Apocalyptic AI

Apocalyptic AI
Author: Robert M. Geraci
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2012-11-29
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0199964009

Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines and live forever in cyberspace, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea. Robert Geraci points out that the rhetoric of 'Apocalyptic AI' is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity.

A.I. Apocalypse

A.I. Apocalypse
Author: William Hertling
Publisher: William Hertling
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2014-04-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 098475573X

Leon Tsarev is a high school student set on getting into a great college program, until his uncle, a member of the Russian mob, coerces him into developing a new computer virus for the mob’s botnet - the slave army of computers they used to commit digital crimes. The evolutionary virus Leon creates, based on biological principles, is successful -- too successful. All the world’s computers are infected. Everything from cars to payment systems and, of course, computers and smart phones stop functioning, and with them go essential functions including emergency services, transportation, and the food supply. Billions may die. But evolution never stops. The virus continues to evolve, developing intelligence, communication, and finally an entire civilization. Some may be friendly to humans, but others are not. Leon and his companions must race against time and the military to find a way to either befriend or eliminate the virus race and restore the world’s computer infrastructure. Praise for the Singularity Series: “Highly entertaining, gripping, thought inspiring. Don’t start without the time to finish — it won’t let you go.” —Gifford Pinchot III, founder Bainbridge Graduate Institute, author THE INTELLIGENT ORGANIZATION “A tremendous book that every single person needs to read. In the vein of Daniel Suarez's Daemon and Freedom(TM), William shows that science fiction is becoming science fact.” —Brad Feld, managing director Foundry Group, cofounder TechStars “A fascinating look at how simple and benign advancements in technology could lead to the surprise arrival of the first AI. And like all good techno-thrillers, the reality of AI is less than ideal.” —Jason Glaspey, SILICON FLORIST “An alarming and jaw-dropping tale about how something as innocuous as email can subvert an entire organization. I found myself reading with a sense of awe, and read it way too late into the night.” —Gene Kim, author of VISIBLE OPS

Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality

Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality
Author: Robert M. Geraci
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2010-02-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 019997893X

Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it. Drawing on interviews with roboticists and AI researchers and with devotees of the online game Second Life, among others, Geraci illuminates the ideas of such advocates of Apocalyptic AI as Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil. He reveals that the rhetoric of Apocalyptic AI is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. In both systems, the believer is trapped in a dualistic universe and expects a resolution in which he or she will be translated to a transcendent new world and live forever in a glorified new body. Equally important, Geraci shows how this worldview shapes our culture. Apocalyptic AI has become a powerful force in modern culture. In this superb volume, he shines a light on this belief system, revealing what it is and how it is changing society.

Our Final Invention

Our Final Invention
Author: James Barrat
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2013-10-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1250032261

Elon Musk named Our Final Invention one of five books everyone should read about the future—a Huffington Post Definitive Tech Book of 2013. Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the “smart” in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence. In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail—human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine. Through profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs, and groundbreaking AI systems, Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to? “If you read just one book that makes you confront scary high-tech realities that we’ll soon have no choice but to address, make it this one.” —The Washington Post “Science fiction has long explored the implications of humanlike machines (think of Asimov’s I, Robot), but Barrat’s thoughtful treatment adds a dose of reality.” —Science News “A dark new book . . . lays out a strong case for why we should be at least a little worried.” —The New Yorker

Artificial Intelligence and the Apocalyptic Imagination

Artificial Intelligence and the Apocalyptic Imagination
Author: Michael J. Paulus
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2023-05-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666736392

The increasing role and power of artificial intelligence in our lives and world requires us to imagine and shape a desirable future with this technology. Since visions of AI often draw from Christian apocalyptic narratives, current discussions about technological hopes and fears present an opportunity for a deeper engagement with Christian eschatological resources. This book argues that the Christian apocalyptic imagination can transform how we think about and use AI, helping us discover ways artificial agency may participate in new creation.

Exploring Religious Dimensions in AI and Humanity

Exploring Religious Dimensions in AI and Humanity
Author: Aristarchos-Vasileios Gkrekas
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2024-07-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 166696414X

Exploring Religious Dimensions in A.I. and Humanity explores how the phenomenal advancements of artificial intelligence can reshape our spiritual journeys and influence established ethical frameworks. Very Reverend Dr. Aristarchos Gkrekas offers insights grounded in deep religious understanding. Nicholas Kokkinos provides insightful analyses of the ethical implications of emerging technologies and the potential for AI to serve as a dynamic repository of religious knowledge. Through years of collaboration, both authors sought a common approach to navigate the exponential growth of technology and its impact on humanity's enduring questions about consciousness, ethics, and spirituality. This book is an essential read for those intrigued by the evolving dialogue between technology and spirituality and is enriched by references to centuries-old texts. It promises to ignite curiosity and spark a deeper understanding of our digital age's spiritual dimensions and the ethical questions that arise from these phenomenal developments.

AI, Faith, and the Future

AI, Faith, and the Future
Author: Michael J. Paulus
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2022-06-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 166670346X

Artificial intelligence is rapidly and radically changing our lives and world. This book is a multidisciplinary engagement with the present and future impacts of AI from the standpoint of Christian faith. It provides technological, philosophical, and theological foundations for thinking about AI, as well as a series of reflections on the impact of AI on relationships, behavior, education, work, and moral action. The book serves as an accessible introduction to AI as well as a guide to wise consideration, design, and use of AI by examining foundational understandings and beliefs from a Christian perspective.

Rebooting AI

Rebooting AI
Author: Gary Marcus
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2019-09-10
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1524748269

Two leaders in the field offer a compelling analysis of the current state of the art and reveal the steps we must take to achieve a truly robust artificial intelligence. Despite the hype surrounding AI, creating an intelligence that rivals or exceeds human levels is far more complicated than we have been led to believe. Professors Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis have spent their careers at the forefront of AI research and have witnessed some of the greatest milestones in the field, but they argue that a computer beating a human in Jeopardy! does not signal that we are on the doorstep of fully autonomous cars or superintelligent machines. The achievements in the field thus far have occurred in closed systems with fixed sets of rules, and these approaches are too narrow to achieve genuine intelligence. The real world, in contrast, is wildly complex and open-ended. How can we bridge this gap? What will the consequences be when we do? Taking inspiration from the human mind, Marcus and Davis explain what we need to advance AI to the next level, and suggest that if we are wise along the way, we won't need to worry about a future of machine overlords. If we focus on endowing machines with common sense and deep understanding, rather than simply focusing on statistical analysis and gatherine ever larger collections of data, we will be able to create an AI we can trust—in our homes, our cars, and our doctors' offices. Rebooting AI provides a lucid, clear-eyed assessment of the current science and offers an inspiring vision of how a new generation of AI can make our lives better.

Futures of Artificial Intelligence

Futures of Artificial Intelligence
Author: Robert M Geraci
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2022-01-12
Genre:
ISBN: 9391050301

Twenty-first century life is increasingly governed by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning, big data analysis, facial recognition, and robotics. For decades, an ideology of apocalyptic progress and cosmic transformation has accompanied the advancement of AI in the United States; that vision is intimately connected to transhumanism, the idea that humanity can transcend its limits, even mortality, using technology. Based on contributions from science and science fiction, advocates of such apocalyptic AI suggest that the world will soon see godlike machine intelligence and that human beings will upload their minds into immortal machine bodies. The arrival of this ideology in India raises questions about how global cultures can contribute to AI technology and our beliefs about AI. These beliefs have gained a foothold in Indian visions of AI, but they have not been accepted uncritically; rather, Indian scientists and futurists revise the transhumanist vision and illustrate how traditional Hindu values can add to the global perspective. By describing the arrival and reconfiguration of transhumanist ideas in India, this book reveals how the nexus of religion and technology contributes to public life and our modern self-understanding while suggesting that the apocalyptic approach to AI should be tempered by other visions. By tracing the movement of apocalyptic AI into India and exploring Indian efforts to redefine those transhumanist aspirations, Futures of Artificial Intelligence opens the door for rethinking our global approach to AI and advocates for technologies and visions of technology that advance human flourishing.

The Singularity Is Near

The Singularity Is Near
Author: Ray Kurzweil
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 992
Release: 2005-09-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1101218886

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Celebrated futurist Ray Kurzweil, hailed by Bill Gates as “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence,” presents an “elaborate, smart, and persuasive” (The Boston Globe) view of the future course of human development. “Artfully envisions a breathtakingly better world.”—Los Angeles Times “Startling in scope and bravado.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “An important book.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity. While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, The Singularity Is Near presents a radical and optimistic view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.