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Great Philosophical Objections to Artificial Intelligence

The History and Legacy of the AI Wars

  • Textbook
Great Philosophical Objections to Artificial Intelligence cover

Great Philosophical Objections to Artificial Intelligence

The History and Legacy of the AI Wars

  • Textbook
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Pre-order. Available 08 Jan 2026
£67.50 RRP £75.00 Website price saving £7.50 (10%)

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Description

An entertaining introduction to the clashes between philosophy and AI over the last 70 years, from claims and counter-claims about the ability to implement consciousness, to arguments about cognitive architecture and ChatGPT.

Now updated to include the latest developments in AI, this is an exploration of the most famous philosophical arguments against building a machine with human-level intelligence. The arguments are organized into four central AI wars, showing how the debate that played out between the philosophers, AI scientists and engineers building AI systems.

Here is your guide to the major philosophical questions and attacks AI has received throughout its history. Packed with fresh insights and supporting material, this second edition features new content on:

- Language Learning Models (LLMs) and the existence of generative AI
- Sustainable AI and its ability to regulate our climate
- The theoretical, ethical and legislative issues around 'computational creativity'
- The uncanny valley effect and its potential consequences for AI

Are we on the brink of a new AI War? This introduction is for anyone looking to understand the debates that have shaped the philosophy of AI and the arguments that will define its future. It shows us what AI has been doing since its invention in the 1950s – pointing us back, repeatedly, to the philosophical questions humans have always faced: questions about knowledge, meaning, and how we should behave toward each other and toward the rest of the world.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Prologue to the Second Edition

Prologue: The AI Wars and Beyond

Part I The AI Wars, 1950 to 2000

Introduction

The First War: Is AI Even Possible?


1. Gödel and a Foundational Objection to AI

2. How (not) to think about the Turing Test

The Second War: Architectures for Intelligence

3. How Computer Science Saved the Mind

4. Implementing an Intelligence

The Third War: Mental Semantics and Mental Symbols

5. The Strange Case of the Missing Meaning: Can Computers Think About Things?

The Fourth War: Rationality, Relevance, and Creativity

6. What is Relevant to What? The Frame Problem

Part II Beyond the AI Wars: New Issues Arise

Introduction

7. What about Consciousness?

8. Ethical Issues Surrounding AI Applications

9. Could Embodied AIs be Ethical Agents?

Part III The “New AI”: Generative Models Reignite Old Controversies

Introduction: Why is the “new AI” surprising?

10. Representation and semantics in Large Language Models

11. Have LLMs changed the debate about consciousness?

12. Sustainability: the new ethical issue raised by generative AI

Conclusion: Whither the AI Wars?

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 08 Jan 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 2nd
Extent 376
ISBN 9781350499409
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions 234 x 156 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Eric Dietrich

Eric Dietrich is Professor of Philosophy at Bingha…

Author

Chris Fields

Chris Fields is an independent scholar based in Fr…

Author

John P. Sullins

John P. Sullins is Professor of Philosophy at Sono…

Author

Bram Van Heuveln

Bram Van Heuveln is Lecturer in the Cognitive Scie…

Author

Robin Zebrowski

Robin Zebrowski is Associate Professor of Cognitiv…

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