Author(s): Toby Walsh

Science

A prescient analysis of what makes artificial intelligence so ... artificial Artificially intelligent machines are set to play an increasingly important role in our lives. They will take the dirty tasks of life off our hands, as well as the dull, the difficult and the dangerous - which is a good thing. But at the heart of AI is a fundamental deceit- its goal is to imitate human intelligence. Although AIs like ChatGPT are powerful and convincing, they are fakes. They lack true understanding, sentience, consciousness and common sense, the very traits that make our human intelligence so special. The phoniness of AIs is a great weakness, and should be of concern to everyone. Can AI systems be creative? Can they be moral? What can we do to ensure they are not harmful? Will they ever develop consciousness - and if they do, what does this mean for humanity? In this fascinating new book, leading AI expert and author Professor Toby Walsh explores the artificiality of artificial intelligence, and considers the impact it is having on society. The fakery of AI, he argues, threatens to blur the distinction between what is real and what is simulated. It might even throw into question the very essence of what it means to be human. The stakes, therefore, are as high as they could be.