Edge #527: The Future of the Mind - A Conversation with Susan Schneider

News from Edge To arrive at the edge of the world's knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves. January 28, 2019 THE THIRD CULTURE [The Future of the Mind]( [How AI Technology Could Reshape the Human Mind and Create Alternate Synthetic Minds]( A Conversation with Susan Schneider I see many misunderstandings in current discussions about the nature of the mind, such as the assumption that if we create sophisticated AI, it will inevitably be conscious. There is also this idea that we should “merge with AI”—that in order for humans to keep up with developments in AI and not succumb to hostile superintelligent AIs or AI-based technological unemployment, we need to enhance our own brains with AI technology. One thing that worries me about all this is that don't think AI companies should be settling issues involving the shape of the mind. The future of the mind should be a cultural decision and an individual decision. Many of the issues at stake here involve classic philosophical problems that have no easy solutions. I’m thinking, for example, of theories of the nature of the person in the field of metaphysics. Suppose that you add a microchip to enhance your working memory, and then years later you add another microchip to integrate yourself with the Internet, and you just keep adding enhancement after enhancement. At what point will you even be you? When you think about enhancing the brain, the idea is to improve your life—to make you smarter, or happier, maybe even to live longer, or have a sharper brain as you grow older—but what if those enhancements change us in such drastic ways that we’re no longer the same person? SUSAN SCHNEIDER holds the Distinguished Scholar chair at the Library of Congress and is the director of the AI, Mind and Society (“AIMS”) Group at the University of Connecticut. [ [Continue...]( ] IN THE NEWS INC. [Ten Business Books You Need to Read in 2019]( By Leigh Buchanan [1.2.19] February . [Possible Minds: 25 Ways of Looking at AI]( by John Brockman (editor) At the highest level, debate about artificial intelligence often devolves into scenarios utopian or dystopian. Will machines make human beings the best they can be, or render them obsolete? Should we trust something potentially smarter than us? What is humanity's role in a world ruled by algorithms? Brockman, founder of the online salon Edge.org, corrals 25 big brains—ranging from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek to roboticist extraordinaire Rodney Brooks—to opine on this exhilarating, terrifying future. [ [Continue...]( ] EURO ZPRÁVY (CZECH REPUBLIC) [Is the Black Future Really Looking Forward?]( By Samuel Pacek [1.19.19] Can Technology Threaten Democracy? What are the real risk factors of war? Are we really losing the skill of manual skills or the new darkness? These questions and many others will answer today's leading scientists and thinkers in the fascinating book titled What Should We Be Worried About? Brockman has managed to bring together a marvelous publication that gives an overview of what we can fear, or what we can learn from. Rather than claiming a patent on the truth, it is in the spirit of the objective message of science. At the very least, it is fascinating to read about things that disturb leading scientists and thinkers. [ [Continue...]( ] CNBC-TV18 (India) [The Online Inquisition of Hardik Pandya]( By Kunal Talgeri [1.18.19] Do you believe in books finding you? This Idea Is Brilliant, a book edited by edge.org founder John Brockman, found me last week. I don’t know if somebody had gifted it, or did I buy and forget about it? But I am just grateful for it. Published in 2018, it keeps its promise of assembling “lost, overlooked, and under-appreciated scientific concepts everyone should know”. Most of the concepts are narrated in small essays. But the one that stayed with me is a paragraph—yes, it is only one-paragraph long —by recording producer Brian Eno on ‘Confirmation Bias’. His observation resonated in the week of cricketer Hardik Pandya’s online inquisition or persecution, depending on what your own bias or belief is! [ [Continue...]( ] Edge Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit private operating foundation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. [EDGE.ORG]( John Brockman, Editor and Publisher; Russell Weinberger, Associate Publisher; Nina Stegeman, Associate Editor Copyright (c) 2019 by Edge Foundation, Inc., 260 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001. All Rights Reserved. --------------------------------------------------------------- Visit [edge.org]( "Fabulous" —The New York Times • "Thrilling" —Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung • "Wonderful" —The Wall Street Journal • "Fantastically Stimulating" —BBC Radio 4 • "Astounding" —The Boston Globe • "Splendidly enlightened" —The Independent • "Audacious" —La Vanguardia • "Brilliant" —The Sunday Times • "Enthralling" —The Daily Mail • "Exhilarating" —The Evening Standard • "Stunning" —New Scientist • "Enjoyable" —Salon • "Provocative" —La Stampa • "Marvelous" —Prospect • "Awesome" —Wired • "The brightest minds in the known universe" —Vanity Fair • "A lavish cerebral feast" —The Atlantic • "An intellectual treasure trove" —San Francisco Chronicle • "The world's smartest website" —The Guardian --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](