God-like: a 500 Year History of Artificial Intelligence: Myths, Machines, Monsters

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Kester Brewin

God-like

a 500 Year History of Artificial Intelligence: Myths, Machines, Monsters

Kester Brewin

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English

Vaux
15 March 2024

Popular philosophy; Society & culture: general; Artificial intelligence

'Beautifully written...a fascinating account of our centuries-old desire to build machines with higher intelligence and - now that we have done - our agony about what to do with them.' - Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides, Nobel Laureate

'A must-read for anyone fascinated by the past, present, and future of AI' - ChatGPT

'100% zesty. It is not only a powerful telling of humanity's ongoing relationship with technology and a reflection on the current questions surrounding AI, but it is also the most compelling radical theological text I have read.' - Tripp Fuller

In the year 1600, a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things.

350 years later, having witnessed 'Trinity' - the first test of the atomic bomb - America's leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth.

25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this 'machine for augmenting human intellect', dazzling as he stands 'Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands'.

In this profound and urgent new book, leading thinker on technology Kester Brewin shows how AI is both stunningly new and rooted in the most ancient human desires. Hailed by the UK government's own lead on AI as 'god-like', as we finally welcome this stunning technology amongst us - with Frankenstein and Faustus, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to the underbelly of Silicon Valley - Brewin skillfully leads us through the myths, machines and monsters that have influenced the development of our greatest and most longed-for invention, and how we can learn to live alongside it.

Praise for MIDDLE CLASS:

'Hugely accomplished' - Lucy Morris, Curtis Brown

'An exceptionally talented writer' - Emma Finn, Conville and Walsh

Praise for GETTING HIGH:

'Fascinating...revelatory' - Andrew Smith, author of MOONDUST and TOTALLY WIRED.

'Beautiful' - Professor Simon Critchley, author of BOWIE and INFINITELY DEMANDING

'Honest, absorbing, clear-eyed and compelling' - Erik Davis, author of TECHGNOSIS and NOMAD CODES

Praise for MUTINY:

'Startlingly original, subtle and substantive, written in a prose that is as lyrical as it is lucid' - Third Way Magazine

'Brilliantly riffs and mashes across literary genres' - Simon Nash

'A stimulating, entertaining, and ultimately profound meditation on what pirates can teach us about living in the real world' - Dr Gladys Ganiel

By: Kester Brewin
Imprint: Vaux
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 127mm,
ISBN: 9780993562877
ISBN 10: 0993562876
Pages: 180
Publication Date: 15 March 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kester Brewin is an acclaimed author and thinker who leads communications for a research charity exploring how AI is impacting the UK labour market. He is the author of a number of celebrated books, including MUTINY (2012) - an exploration of the impact of pirate culture, and GETTING HIGH (2016) - a history of the human quest for flight. He has twice presented at the UK's premier TEDx event, written and presented for BBC Radio 4, and spoken on his work across the US and Europe. An excerpt from his 2022 debut novel, MIDDLE CLASS, was shortlisted for The Bridport Prize in 2020, and his story THE ROT was shortlisted for the Dinesh Prize for Short Fiction in 2022. He lives in London.