Skip to main content

Free US delivery on orders $35 or over

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
Quantity
In stock
$40.45
This title is available for exam copy requests

Description

A 2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

This book surveys and examines the most famous philosophical arguments against building a machine with human-level intelligence.


From claims and counter-claims about the ability to implement consciousness, rationality, and meaning, to arguments about cognitive architecture, the book presents a vivid history of the clash between the philosophy and AI. Tellingly, the AI Wars are mostly quiet now. Explaining this crucial fact opens new paths to understanding the current resurgence AI (especially, deep learning AI and robotics), what happens when philosophy meets science, and the role of philosophy in the culture in which it is embedded.

Organising the arguments into four core topics - 'Is AI possible', 'Architectures of the Mind', 'Mental Semantics and Mental Symbols' and 'Rationality and Creativity' - this book shows the debate that played out between the philosophers on both sides of the question, and, as well, the debate between philosophers and AI scientists and engineers building AI systems. Up-to-date and forward-looking, the book is packed with fresh insights and supporting material, including:

- Accessible introductions to each war, explaining the background behind the main arguments against AI
- Each chapter details what happened in the AI wars, the legacy of the attacks, and what new controversies are on the horizon.
- Extensive bibliography of key readings

Table of Contents

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 Jan 14 2021
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 312
ISBN 9781474257077
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
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…

ONLINE RESOURCES

Bloomsbury Collections

This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.

Related Titles

Environment: Staging