A plea to develop AI, but let’s keep it safe.
Tegmark starts with a fable to do with an AI that becomes superintelligent, Prometheus. One version of the fable ends in utopia; the other, dystopia. This is a conversational book that looks at AI in an holistic and almost philosophical way. Ultimately, Tegmark wants AI to develop given its potential to solve humanity’s problems but only if curated safely and securely, which he thinks is possible. His thoughts reflect his background as a physicist. He follows a path from the second law of thermodynamics to consciousness, as instantiated on a machine substrate. The book is reminiscent of Terrence Deacon’s Incomplete nature. One of his best chapters is on goals.
You may also like to browse other books on the site: https://www.thesentientrobot.com/category/tsr-books/