Some Thoughts on AI Stimulated by Michael Wooldridge’s Book “The Road to Conscious Machines. The Story of AI”

Abstract

Following a brief over view of the contents of Michael Wooldridge's book I give an account of my own background in computing and AI. I then cover a range of topics stimulated by reading the book including machine learning's relationship to AI, applications to medical areas, the need to consider probabilistic effects on decisions, the importance of self-reproduction and whether AI can be made moral. I finish with a discussion of the mind–brain relationship and what makes us human.