God AI - by Toby Walsh (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For decades, some theoretical scientists have suggested that AI will lead to the extinction of humanity . . .

Fearing the singularity--the point at which the development of artificial intelligence will outpace our capacity to control it--some scientists are sounding the alarm that a powerful AI could threaten our very existence as a species. More optimistic experts suggest that, properly regulated, AI will be a great boon to humanity--dramatically increasing the efficiency of scientific research and medical treatment.

Both are very real possibilities, says leading, long-time artificial intelligence researcher Toby Walsh. In God AI, Walsh draws upon over-forty years experience, to explain the history and the future of AI's role in computing. He explores both the possibility of enormously positive outcomes, as well as the existential risks posed by accelerating headlong into an AI-powered future.

With great clarity and humor, Walsh gives us a manual to understanding how we actually use this technology, and how we can safely steer it into the future--before it accelerates out of our control.

Review Quotes

"Its eight brisk chapters offer exceptionally lucid assessments of which anxieties seem well-founded and which do not. . . . A superlative guide to imagining and preparing for transcendent AI." -- STARRED Kirkus Review

Praise for Machines That Think

"A whirlwind tour through the history and the future of AI--and why it matters to all of us. A must-read." --Sebastian Thrun, founder of Google X, cofounder of Udacity, former professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University, and Google Fellow

"A comprehensive overview that avoids the hype and explains what AI can actually do, written by an expert practitioner of the field." --Peter Norvig, director of research at Google, coauthor of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

"Toby Walsh is one of those rare individuals who combine a deep knowledge of AI technology, a serious interest in its economic and social implications, and a verve for lively and engaging writing." --Erik Brynjolfsson, professor at MIT, coauthor of The Second Machine Age

"This concise but clear and readable overview of the history, current status, and probable near future of AI is a welcome relief from a great deal of breathless hype we have been hearing recently. Toby Walsh's expertise is welcome, but his levelheaded treatment is even more so." --J. Storrs Hall, PhD, AI researcher, author of Beyond AI

"Walsh's story of how artificial intelligence evolved from the dreams of Alan Turing to a powerful technological force today is exciting, insightful, and incisive. Will his predictions about how AI will change life as we know it in the coming decades prove equally dead-on? I, for one, would not bet against him!" --Henry Kautz, founding director of the Institute for Data Science, professor at the University of Rochester

"Walsh is a first-rate researcher in AI who transmits both an understanding of the history and current state of the field, and an educated speculation on its future trajectory and impacts." --Subbarao Kambhampati, professor, Arizona State University, president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

About the Author

Toby Walsh is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science. He is an advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives, and has been a leading voice in the discussion about lethal autonomous weapons (aka killer robots), speaking at the UN in New York and Geneva on the topic. He appears regularly on TV and radio, and is the author of Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI, and Machines that Think: The Future of Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Walsh lives in Sydney.