Max Tegmark is one of the best-known specialists in artificial intelligence theory, examining all the pros and cons of the upcoming era we will have to share with a new form of life that we created and that surpasses us.
Max Tegmark talks about three main stages in the development of life on our planet. Life 1.0 is simple biological life, like bacteria. Life 2.0, or cultural life, involves acquiring knowledge and experience and then using that knowledge to determine one’s behavior. Life 3.0—one that hasn’t appeared on Earth yet—will have one important difference from Life 2.0: it will be able to change its own structure quickly and radically, without waiting for evolutionary change through a sequence of generations. Many experts believe this new form of life will emerge already in our century. How will it happen? What will this new form be like? What will it bring to humanity, and how will our lives change if artificial intelligence is involved? And most importantly: should we fear it. By answering these questions with a variety of facts and by modeling different development paths for the near future, this edition provides the answers.