The Age of Spritual Machines : Book Review (Udon and Machines 3)
This book is a blur of “maybe, could be, might happen future technology”.
It’s hard to describe the book. And as I write this, it’s been quite a few months since i’ve actually read it.
I think some of the ideas in the book were quite interesting. Take for example the idea of Computers playing chess. Years ago, people said that computers would never beat a person playing chess. However, with good enough algorithms and processing power this does not hold true.
I guess the interesting point here, is that if a computer program can do better than 95% of people (or more) then that’s probably good AI.
Secondly, if I remember correctly from the book, that often we might not see patterns that exist. And that possibly, machines may be able to see some of them better than people through basic statistical analysis. This comes down to “are our thought processes really unique? or are they algorithms some people have refined over their life?”
I found the book quite thought provoking. How much of what we do is reacting to our environment? Are some thought processes just heuristics which can be reproduced?
One concept that came out of this book which I find interesting .. if one task / though process can be emulated in software better than x per cent of people is that intelligence? (e.g. software can determine fraud with a 90 % success rate).
Overall I though the book was well worth the read. I actually intend on reading it again.
Rating: 8/10