Robot : mere machine to transcendent mind

In this mind-bending new book, Hans Moravec takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride packed with startling predictions. For example, Moravec suggests that in the not-too-distant future, an army of robots will displace workers, causing massive, unprecedented unemployment. But then a period of very comfortable existence will follow, as humans benefit from a fully automated economy. And eventually as machines evolve far beyond humanity, robots will supplant us. But if Moravec predicts the end of the domination of human beings, his is not a bleak vision. Far from railing against a future in which machines rule the world, Moravec embraces it, taking the startling view that intelligent robots will actually be our evolutionary heirs. "Intelligent machines, which will grow from us, learn our skills, and share our goals and values, can be viewed as children of our minds." And since they are our children, we will want them to outdistance us. In fact, in a bid for immortality, many of our descendants will choose to transform into "ex humans" as they upload themselves into advanced computers. We will become our children and live forever. This book charts the trajectory of robotics in breathtaking detail. A must read for artificial intelligence, technology and computer enthusiasts, Moravec's freewheeling but informed speculations present a future far different than we ever dared to imagine.