Our Final Invention

Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era

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Our Final Invention

By: James Barrat

Narrated by: Gary Dana

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A Huffington Post Definitive Tech Book of 2013

Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the "smart" in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence.

In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail - human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine.

Through profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs, and groundbreaking AI systems, Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to?

James BarratGary DanaAudible Studios

Computer Science

History & Culture

Computer Science History & Culture

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If you like conspiracy theories, have a habit of replacing fact with fear and are used to collect information with strong confirmation bias, this book is for you and it will make a fascinating read.

If you would like to learn about artificial intelligence, its definition, its history, its actual and possible future impacts and hear some well thought out arguments about its dangers, stay away, you will be annoyed.

Though there is a strong chance the drowsy voice of the narrator nursed you into sleep early and spares you a disappointment.

Fascinating or Annoying - It depends

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I think it’s a must read for everyone due to the content, but the content could be a lot shorter.

Very interesting, but a bit repetitive

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just read or listen to Nick bostroms book 'super intelligence' basically the same book but that is the original source the author refers to all the time

plain copy of Nick bostroms book

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The book pretends in a pseudo-scientific way to sketch the danger of AI. At the beginning you believe that the auhtor really knows what he talks about. Through chapter 2 I realised that it was just name dropping and trying to buy in to his conspiracy shit.

Typical conspiracy theory - waste of time

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