YOU
WHAT
ARTIFICIAL
NEVER
ROBERT J. II
Description
Will machines someday replace attorneys, physicians, computer programmers, and world leaders? What about composers, painters, and novelists? Will tomorrows supercomputers duplicate and exceed humans? Are we just wetware, natural computers doomed to obsolescence by tomorrows ultra-powerful artificial intelligence? In Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Robert J. Marks II answers these and other fascinating questions with his trademark blend of whimsy and expertise.
Catch a glimpse of the geniuses behind todays AItheir foibles, follies, and friendshipsas told by someone on the inside. Under the authors steady and winsome guidance, learn about the exciting possibilities for artificial intelligence, but also hear how many of the heady claims for AI are provably overblown. Marks shows why there are some powers AI will never possess, no matter what. These powers belong to anotherto non-computable you.
Copyright Notice
2022 by Discovery Institute. All Rights Reserved.
Library Cataloging Data
Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will by Robert J. Marks II
Cover design by Brian Gage.
pages, x x 0.9 in, & 1.3 lb. x x mm. & 0.6 kg.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022938900
ISBN-13: Paperback: 978-1-63712-015-6; Kindle: 978-1-63712-017-0; EPUB: 978-1-63712-016-3
BISAC: COM004000 COMPUTERS/Artificial Intelligence/General
BISAC: COM079000 COMPUTERS/Social Aspects
BISAC: PHI015000 PHILOSOPHY/Mind & Body
Publisher Information
Discovery Institute Press, Columbia Street, Seattle, WA 98104
Internet: discoveryinstitutepress.com
Published in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
First edition, June 2022.
ADVANCE
Are human beings obsolete? Is that why fewer people are having children? Bob Markss delightful Non-Computable You offers a well-reasoned rebuttal. So be human, be creative!
Gregory algorithmic information theory pioneer and discoverer of Chaitins number
Bob Markss Non-Computable You throws a big bucket of informed cold water on the runaway brushfire of Big-Tech hype that makes up far too much of modern AI.
Bart University of Southern California, author of Fuzzy Thinking and Cool Earth
This is a shockingly good book! Ive listened to Bob Marks lecture over the years against the inflated claims by artificial intelligences high priests. But this book ties together his critique of AI in a masterful and awe-inspiring way. Im blown away.
Bob himself is a founder of the field of computational intelligence, that part of AI with an actual record of achievement and with aspirations that are measured and realistic. He is thus ideally poised to demolish the hype and nonsense that infects AI when it moves from computer science to science fiction. Humans are about to be superseded by machines, computers will match human intelligence and then exceed it, soon well be uploading ourselves onto digital media and achieving immortality. Marks shows convincingly that all such claims are more implausible than the myths of ancient times, and that in fact they constitute a religious credo for modern materialists.
But Markss case is not just negative, showing what computers cant do. He also shows how humans have an incredible range of capacities that machines will never match or exceed, everything from the raw feels of sensation to the creativity of our greatest artists and inventors. Marks concludes that humans are exceptional and that they dont share their exceptionalism with machines. If youre going to read only one book on artificial intelligence, this needs to be it!
William A. author of The Design Inference
Fascinating and entertaining. I learned a LOT. So will you.
Gary Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics, Pomona College
It is refreshing to have a writer of Markss stature write a definitive book on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human consciousness. Marks leaves no stone unturned as he makes clear the limitations of algorithmic computation and Strong AIs inability to ground and account for qualia, semantic meaning, intuitive insight/awareness, free will, and a host of other things that constitute human consciousness and intelligence. His placement of (alleged) emergent mental properties as comparable to getting a pony from horse poop (and, yes, the horse is prior to the poop!) is worth the price of admission. This interesting, widely accessible book sets the record straight and must be read by thinking Christians who dont want to be duped by the extravagant claims of certain scientists.
J. P. PhD, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and co-editor of The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism
Because of a desperate craving for public attention, the news on artificial intelligence is by and large dominated by either unrealistic utopian fantasies or cataclysmic dystopian predictions. As a voice in the wilderness Robert Markss meticulous analysis of the scientific evidence behind the inherent limitations of AI and his masterful exploration of the powerful arguments for the age-old belief in human exceptionalism bring a refreshing tone of perspicacity and soberness to the ongoing debate.
Tobias A. MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, St. Louis University
I have heard for some years that artificial intelligence (AI) will surpass human intelligence within as little as thirty years, after which humans will become redundant (or even terminated if AI perceives us as a threat). Professor Bob Markss new book explains why he thinks that AI is fundamentally different from human beings and will not be able to fully replace us. I read his book with absolute fascination. I have known Bob for a long time, since he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transaction on Neural one of the most prestigious technical journals in AI that publishes peer reviewed original research. As a world-class researcher and a pioneer in AI, Bob is best known for his math and engineering skillsbut now I am amazed by his talent in storytelling. Whether you eventually agree with his conclusion or not, I can assure you that the book will be an entertaining and informative read.
Lipo PhD, Associate Professor of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Written brilliantly by an expert who served as Editor in Chief of a leading AI journal and who helped lay the foundations of the field, Non-Computable You will fascinate anyone interested in learning what todays AI revolution is all about. Marks is equally aware of AIs amazing possibilities and of its limitations. You will find in this book precise references to the basic concepts of AI, but also a lot of funny and light-hearted threads that combine useful and fun. An enjoyable and unique book.
Jacek M. PhD, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Louisville; Life Fellow of IEEE; Fellow of International Neural Networks Society
In Non-Computable Robert Marks patiently dismantles two reigning myths of our age: that man is a machine and that machines will soon become men. Using the solid results of computer science and information theory, he shows that human beings transcend the machines we create, and fancier technology wont change that fundamental truth.
