AI and the human factors

Dismissing fears stoked by the likes of Musk and Hawking, the authors argue that AI, for the foreseeable future, is unlikely to reach a stage where a robot uprising will defeat humans in a large-scale

The Digital Ape: How to live (in peace) with smart machines
Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson
Amaryllis
347 pages; Rs 499

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) — from Deep Blue and Watson to Siri and Alexa — is presented as a celebratory as well as cautionary theme for our age. Even as technology overtakes more and more routine tasks, tech leaders like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking warn us that the final destination of this journey will spell the end of mankind.
 
In the book under review, Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson, both associated with the UK’s