It is a topic that is currently on everyone’s lips: artificial intelligence. Some see it as a way to reach the potential previously impossible. Others, however, point to the dangers that might arise from automated robots as soldiers. How far research can go in this area and where its limits should be set must therefore be discussed within society. In order to form your own opinion, however, it is essential to obtain comprehensive information beforehand. This can be done in a variety of ways. It is not the worst idea, however, to fall back on the classic book. Because the selection has grown enormously big there, we would like to introduce you to three of them:
1. Thomas Ramge: Man and Machine – How artificial intelligence and robots change our lives
The Reclam Verlag is especially popular with students because it combines the practical small format with low prices. Both also apply to the six-euro book by Thomas Ramge. On the one hand, the journalist strives for a sober approach and, above all, focuses on reliable facts. On the other hand, he treats the comprehensive topic on just 96 Reclam pages. On the one hand, this has the disadvantage that one would like to have a slightly more detailed presentation at one point or another. At the same time, this also ensures that all important points and questions are handled concisely and precisely. Thus, the book provides basic knowledge about the history, the functioning and the potential of artificial intelligence, without the reader having to torment himself through a thick tome. In other words: the ideal entry into a serious occupation with the topic.
2. Manuela Lenzen spans a slightly larger arc in her introductory book.
With a total of 272 pages for 16.95 euros, the work is also significantly more extensive and therefore more expensive. The goal of the author is to relativize both the promises and the catastrophic scenarios associated with the new technology. To this end, she first deals in great detail with the question of how „artificial intelligence“ can actually be defined. This sounds quite simple, but in detail but as complex as worth reading. It also brings the author to a second important point: The description of how neural networks work and how they are used. These are described in much more detail here than in the work of Thomas Ramge. Interesting, but sometimes presumptuous, is the final part, which is directed towards the future. So it’s about the possibility of creating cyborgs, the question of which abilities remain reserved exclusively for humans in the future and where trends already recognized could still develop.
3. Jerry Kaplan: Artificial Intelligence – An Introduction
In the United States, too, the topic of artificial intelligence is logically discussed intensively. An important contribution to the debate there was the scientist and entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan. In particular, he deals extensively with the history of the topic and shows, among other things, that the term „artificial intelligence“ was originally introduced primarily for marketing purposes. Then he explains the most important technical terms in an easy-to-understand manner, ultimately leading to the second most interesting part of the book. Here, the author deals with the consequences of the new technology. This starts with the question of how artificial intelligence will affect our labor market and our economic system and ends with the problem of who ultimately has to take responsibility for the actions of artificial intelligence. It is not necessary to agree on the conclusions of the car in all respects, but its interest in these questions is certainly interesting and scientifically founded.
