The most human human what talking with computers teaches us about what it means to be alive
The Most Human Human is a provocative, exuberant, and profound exploration of the ways in which computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human. Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can "...
| Main Author: | Christian, Brian, 1984- |
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| Format: | Downloads eBook Books eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
Go to Downloadable eBook Here. |
| Summary: |
The Most Human Human is a provocative, exuberant, and profound exploration of the ways in which computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human. Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can "think." Named for computer pioneer Alan Turing, the Turing Test convenes a panel of judges who pose questions--ranging anywhere from celebrity gossip to moral conundrums--to hidden contestants in an attempt to discern which is human and which is a computer. The machine that most often fools the panel wins the Most Human Computer Award. But there is also a prize, bizarre and intriguing, for the Most Human Human. In 2008, the top AI program came short of passing the Turing Test by just one astonishing vote. In 2009, Brian Christian was chosen to participate, and he set out to make sure Homo sapiens would prevail. The author's quest to be deemed more human than a computer opens a window onto our own nature. Interweaving modern phenomena like customer service "chatbots" and men using programmed dialogue to pick up women in bars with insights from fields as diverse as chess, psychiatry, and the law, Brian Christian examines the philosophical, biological, and moral issues raised by the Turing Test. One central definition of human has been "a being that could reason." If computers can reason, what does that mean for the special place we reserve for humanity? From the Hardcover edition. |
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| Physical Description: |
1 online resource |
| Format: |
Requires OverDrive Read (file size: N/A KB) or Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 2006 KB) or Kobo app or compatible Kobo device (file size: N/A KB) or Amazon Kindle (file size: N/A KB). |
| ISBN: |
9780385533072 |
| Author Notes: |
BRIAN CHRISTIAN has published work in The Atlantic, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, and many literary and scientific publications. He has been featured on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," NPR's "Radiolab," and "The Charlie Rose Show," and has lectured at Google, Microsoft, the London School of Economics, and elsewhere. An award-winning poet, Christian holds a degree in philosophy and computer science from Brown University and an MFA in poetry from the University of Washington. The Most Human Human, a Wall Street Journal bestseller, has been translated into nine languages. Christian lives in Philadelphia. |