The Age of Intelligent Machines

by Ray Kurzweil

Book Overview

What is artificial intelligence? At its essence, it is another way of answering a central question that has been debated by scientists, philosophers, and theologians for thousands of years: How does the human brain - three pounds of ordinary matter - give rise to thought? With this question in mind, inventor and visionary computer scientist Raymond Kurzweil probes the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence, from its earliest philosophical...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262111217
• ISBN13: 9780262111218
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
• Length: 565 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 8.4" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

Begin your study of artificial intelligence here

If this book doesn't have you sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation of the next paragraph, then you probably have no interest whatsoever in logic, mathematics, physics, computer technology, and artificial intelligence. For me, it was breathtaking. There were times when I had to take a rest after each paragraph just to fully assimilate the ramifications of what Kurzweil was describing. Higher intellects may be able to absorb this subject matter with less amazement. However, I enjoyed the ride. Ray Kurzweil takes the time to explain in explicit detail where we have been and where we might be going in the area of artificial intelligence. He is not only an inventor and a researcher, but he is also a teacher. A teacher is not satisfied until the student understands the material. Some may say that this book is dated, but any introductory college AI course will cover the topics described in this book from the 1940's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's. This book changed my life. I have continued my personal study of artificial intelligence after being inspired by this book.

An incredible book

I read this book only recently, having read the author's two most recent books "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and his book "Kurzweil vs The Critics of Strong AI". Both are excellent books, and reflect the author's extreme optimism about the future of artificial intelligence. He is definitely one of the best apologists for AI, and documents well its living history. Reading this book after the recent ones gives an interesting comparison between what was real in AI then and what is real now. Indeed, the AI landscape has changed dramatically, and there were a few companies specializing in AI in business at the time of publication of this book, that are not around any longer. But for every company that has failed, there have been many more to take their place. Their character as companies has changed, due in part to the rise of the Internet. In fact, it is network engineering that has resulted in many of the applications of AI in the last 5 years, and those applications of course are not mentioned in this book, due to its date of publication. The author begins the book with a discussion of what he calls "The Second Industrial Revolution", which, he claims, is now in progress, and is based on the rise of thinking machines. These machines will extend and leverage human mental abilities, he says, challenging the human uniqueness in this regard. He expresses caution over the idea of making our military defenses controlled by intelligent machines, at the same time expressing his confidence that machine intelligence will indeed be sophisticated enough for this to happen. This revolution is here he says, will be more radical than the first one, but cannot be stopped, and he encourages therefore the constructive use of its technology. Thus is the author's motivation to write this book: to give the reader an overview of what was possible in AI at the time, and encourage the benevolent use of it. The author not only discusses the technology of AI, but also attempts to give the reader insight into just what AI is. This entails a discussion of philosophy, since philosophical debate dominated AI in its early years. Such debates are still common, but due to the frequent vituperation involved in them (which the author recognizes and mentions in the book), not much is to be gained from these. Time is better spent on actually trying to build thinking machines, and not engaging in conversations that lead nowhere. Since this book appeared, many philosophers have left their "arm chairs" and have joined in the practical research in artificial intelligence. This trend will no doubt continue in this century, thus giving rise to the "industrial philosopher". A fairly detailed history of the field of artificial intelligence is given in the book, with several articles written by some of the more recognized individuals in the field. All of these are interesting reading, and shed light on the different attitudes and prejudices regarding AI. For readers who are new to AI, this w

Great book to understand AI

I have used this book for a course in Artificial Intelligence at the college level many times. The book was published in 1992, which is outdated in many areas. However, the historical development in AI is highly readable. Many predictions in the book turn out to be true. The new book by the same author is not good at all. Ray has developed many applications in AI with his own company and enjoyed much success. He is a great role model for young entrepreneurs.

artificial intellegence

can i know more detail about what is the artificial intellegence thank a lot.