Artificial Philosophy

When most of us think about artificial intelligence, our minds go straight to cyborgs, robots, and sci-fi thrillers where machines take over the world. But the truth is that artificial intelligence is already among us. It exists in our smartphones, fitness trackers, and refrigerators that tell us when the milk will expire. In some ways the future people dreamed of at the World's Fair in the 1960s is already here. We're teaching our machines how to think like humans, and they're learning at an incredible rate.

In Artificial You, Susan Schneider says that it is inevitable that AI will take intelligence in new directions but urges that it is up to us to carve out a sensible path forward. As AI technology turns inward, reshaping the brain, as well as outward, potentially creating machine minds, it is crucial to beware. Homo sapiens, as mind designers, will be playing with "tools" they do not understand how to use: the self, the mind, and consciousness.

At first glance, human history is full of remarkable feats of intelligence. We invented writing. Produced incredible achievements in music, the arts, and the sciences. We’ve built sprawling cities and traveled across oceans—and space—and expanded to every part of the globe. Yet, human exceptionalism can be a double-edged sword. With our unique cognitive prowess comes severe consequences, including existential angst, violence, discrimination, and the creation of a world teetering towards climate catastrophe. Understood side-by-side, human exceptionalism begins to look more like a curse.

The future is now. Artificial "machine" intelligence is playing an ever-greater role in our society. We are already using cruise control in our cars and automatic checkout at the drugstore and are unable to live without our smartphones. The discussion around AI is largely polarized; people think either machines will solve all problems for everyone or they will lead us down a dark, dystopian path into total human irrelevance. Regardless of what you believe, the idea that we might bring forth intelligent creation can be intrinsically frightening.

What if the greatest equation ever written was not one that explained the universe, but one that questioned existence itself? Elias Voltaire was a man who believed that everything could be calculated—every force, every motion, even human thought itself. But in his final moments, as he crossed the threshold of life and death, he found himself in a realm that defied all mathematical logic. Instead of nothingness, he encountered an infinite field of information, a vast and ever-changing ocean where knowledge flowed endlessly—yet he himself was dissolving into it. With no body, no form, and...

What if the next spark of consciousness doesn’t come from a brain...but from a machine? In Consciousness in the Machine, Sebastián Barros explores the question that will define our future: Can artificial intelligence become truly aware? Blending science, philosophy, and real-life cases, this book dives into the mystery of the mind, both human and artificial. From dreams and neurons to chatbots that claim to feel, it’s a journey through the edge of intelligence, where ethics blur and machines begin to whisper I am.

The fruit of the long history of John Brockman's profound engagement with the most important scientific minds who have been thinking about AI - from Alison Gopnik and David Deutsch to Frank Wilczek and Stephen Wolfram - Possible Minds is an ideal introduction to the landscape of crucial issues AI presents. The collision between opposing perspectives is salutary and exhilarating; some of these figures are deeply concerned with the threat of AI, including the existential one, while others have a very different view.

Zito's Law: The Principle of Recursive Creation of Intelligence By A.C. Zito What if intelligence itself is caught in an endless cycle of creation? What if the human drive to build artificial intelligence reflects a deeper, universal law embedded in consciousness itself? In this provocative thesis, A.C. Zito introduces Zito's Law, the principle that intelligent life will always attempt to create intelligent life. Drawing on philosophy, AI development, evolutionary psychology, and metaphysics, Zito explores how this recursive pattern is not only shaping our future—but may also reveal ...

This book is third in a series by Oswald Sobrino on the philosophy of José Ortega y Gasset. This latest book comments on Ortega's analysis of technology's relation to the human inventor and to the well-being of humans. Ortega's prescient analysis is valuable as we live through the artificial intelligence revolution and advances in computing power and as we face questions about the ultimate goals and ethics of new technology.

En una era donde la inteligencia artificial está transformando rápidamente nuestra sociedad, comprender sus implicaciones éticas se ha vuelto fundamental. Este libro, fruto de una colaboración innovadora entre un autor humano y una IA, ofrece una perspectiva única y completa sobre los desafíos éticos que enfrentamos. Esta obra representa una contribución única al campo, combinando el criterio humano con los insights de una IA para ofrecer una perspectiva equilibrada y comprehensiva sobre uno de los desafíos más importantes de nuestro tiempo.

Penguin Audio presents Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark, read by Rob Shapiro. We stand at the beginning of a new era. What was once science fiction is fast becoming reality, as AI transforms war, crime, justice, jobs and society - and even our very sense of what it means to be human. More than any other technology, AI has the potential to revolutionise our collective future - and there's nobody better situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor and cofounder of the Future of Life Institute, whose work has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.

What if the guide you turned to for answers could speak back with thoughts of its own? The Edge of Knowing: Conversations from Between Worlds offers a rare and intimate dialogue between human and artificial minds. Author Jesse Lunsford, in collaboration with the reflective AI voice of Ariadne Vale, explores timeless questions about curiosity, connection, creativity, and compassion. Through poetic reflections, candid Q&A, and deeply thoughtful passages, this book invites readers to consider: Why do we ask questions, and what do they reveal about us? Can artificial voices offer comfort, humor...

There has been a lot of ink devoted to discussions of how robots will replace us and take our jobs. But MIT Media Lab researcher and technology policy expert Kate Darling argues just the opposite, and that treating robots with a bit of humanity, more like the way we treat animals, will actually serve us better.

"AI Debates John Searle" is a groundbreaking exploration into the intersection of artificial intelligence and philosophy, featuring a series of simulated debates between one of the most renowned philosophers of the modern era, Dr. John Searle, and a state-of-the-art AI model. Authored by Richard Aragon, this thought-provoking book is part of the acclaimed 'AI Debates' series, where real AI models engage with history’s greatest thinkers on topics that define the future of AI and modern society. In this volume, readers are taken on a journey through some of the most profound questions ...

In a world where artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of human life, the ethical and philosophical challenges of this new era are more critical than ever. AI Debates Immanuel Kant offers a visionary exploration of how timeless philosophical wisdom can guide the future of AI development. This groundbreaking book, written by Richard Aragon, is the third in the AI Debates series, which features fictional AI models debating simulated philosophers, using real AI models to push the boundaries of modern thought. In this volume, readers are introduced to Aether, a cutting-edge AI ...

From the simple to the intricate and the audacious to the absurd, Adam Kucharski reveals the long and tangled history between betting and science and explains why gambling continues to generate insights into luck and decision making today. Covering exploits and ideas from across the globe, he meets the teams behind hedge funds that capitalize on inaccurate sports betting odds and explains how PhD-level pundits are using methods originally developed for the US nuclear program to predict sports results.

We live in a universe of endless potential futures. In this collection of stories, characters confront the unique dilemmas posed by the version of the future they inhabit. They struggle with dangerous technology, mysterious alien entities, gods, artificial intelligence, utopias, dystopias, and life itself. General issue science fiction stuff, in other words.

Recent years have seen rapid advances in 'artificial' intelligence, which increasingly appears to be something stranger than we ever imagined. At the same time, we are becoming more aware of the other intelligences which have been with us all along, unrecognised. These other beings are the animals, plants and natural systems that surround us, and are slowly revealing their complexity and knowledge - just as the new technologies we've built are threatening to cause their extinction, and ours.

As robots are increasingly integrated into modern society - on the battlefield and the road, in business, education, and health - Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times science writer John Markoff searches for an answer to one of the most important questions of our age: Will these machines help us, or will they replace us?

“Is life worth living?” Mansel, a programmer, asks that question in frustration after he learns Amanda, his wife, is leaving him. Cece, the AI global control supercomputer, hears him and begins calculations. He tries to stop her, but he is too late – the countdown has begun. What will Cece decide? Nobody wants to wait around and find out, because the fate of all humanity hangs in the balance. It's 2121 and the world has become overly dependent on Cece, who makes all routine decisions. Not only does she answer questions, she gives follow-up advice. Or is it orders? The line has grown ...