Rise of the Intelligent Machines

I’m beginning a short series at Psychology Today about the ongoing advances being made in machine intelligence. I’d originally thought about using “The Ascent of Machine” for the series title — after Jacob Bronowski’s wonderful work, “The Ascent of Man”, which I found so inspiring when it first came out. But I thought it sounded a bit kludgy and so I ultimately decided on the Cameron-esque “Rise of the Intelligent Machines”.

Step by step, we’re being equaled and more importantly, surpassed. As we’ve seen in both biology and technology, this is a march that is taking place with ever more rapid strides. Complexity breeds still further complexity, cross-fertilizing itself into previously unconceived of combinations. The world is quickly approaching a time when humanity may come to share the world with an equal or greater intelligence. One that will have been of our own making.

This multi-part series will explore the rise of machine intelligence, research and advances that will impact its development and what this may mean for the future of human intelligence. Check back at Psychology Today for future installments. Next in Part 2: How to Build a Brain.