Shanahan M. The Technological Singularity

Boston: The MIT Press, 2015. - 272 p.The idea that human history is approaching a "singularity" –
that ordinary humans will someday be overtaken by artificially intelligent machines
or cognitively enhanced biological intelligence, or both – has moved from the realm
of science fiction to serious debate. Some singularity theorists predict that if the
field of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop at its current dizzying
rate, the singularity could come about in the middle of the present century. Murray
Shanahan offers an introduction to the idea of the singularity and considers the
ramifications of such a potentially seismic event.
Shanahan's aim is not to make predictions but rather to investigate a range of scenarios. Whether
we believe that singularity is near or far, likely or impossible, apocalypse or
utopia, the very idea raises crucial philosophical and pragmatic questions, forcing
us to think seriously about what we want as a species.
Shanahan describes technological advances in AI, both biologically inspired and engineered
from scratch. Once human-level AI – theoretically possible, but difficult to
accomplish – has been achieved, he explains, the transition to superintelligent AI
could be very rapid. Shanahan considers what the existence of superintelligent
machines could mean for such matters as personhood, responsibility, rights, and
identity. Some superhuman AI agents might be created to benefit humankind; some
might go rogue. (Is Siri the template, or HAL?) The singularity presents both an
existential threat to humanity and an existential opportunity for humanity to
transcend its limitations. Shanahan makes it clear that we need to imagine both
possibilities if we want to bring about the better outcome.