The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive

Description

AI is on the brink of a new dawn. And so are we . . . Telling the difference between humans and computers used to be easy. But artificial intelligence is now so advanced that it is capable of behaving, and even thinking, in ways that have long been considered exclusive to humankind. The time has come to rethink what being human actually means . . . In The Most Human Human Brian Christian goes to talk to the world's leading artificial intelligences, battling against them in the renowned Turing Test competition, in order to find out what they're capable of - and what makes us unique. The result is a funny, shocking, inspiring, deeply humane and intelligent book that reaches into every aspect of our lives, from work to school, speed-dating to chess, to psychiatry, video games and the criminal law. 'Remarkable. A philosophical joyride. The day a machine creates work of such wit and originality, we should all be very worried.' The Times 'An epic tour of philosophical, linguistic and scientific discovery. We stop off in places as far-flung as existential anxiety, predictive text and Gary Kasparov's defeat by Deep Blue. A lively, personable read and an empowering affirmation of our species.' Time Out 'Lively, thought-stirring, entertaining, invaluable.' New Statesman 'Dense with ideas, terrific.' New Yorker

Brian Christian was born in 1984. He holds a dual degree from Brown University in computer science and philosophy, and an MFA in poetry. His work has appeared in both literary and scientific journals. In 2009, he competed with the world's leading artificial intelligence software at the international Turing Test competition, where he was awarded the prize for 'The Most Human Human', which is his first book.

Tremendously entertaining **** * Metro * Excellent ... a fascinating explanation of what it means to be human * Financial Times * Remarkable. A philosophical joyride. The day that a machine creates work of such wit and originality, we should all be very worried * The Times * An epic tour of philosophical, linguistic and scientific discovery. We stop off in places as far-flung as existential anxiety, predictive text and Gary Kasparov's defeat by Deep Blue. A lively, personable read and an overpowering affirmation of our species **** * Time Out * Lively, thought-stirring, entertaining, invaluable ... compelling insights -- John Gray * New Statesman * Dense with ideas, terrific. One of the rare successful literary offspring of Goedel, Escher, Bach, where art and science meet an engaged mind and the friction produces real fire * New Yorker * Fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly winning ... investigates the nature of human interactions, the meaning of language, and the essence of what sets us apart from machines ... fabulous * Publishers Weekly * An irreverent picaresque ... What Christian learns along the way is that if machines win the imitation game as often as they do, it's not because they're getting better at acting human; it's because we're getting worse ... An authentic son of Frost, he learns by going where he has to go, and in doing so proves that both he and his book deserve their title * The New York Times * Immensely ambitious and bold, intellectually provocative, while at the same time entertaining and witty - a delightful book about how to live a meaningful, thriving life -- Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams Such an important book ... Brian Christian takes on this very weighty task, and somehow makes it fun -- Brian Shenk, author of The Genius in all of Us An eye-opening inquest into human imagination, thought, conversation, love and deception * David Eagleman, author of Sum * Absorbing ... Christian cleverly suggests that the Turing Test not only tells us how smart computers are but also teaches us about ourselves. ... covers a great deal of ground with admirable clarity but with a lightness of touch ... has a real knack for summing up key ideas by applying them to real-life situations -- Julian Baggini * Wall Street Journal * Strange, fertile and sometimes beautiful ... takes both the deep limitations and halting progress of artificial intelligence as an occasion for thinking about the most human activity -- Matthew Crawford, author of The Case for Working with Your Hands Entertaining and informative * Economist *