Artificial Intelligence and the Two Singularities

The science of AI was born a little over 60 years ago, but its achievements were modest until 2012 when Machine Learning and Deep Learning were applied to it. Now machines have surpassed humans in image recognition, and they are catching up with us at speech recognition and natural language processing. The AI revolution has only just begun, and the exponential growth in the capability of AI is likely to bring about two singularities: the economic singularity, when machine skill reaches a level that renders many of us unemployable, and the technological singularity, when machine intelligence reaches and surpasses the cognitive abilities of an adult human. This book argues that we can meet these challenges and overcome them, with the rewards being almost unimaginable.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 376 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2018
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc

The science of AI was born a little over 60 years ago, but for most of that time, its achievements were modest. In 2012, it experienced a big bang when a branch of statistics called Machine Learning (and a sub-branch called Deep Learning) was applied to it. Now, machines have surpassed humans in image recognition, and they are catching up with us in speech recognition and natural language processing. Every day, the media reports the launch of a new service, a new product, and a new demonstration powered by AI. When will it end? The surprising truth is, the AI revolution has only just begun.

Artificial Intelligence and the Two Singularities argues that in the course of this century, the exponential growth in the capability of AI is likely to bring about two singularities - points at which conditions are so extreme that the normal rules break down. The first is the economic singularity, when machine skill reaches a level that renders many of us unemployable and requires an overhaul of our current economic and social systems. The second is the technological singularity, when machine intelligence reaches and then surpasses the cognitive abilities of an adult human, relegating us to the second smartest species on the planet.

These singularities will present huge challenges, but this book argues that we can meet these challenges and overcome them. If we do, the rewards could be almost unimaginable.

This book covers:

• Recent developments in AI and its future potential

• The economic singularity and the technological singularity in depth

• The risks and opportunities presented by AI

• What actions we should take

Artificial intelligence can turn out to be the best thing ever to happen to humanity, making our future wonderful almost beyond imagination. But only if we.

Weight: 636g
Dimension: 234 x 160 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780815368533