Robots Unlimited: Life in a Virtual Age

by David Levy

Overview

Consider this: Robots will one day be able to write poetry and prose so touching that it will make men weep; compose dozens or even hundreds of symphonies that will rival the work of Mozart; judge a court case with absolute impartiality and fairness; or even converse with the natural ease of your best friend. Robots will one day be so life-like that a human could fall in love and marry one. Thought provoking and controversial? Certainly. Far-fetched? Not at all. David Levy presents the history of Artificial Intelligence, considers recent developments, and speculates about the future of AI. A complete bibliography is available here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367446451
Publisher:	A K PETERS
Publication date:	12/02/2019
Pages:	466
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Part I: An Early History of Artificial Intelligence 1. Early History—Logic, Games and Speech 2. Early History—Robots, Thought, Creativity, Learning and Translation Part II: Fifty Years of Progress 3. How Computers Play Games 4. How Computers Recognize 5. Creative Computers 6. How Computers Think 7. How Computers Communicate 8. Things to Do for Robots Part III: The Next Fifty Years 9. The Exponential Growth of Scientific Achievements 10. Emotion and Love, AI Style 11. Sex and Reproduction, AI Style 12. Robot Consciousness 13. Robot Rights and Ethics

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

" "According to an artificial intelligence expert within years we could be finding robot romance..." -James Millar, The Sunday Post, February 2006

Unlimited: Life In A Virtual Age by David Levy (leader of the winning team of the Loebner Prize Competition in 1997) is a highly researched and historically impressive documentation devoted to the past fifty years of research and development in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. As an informative and superbly written study, Robots Unlimited offers readers an outstanding historical survey and a seminal reference to the many intricacies of an ever-escalating modern science in these specialized fields, as well as knowledgeable and intuitive predictions of what the future may bring for robotic and artificial intelligence breakthroughs. Very strongly recommended to all students of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and relevant technological advancements, Robots Unlimited gives its readers a complete and expert analysis and collection of such a popular and innovative science. -Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review, April 2006

Interview with David Levy about his new book, Robots Unlimited. -www.chessbase.com, February 2006

But maybe we shouldn't fear robots. We should have sex with and marry them. This possibility is welcomed in a new book called Robots Unlimited: Life in a Virtual Age by David Levy. True, the field of artificial intelligence is bedevilled with all kinds of irritating philosophical objections to Levy's predictions. Is there such a thing as an artificial intelligence? Is robot consciousness nonsense? Could robots really be said to think, feel, fall in love and love the kids? Yes, robots may be able to write passably Mozartian symphonies, perform splendid massages or make sexy chit-chat, but only humans can really appreciate any of them. -Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian, February 2006

"As a catalog of the most important results, thoughts, and predictions in this field, this book will be an entertaining read for anybody, as no prerequisites are assumed." -G. Trajkovski, CHOICE Magazine , June 2006

"In this popular approach to understanding AI, David Levy captures the essence, excitement, and potential of Artificial Intelligence." -Innovation Watch, May 2006

"There are interesting chapters on computers and religion, computers and emotions, computers and dreams, computers and sex, computers and ethics. There is a lot to think about in this book for both you and your computer." -Vairo Library Blog, November 2006"

Editorial Reviews

" "According to an artificial intelligence expert within years we could be finding robot romance..." -James Millar, The Sunday Post, February 2006

Unlimited: Life In A Virtual Age by David Levy (leader of the winning team of the Loebner Prize Competition in 1997) is a highly researched and historically impressive documentation devoted to the past fifty years of research and development in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. As an informative and superbly written study, Robots Unlimited offers readers an outstanding historical survey and a seminal reference to the many intricacies of an ever-escalating modern science in these specialized fields, as well as knowledgeable and intuitive predictions of what the future may bring for robotic and artificial intelligence breakthroughs. Very strongly recommended to all students of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and relevant technological advancements, Robots Unlimited gives its readers a complete and expert analysis and collection of such a popular and innovative science. -Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review, April 2006

Interview with David Levy about his new book, Robots Unlimited. -www.chessbase.com, February 2006

But maybe we shouldn't fear robots. We should have sex with and marry them. This possibility is welcomed in a new book called Robots Unlimited: Life in a Virtual Age by David Levy. True, the field of artificial intelligence is bedevilled with all kinds of irritating philosophical objections to Levy's predictions. Is there such a thing as an artificial intelligence? Is robot consciousness nonsense? Could robots really be said to think, feel, fall in love and love the kids? Yes, robots may be able to write passably Mozartian symphonies, perform splendid massages or make sexy chit-chat, but only humans can really appreciate any of them. -Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian, February 2006

"As a catalog of the most important results, thoughts, and predictions in this field, this book will be an entertaining read for anybody, as no prerequisites are assumed." -G. Trajkovski, CHOICE Magazine , June 2006

"In this popular approach to understanding AI, David Levy captures the essence, excitement, and potential of Artificial Intelligence." -Innovation Watch, May 2006

"There are interesting chapters on computers and religion, computers and emotions, computers and dreams, computers and sex, computers and ethics. There is a lot to think about in this book for both you and your computer." -Vairo Library Blog, November 2006"

From the Publisher