Is the Singularity nigh? Will our conscious selves one day be embodied in silicon? Will we one day become slaves to computing machines rather than their masters?
Not so, say Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith in their new book, Why Machines Will Never Rule the World: Artificial Intelligence Without Fear. Landgrebe, a tech entrepreneur, scientist, and mathematician, and Smith, a philosopher, argue that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entirely different from the General Intelligence (GI) of humans: the one is a logic system, while the other is a complex system of the sort that is ubiquitous in the world of living organisms. It is logically impossible for AI to develop into GI. To assume that it can is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of GI and of the human mind. While AI will continue to develop as a powerful intellectual tool to serve humans, it will never be humans’ master.
This fourth installment in NAS's ongoing Restoring the Sciences webinar series features a fascinating conversation with Dr. Landgrebe and Dr. Smith about the future of AI technology. The discussion is moderated by J. Scott Turner, Director of the Intrusion of Diversity in the Sciences Project for the National Association of Scholars.
Image: Aideal Hwa, Public Domain