Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the idea that machines may soon be smarter than humans has gone from science-fictiony scare talk to a sensible projection where the disagreements are not about if, but when. Moral philosophy has become shockingly relevant to the near-term future of humanity. You may dislike Human Compatible, you may object to the way the author treats your subject, but you really ought to learn about what's happening here. I particularly recommend that people who know something about moral philosophy do so.

Let's start with the most important thing: if you have any interest in finding out where technology is heading, please read this book. Unfortunately, it might also be the last.' Solving the problem of control over AI is not just possible it is the key that unlocks a future of unlimited promise. In a 2014 editorial co-authored with Stephen Hawking, Russell wrote, 'Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. This new foundation would allow us to create machines that are provably deferential and provably beneficial. Such machines would be humble, altruistic, and committed to pursue our objectives, not theirs. How can we ensure they never, ever, have power over us? Russell suggests that we can rebuild AI on a new foundation, according to which machines are designed to be inherently uncertain about the human preferences they are required to satisfy. If the predicted breakthroughs occur and superhuman AI emerges, we will have created entities far more powerful than ourselves. He also spells out the ways humans are already finding to misuse AI, from lethal autonomous weapons to viral sabotage. He describes the near-term benefits we can expect, from intelligent personal assistants to vastly accelerated scientific research, and outlines the AI breakthroughs that still have to happen before we reach superhuman AI. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines. In this groundbreaking book, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. A leading artificial intelligence researcher lays out a new approach to AI that will enable us to coexist successfully with increasingly intelligent machines

Stuart russell human compatible