Who's Afraid of AI?: Fear and Promise in the Age of Thinking Machines

Summary

A penetrating guide to artificial intelligence: what it is, what it does, and how it will change our lives

At a breathtaking pace, artificial intelligence is getting better and faster at making complex decisions. AI can already identify malignant tumors on CT scans, give legal advice, out-bluff the best poker players in the world, and, with ever-increasing skill, drive our cars.

In Who’s Afraid of AI?, award-winning author Thomas Ramge expertly explains how machines are learning to learn, and he questions what today’s explosion of AI capability could mean for tomorrow:

• Is it ethical to allow robots—endlessly patient—to replace human caregivers in providing comfort and companionship to the elderly?
• Since AI feeds on big data, can we prevent its misuse by corporations or the government?
• Will AI ever be capable of runaway self-improvement? And if “the singularity” does arrive, with AI’s intelligence exponentially outpacing our own, what will become of us when, in many ways, we’re obsolete?