 | |
| Author | Ray Kurzweil |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | MIT Press |
Publication date | 1990 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 580 |
| ISBN | 0-262-11121-7 / ISBN 0-262-61079-5 |
| 006.3-dc20 | |
| LC Class | Q335.K87 1990 |
| Followed by | The Age of Spiritual Machines |
The Age of Intelligent Machines is a non-fiction book about artificial intelligence by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. This was his first book and the Association of American Publishers named it the Most Outstanding Computer Science Book of 1990.[1] It was reviewed in The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor. The format is a combination of monograph and anthology with contributed essays by artificial intelligence experts such as Daniel Dennett, Douglas Hofstadter, and Marvin Minsky.[2]
Kurzweil surveys the philosophical, mathematical and technological roots of artificial intelligence, starting with the assumption that a sufficiently advanced computer program could exhibit human-level intelligence. Kurzweil argues the creation of humans through evolution suggests that humans should be able to build something more intelligent than themselves. He believes pattern recognition, as demonstrated by vision, and knowledge representation, as seen in language, are two key components of intelligence. Kurzweil details how quickly computers are advancing in each domain.
Driven by the exponential improvements in computer power, Kurzweil believes artificial intelligence will be possible and then commonplace. He explains how it will impact all areas of people's lives, including work, education, medicine, and warfare. As computers acquire human level faculties Kurzweil says people will be challenged to figure out what it really means to be human.
- ^ Colin, Johnson (1998-12-28). "Era of Smart People is Dawning". Electronic Engineering Times.
- ^ Kurzweil 1990.