary implications for our species. In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history: - 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language. - 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare. - 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which lead to the nation state. We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. The Fourth Age provides extraordinary background information on how we got to this point, and how—rather than what—we should think about the topics we’ll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity. By asking questions like “Are you a machine?” and “Could a computer feel anything?”, Reese leads you through a discussion along the cutting edge in robotics and AI, and, provides a framework by which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age, and how they’ll transform humanity. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - GlennBell - LibraryThingThe author is an optimist and he believes that technology advances will potentially bring a utopia. He tries to make his book understandable to a wide audience and caters to not only the scientists ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - waldhaus1 - LibraryThingThe author review some of the central questions we face in understanding where we are going with the development of Artificial Intelligence. He reviews many developments and some persistent ... Read full review
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
7 | |
9 | |
15 | |
Writing and Wheels | 21 |
Robots and AI | 25 |
Three Big Questions | 39 |
AGI | 169 |
Should We Build an AGI? | 181 |
COMPUTER CONSCIOUSNESS | 203 |
THE STORY OF JOHN FRUM | 205 |
Sentience | 207 |
Free Will | 215 |
Consciousness | 221 |
Can Computers Become Conscious? | 239 |
NARROW AI AND ROBOTS | 55 |
THE STORY OF JOHN HENRY | 57 |
Narrow AI | 59 |
Robots | 65 |
Technical Challenges | 71 |
Will Robots Take All Our Jobs? | 83 |
Are There RobotProof Jobs? | 123 |
The Big Questions | 135 |
The Use of Robots in War | 151 |
ARTIFICIAL GENERAL INTELLIGENCE | 155 |
THE STORY OF THE SORCERERS APPRENTICE | 157 |
The Human Brain | 159 |
Can Computers Be Implanted in Human Brains? | 259 |
Humanity Redefined? | 265 |
THE ROAD FROM HERE | 269 |
THE STORY OF JEANLUC PICARD | 271 |
The Invention of Progress | 273 |
Life in the Fourth Age | 283 |
Death Where Is Thy Sting? | 305 |
What Can Go Wrong? | 311 |
The Fifth Age | 315 |
Acknowledgments | 319 |
Other editions - View all
The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity Byron Reese Limited preview - 2020 |
The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity Byron Reese No preview available - 2018 |
The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity Byron Reese No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
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