Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

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Review ------ All of us - not only scientists, industrialists and generals-should ask ourselves what can we do now to improve the chances of reaping the benefits of future AI and avoiding the risks. This is the most important conversation of our time, and Tegmark's thought-provoking book will help you join it (Prof. Stephen Hawking) This is a rich and visionary book and everyone should read it. (Oliver Moody Sunday Times) I was riveted by this book. The transformational consequences of AI may soon be upon us­-but will they be utopian or catastrophic? The jury is out, but this enlightening, lively and accessible book by a distinguished scientist helps us to assess the odds. (Prof. Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, cosmology pioneer, author of Our Final Hour) This is a compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life, intelligence and consciousness - on Earth and beyond. (Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors) Being an eminent physicist and the leader of the Future of Life Institute has given Max Tegmark a unique vantage point from which to give the reader an inside scoop on the most important issue of our time, in a way that is approachable without being dumbed down. (Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype) Max seeks to facilitate a much wider conversation about what kind of future we, as a species, would want to create. Though the topics he covers - AI, cosmology, values, even the nature of conscious experience - can be fairly challenging, he presents them in an unintimidating manner that invites the reader to form her own opinions. (Prof. Nick Bostrom, Founder of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, author of Superintelligence) The unprecedented power unleashed by artificial intelligence means the next decade could be humanity's best - or worst. Max has written the most inful and just plain fun exploration of AI's implications that I've ever read. If you haven't been exposed to Max's joyful mind yet, you're in for a huge treat. (Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and co-author of "The Second Machine Age”) Max's new book is a deeply thoughtful guide to the most important conversation of our time, about how to create a benevolent future civilization as we merge our biological thinking with an even greater intelligence of our own creation. (Ray Kurzweil, Inventor, Author and Futurist, author of The Singularity is Near and How to Create a Mind) This is an exhilarating book that will change the way we think about AI, intelligence, and the future of humanity. (Bart Selman, Professor of Computer Science, Cornell University) Tegmark successfully gives clarity to the many faces of AI, creating a highly readable book [...] Enjoy the ride, and you will come out the other end with a greater appreciation of where people might take technology and themselves in the years ahead. (Science) From the Inside Flap -------------------- We stand at the beginning of a new era. What was once science fiction is fast becoming reality, as AI transforms war, crime, justice, jobs and society - and, even, our very sense of what it means to be human. More than any other technology, AI has the potential to revolutionize our collective future, and there's nobody better situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor and co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, whose work has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial. In this deeply researched and vitally important new book, Tegmark takes us to the heart of thinking about AI and the human condition, bringing us face to face with the essential questions of our time. How can we grow our prosperity through automation, without leaving people lacking income or purpose? How can we ensure that future AI systems do what we want without cing, malfunctioning or getting hacked? Should we fear an arms race in lethal autonomous weapons? Will AI help life flourish as never before, or will machines eventually outsmart us at all tasks, and even, perhaps, replace us altogether? Life 3.0 gives us the tools to join what may be the most significant conversation of our time, guiding us through the most controversial issues around AI today - from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos. What sort of future do you want?