Possible Minds
Possible Minds: Twenty-five Ways of Looking at AI, edited by John Brockman, is a 2019 collection of essays on the future impact of artificial intelligence. Structure Twenty-five essayists contributed essays related to artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer Norbert Wiener's 1950 book The Human Use of Human Beings, in which Weiner, fearing future machines built from vacuum tubes and capable of sophisticated logic, warned that "The hour is very late, and the choice of good and evil knocks at our door. We must cease to kiss the whip that lashes us." Wiener stated that an AI "which can learn and can make decisions on the basis of its learning, will in no way be obliged to make such decisions as we should have made, or will be acceptable to us". The essayists seek to address the question: What dangers might advanced AI present to humankind? Prominent essayists include Daniel Dennett, Alison Gopnik, Jaan Tallinn, and George Dyson. Brockman interleaves his own intros and anecdotes between the contributors' essays. Ideas Multiple essayists state that artificial general intelligence is still two to four decades away. Most of the essayists advice proceeding with caution. Hypothetical dangers discussed include societal fragmentation, loss of human jobs, dominance