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Are We Spiritual Machines?: Ray Kurzweil vs. the Critics of Strong A.I.
from: Discovery Institute
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 501
EAN: 9780963865434
ISBN: 0963865439
Label: Discovery Institute
Manufacturer: Discovery Institute
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 228
Publication Date: June 06, 2001
Publisher: Discovery Institute
Studio: Discovery Institute
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Editorial Review:
Computers are becoming more powerful at an ever-increasing rate, but will they ever become conscious? Artificial intelligence guru Ray Kurzweil thinks so and explains how we will "download" our software (our minds) and "upgrade" our hardware (our bodies) to become immortal -- before the dawn of the 22nd century. In this debate with his critics, including several Discovery Institute Fellows, Kurzweil defends his views and sets the stage for the central question: "What does it mean to be human?"
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Could Be Worse
If I had realized this was published by the creationist Discovery Institute, I would have saved my money. Not as bad as I feared when I noticed that. Most of the arguments and claims on both sides are repetitive. Except for a few mistakes, Kurzweil's arguments much better than the "Critics" arguments. The most glaring mistake, pointed out by Searle, was his mistating/misunderstanding of the Church-Turing Thesis; it took me two minutes with my encyclopedia of mathematics to check out, but Kurzweil ... Read More
Rating:  - Never Say Never Again
Critics of Kurzweil's "vision" of the future have several objections: (1) Machines will never be conscious (variety of reasons) (2) We should return to a simpler life with sickness and death as part of our humanity, (3) the data has been misinterpreted/trends can't be extrapolated and (4) previous AI claims failed OR our current technology can't perform the job therefore it can't be done. Oddly, the last is quite popular despite it's being the one most easily refutable. In 1930 we could not build a ... Read More
Rating: - Good discussion of both sides
After reading Kurzweil's books "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and part of "The Singularity is Near" I wanted to hear some critics about his theories, beacuse one side of the discussion often blurs your view of the overall issue. This book provides a good discussion of both sides about Strong AI. I still agree with Kurzweil's view, but I really liked reading how others think about it. Read this book if you've read some of Kurzweil's work before and like to hear another perspective. The book can also be ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent debate on the future of AI
I thought that this book was an excellent debate on the future of AI and all the questions concerning nonbiological conciousness. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the future of AI!
Rating: - A lively debate over the nature of mind, evolution, and the future of A.I.
In the closing session of the 1998 Telecosm conference, hosted by Gilder Publishing and Forbes at Lake Tahoe, inventor and author Ray Kurzweil engaged a number of critics. He advocated "Strong Artificial Intelligence" (AI), the claim that a computational process sufficiently capable of altering or organizing itself can produce "consciousness." The session had an unexpectedly profound impact, not least because a number of important issues from technology to philosophy converge on this one issue. This volume ... Read More
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