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  • Superintelligence

  • Paths, Dangers, Strategies
  • By: Nick Bostrom
  • Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
  • Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (690 ratings)

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Superintelligence

By: Nick Bostrom
Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
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Summary

Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life. The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful - possibly beyond our control. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on humans than on the species itself, so would the fate of humankind depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.

But we have one advantage: We get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed Artificial Intelligence, to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation?

This profoundly ambitious and original book breaks down a vast track of difficult intellectual terrain. After an utterly engrossing journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life, we find in Nick Bostrom's work nothing less than a reconceptualization of the essential task of our time.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2014 Nick Bostrom (P)2014 Audible Inc.
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What listeners say about Superintelligence

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Have your mind blown

If you've been busy worrying about climate change or flu pandemics, here is something far more terrifying and glamorous to worry about.

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1 person found this helpful

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Not a bad book.

In hindsight I think the author does a fantastic job, problem is no one really has much of an idea when A.I will arrive.
Also New A.I will redefine itself, meaning our guesses are just that. Trying to predict how a A.I superintelligence
capable of upgrading itself at super fast rates means once its here, we will have as much in common as we humans do to a flea...
Odds are we are the next dinosaurs on planet earth.. lol...

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Ahead of its time but maybe too sci-fi

It’s a great book but it’s a decade old now and it’s very speculative about AI and the stuff about genetic engineering human super intelligence is a bit eugenicsy

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Great book with thoughtful considerations

I loved the first few chapters, this gave a great outline of where we are up to with the relevant technologies and what the obstacles are for progression. I would recommend buying the book for this even if it consisted of only the first 4-5 chapters.

My only criticism would be that the author fixated a little on the idea of a superintelligence with a very simple goal system e.g. making as many paperclips as possible. My own view is that in the process of recursive self improvement the AI's goal system would develop in line with the rest of it's intellect and it would end up with more sophisticated, not more simplistic goals than humans. This could of course bring it's own risks and is inherently unpredictable, but doesn't necessarily equate to the default of existential catastrophe asserted in the book.

It is of course expected that there will be different views on this and that my own may be wrong.

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8 people found this helpful

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duff narrator, but gothic victorian accent mellows

couldn't make it past first chapter due to gothic horror narrator and broom cupboard sound

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7 people found this helpful

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Best on AI

Eye opening book to multiple areas for AI potential. Learned a lot about human behavior throughout this book.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensively terrifying

A comprehensive overview of the issues we are currently facing and solid review of potential strategies to mitigate the danger. The narrator read the book well but I sometimes found it difficult to concentrate and found my mind wandering quite a bit, he also sounds too much like what I imagine an AI would sound like!

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Difficult to get through but thought provoking

It took me two sittings over a year and I tuned out to much of what was being said as it reads like an academic treatise with a lot of rehashing and stating of arguments that are then being pulled apart, which gets tedious. That said it is one of the most thought provoking books I’ve been through in years and a seminal work on AI so despite the pain I do recommend it and I will go over the beginning chapters once more now as they were by far the strongest.

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it was very long

lots of interesting ideas, that take some concentration to understand. the future of super intelligence is scary!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very interesting philosophical starting points

A discussion starter that will make you think long and hard about questions that don’t currently have definitive answers

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