Brains Minds Machines

An exploration of the past, present, and possible futures of AI from an AI pioneer. Intelligence remains an open mystery. The fact that only humans possess language, alphabets, and science doesn’t grant us a monopoly on it. We share our existence with millions of other species, both animal and plant, each endowed with such a diverse range of cognitive abilities that they form an almost infinite spectrum of intelligences. Brains Minds Machines explores these intelligences and goes further to examine the possibilities, risks, and opportunities of our newest one—artificial intelligence. Thanks to the combined emergence of more sophisticated algorithms, vast databases, and immense computing power, the age-old aspiration of mathematically replicating human intelligence has achieved unexpected milestones. While still far from truly succeeding, a small “zoo” of artificial intelligences can already perform numerous tasks typically done by humans. Like electricity or computers, this technology is poised to transform society, the economy, and daily life, bringing with it a host of risks and opportunities. However, it is also going to be an opportunity for new, extraordinary scientific discoveries, starting with the very secrets of intelligence itself —the fundamental principles common to all forms of intelligence.