The Fourth Age

Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity

Byron Reese

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Paperback

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English

Atria
01 June 2018

Popular science; Evolution; Technology: general issues

As we approach a great turning point in history when technology is poised to redefine what it means to be human, The Fourth Age offers fascinating insight into AI, robotics, and their extraordinary implications for our species.

In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history:

- 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language.

- 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare.

- 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which lead to the nation state.

We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. The Fourth Age provides extraordinary background information on how we got to this point, and how-rather than what-we should think about the topics we'll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity.

By asking questions like Are you a machine? and Could a computer feel anything? , Reese leads you through a discussion along the cutting edge in robotics and AI, and, provides a framework by which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age, and how they'll transform humanity.

By: Byron Reese
Imprint: Atria
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 352g
ISBN: 9781501191626
ISBN 10: 1501191624
Publication Date: 01 June 2018
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity

Timely, highly informative, and certainly optimistic. * Booklist * Reese frames the deepest questions of our time in clear language that invites readers to make their own choices. Using 100,000 years of human history as his guide, he explores the issues around artificial general intelligence, robots, consciousness, automation, the end of work, abundance, and immortality. As he does so, Reese reveals himself to be an optimist and urges us to use technology to build a better world. -- Bob Metcalfe, UT Austin Professor of Innovation, Ethernet inventor, 3Com founder In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese offers the reader something much more valuable than what to think about Artificial Intelligence and robotics-he focuses on HOW to think about these technologies, and the ways in which they will change the world forever. If you only read just one book about the AI revolution, make it this one. -- John Mackey, co-founder and CEO, Whole Foods Market