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    The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
    The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
    The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity

    Written by Byron Reese

    Narrated by Danny Campbell

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    As we approach a great turning point in history when technology is poised to redefine what it means to be human, The Fourth Age offers fascinating insight into AI, robotics, and their extraordinary implications for our species. “If you only read just one book about the AI revolution, make it this one” (John Mackey, cofounder and CEO, Whole Foods Market).

    In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history: 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language; 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare; 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which lead to the nation state.

    We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. “Timely, highly informative, and certainly optimistic” (Booklist), The Fourth Age provides an essential background on how we got to this point, and how—rather than what—we should think about the topics we’ll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, changes in employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity.

    By asking questions like “Are you a machine?” and “Could a computer feel anything?”, Reese leads you through a discussion along the cutting edge in robotics and AI, and provides a framework by which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age and how they’ll transform humanity.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateApr 24, 2018
    ISBN9781508257042
    Author

    Byron Reese

    Byron Reese is the CEO and publisher of the technology research company Gigaom, and the founder of several high-tech companies. He has spent the better part of his life exploring the interplay of technology with human history. Reese has obtained or has pending patents in disciplines as varied as crowdsourcing, content creation, and psychographics. The websites he has launched, which cover the intersection of technology, business, science, and history, have together received over a billion visitors. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Infinite Progress. He lives in Austin, Texas.

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    Reviews for The Fourth Age

    4.5/5

    115 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Will AI be the saviours or destroyers of humanity? This books tries to answer some really tough questions, and after reading this book, I’d have to say that I’m of the opinion that AI and robotics is a saviour for human kind. The next 50 years will be the most interesting in human history.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great book! The author goes on to describe different opinions that are prevalent with regards to artificial intelligence. There is a lot to learn in this book. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about artificial intelligence.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the book and all the questions around AGI.
      This book gave me a different perspective to what is in the minds of those trying to figure out our existence.
    • 3/5
      The author is an optimist and he believes that technology advances will potentially bring a utopia. He tries to make his book understandable to a wide audience and caters to not only the scientists but also to religious and mystics. Byron demonstrates some depth of knowledge in the area of artificial intelligence. He philosophizes about the potential for and potential impact of general AI. Being a scientist, I found a lot of the theories to be irrational but I recognize that many would disagree with a scientific viewpoint. I generally liked the book but found it too accommodating to irrational points of view.
    • 5/5
      The author review some of the central questions we face in understanding where we are going with the development of Artificial Intelligence. He reviews many developments and some persistent limitations - such as we don't understand consciousness, and can't even model the tiny brain of some tiny worms. He clarifies some of the challenges facing humanity as the age of technology goes on.
    • 4/5
      Very readable treatment of a complicated topic.
    • 1/5
      The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity by Byron Reese could have been really good if only it wasn't riddled with so many grammatical errors. :'-( Repeated words, completely missing words, and words in the wrong order (was this down to the editor?) were liberally spread through the entire book which really took away from my enjoyment. I felt that what he was trying to accomplish with this book was interesting but I'm not entirely sure that he accomplished his goal (and he certainly needs to do a more thorough job of editing). This was less a purely scientific look at artificial intelligence and more a philosophical one about the nature of consciousness and if it's even remotely possible to duplicate it in a computer matrix. As with philosophical books, there were more questions raised than answers proposed. For all of the books on AI that I've read this one rests at the bottom and you'd be better served reading something along the lines of In Our Own Image by George Zarkadakis for a well-executed and researched work on the subject. Additionally, major points taken off for a lack of a bibliography. I have no idea how you can reference so many other people's work and then give them absolutely no credit. 2/10
    • 2/5
      mildly interesting speculation