Artificial Intelligence And The Fourth Age Of Humanity - Disruption Hub

From the most basic tools of the past to the complicated machines we use today, technology has changed the course of human history. In the fundamental sense, technology augments our abilities – it helps us to solve problems, and allows us to achieve things that would never have been possible before. But there's a clear difference between the simple tools used by our distant ancestors and the artificially intelligent computer programmes currently shaping the world: one enhances our bodies, and the other supplements the workings of our brains. This raises a whole host of philosophical questions about the nature of intelligent machines, their ethical use, and the state of humanity itself. One man who has more than a passing interest on this subject is Byron Reese, GigaOm publisher, futurist, and author of the recent book The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity.