Life 3.0

Instead of fear-mongering like many recent A.I. books, this one takes a more practical future-facing approach and asks us how we'd like our future co-existence with A.I. to look like.

First, Max Tegmark takes us expertly by the hand and explains the basics of of the field and all the recent good and bad influences of artificial intelligence on our lives. Then he extrapolates into the future and lists a variety of intriguing scenarios of how humanity and technology/superintelligence could co-habitate. From a benevolent A.I. dictator, to an enslaved God A.I., to Zookeeper scenarios and Self-Destruction. I really enjoyed these chapters (and they are probably a great resource for scifi writers). He then follows up by discussing the definition and pursuit of goals in A.I., how consciousness research plays into it, and the finishes with the industry's recent consensus on the necessity of safety principles in their research.

A good thought provoking read, reminding us that we're still (mostly) in control of what we want our future to look like.