Artificial Dreams: The Quest for Non-Biological Intelligence

Description

This book is a critique of Artificial Intelligence (AI) from the perspective of cognitive science - it seeks to examine what we have learned about human cognition from AI successes and failures. The book's goal is to separate those 'AI dreams' that either have been or could be realized from those that are constructed through discourse and are unrealizable. AI research has advanced many areas that are intellectually compelling and holds great promise for advances in science, engineering, and practical systems. After the 1980s, however, the field has often struggled to deliver widely on these promises. This book breaks new ground by analyzing how some of the driving dreams of people practicing AI research become valued contributions, while others devolve into unrealized and unrealizable projects.

H.R. Ekbia is associate professor of information science and cognitive science at Indiana University, where he is also affiliated with the School of Informatics. Initially trained as an engineer, Ekbia switched his focus to study cognitive science in order to pursue a lifelong interest in the workings of the human mind. To get a deeper understanding of the questions that AI research and writing posed but hastily tackled, Ekbia in turn began to focus on the philosophy of science and science studies, through which he discovered novel ways of thinking about science, technology, and the human mind. This broad intellectual background is well reflected in Ekbia's writings, which range over a diverse set of topics on the human mind, machines, and the mediated interactions between the two. Ekbia has taught extensively in the areas of computer science, information science, and cognitive science. He currently teaches human-computer interaction and social informatics at the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University.

"I think all undergraduate physics majors will own a copy of this book within a year. It's that good." --Professor Krsna Dev, Middlebury College "Morin's writing is informal and inviting, and students will almost certainly respond easily to this style... [students] will fine the book accessible." --J.R. Buriaga, Whitman College for Choice "Artificial Dreams by Ekbia (information science and cognitive science, Indiana Univ.) is an interesting, entertaining book on how some dreams of artificial intelligence (AI) practitioners become valued contributions while others become only unrealizable projects. A major contribution of the book is a taxonomy and historical review of the different views of AI, which is covered in individual chapters. Highly Recommended." --C. Tappert, Pace University, CHOICE "...Artificial Dreams: The Quest for NonBiological Intelligence is written in a clear and accessible style that lay audiences and researchers outside of AI will enjoy reading; they will find the book very interesting in its breadth of coverage and, if they are curious about doing further reading, will find its extensive references very useful....Cognitive psychologists with interests in AI but who have not kept up with it are likely to find Ekbia's coverage and treatment very interesting..." --Michael Palij, PsycCRITIQUES, March 11, 2009, Vol. 54, Release 10, Article 4