Some of the preconceptions I had about artificial intelligence is the complete lack of the subject other than the casual fan of movies on the subject; Westworld, Space Odyssey etc.Yonck does a great job of elaborating on how the lives of humans and their ancestors millions of years ago developed technology, and from there began the evolution of both parties (technology and human) in what the book called "the greatest symbiotic relationship on earth". When reading the book, I would sometimes become intimidated by the idea of machines being able to do things like reading my emotional cues so that it could predict the probability of my purchasing a product. Also unnerving were the chapters talking about chips put into the brains of soldiers so that their emotions could be controlled during combat, and the possibility of a hostile force taking control of those soldiers. An idea comes up when reading that the super intelligence will outgrow us, and the result of such an event I find hard and unsavory to imagine. But the book is a double-edged sword. Yes, all of the aforementioned fears and possibilities are acknowledged, but so too are the benefits. The big thing I liked about the book is the idea of therapeutic Ai's. Maybe chips in the brains of soldiers is a little disagreeable to think about, but they could put an end to the terrible PTSD veterans experience. Machines capable of picking up on emotional cues at lighting speed could be used for interrogation of criminals, but more importantly they can make the lives of humans more efficient (like Abigail from the beginning of the book). Another cool thing is the care taking of the mentally ill, disabled, and senile. Sure there's a possibility that the AI could enslave or wipe all of us out, but why would it do that? Only if it was raised with a weird sense of aggression. The author brought up that an AI needs to be raised responsibly, or else it might become obsessed with cat picture or become a foulmouthed racist.In the end I think the book is really about empathy. Can the machines, after enough time reading us and living in and mapping out our brains, get empathy? Or so they still need us for that one particular trait? I like to think that our symbiosis with technology will, if anything, grow stronger through time. We will augment each other and as the last paragraph in the book put it: "Life that could go on for millions, maybe even billions of years. And if we're lucky, we'll be along for the ride. It will be a buddy movie for the ages, in this new era of artificial emotional intelligence".It's thought provoking, objective in that it presents both the negative possibilities and positive, and through Yonck's portrait of our unity--from the monkey people with the stone tools to moving cockroaches with our minds to Japanese robot seals for the elderly--it's certainly feasible. I enjoyed this book and more than recommend it for anyone concerned or curious about the future.
