Synopsis

The world has already changed – The genie (AI) is out of the bottle, but this is a genie of our own making, and one that we designed to think, learn, grow, and develop on its own, without the need for human involvement.

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and over 1,000 other influential people in the field have already signed an open letter requesting a pause on the development of AI, citing security concerns and stating, “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity”.

Italy has gone so far as to ban, at least temporarily, the AI application, ChatGPT, following a security breach where “it was possible for some users to see another active user’s first and last name, email address, payment address, the last four digits (only) of a credit card number, and credit card expiration date,” according to an OpenAI spokesman.

This book, “AI-AGI Revolution: Will This Change What It Means to Be HUMAN?”, takes readers on a journey to explore these issues, the incredible potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced General Intelligence (AGI), the incredible challenges, and the incredible potential impact on what it means to be ‘human’.

From the promises of technological utopianism to the existential questions raised by attempts to recreate human intelligence, AI-AGI Revolution discusses the most remarkable area of technological advancement in recent history.

This book explores the moral, ethical, economic and cultural implications of human-like AI systems, and the implications of an AGI system that would certainly surpass humans with reference to its intellectual abilities.

“More than anything, this book is an exploration of the subject to promote discussion and debate,” added author, Ms Bella St John. AI is not good, nor bad – but where we go from here is something that needs informed consideration. My hope is that this book provides food for thought – no more, no less.”

Explore topics ranging from:

• An overview of the AI Revolution
• Why I felt the need to co-author this book with AI
• AI outpacing Moore’s Law
• The comparisons between child developmental psychology and ChatGPT
• AI’s propensity to convincingly make stuff up
• The origins of AI
• The blurring line between human and AI, including Robot ‘Legal Personhood’, and cross-dimensional marriage
• Should robots have ‘human rights’?
• Is AI sentient?
• Deep Fake
• Impact on Businesses and on Individuals (pro and con)
• Implications for Education and Training
• The Age of the Cyborg
• Are Artists and Writers now an endangered species?
• Why “Critical Oversight” is essential
• What if consciousness is fundamental – what does that mean re AI and Consciousness?
• Responses to the AGI Revolution
• Will AI-AGI Change What It Means to Be Human?

…and so much more – including my thoughts on ‘co-authoring’ a book with artificial intelligence.

“I hope this book inspires people to talk with each other – really talk with each other on the topic of AI. Not to have a right or a wrong, but to explore the topic. Only by doing what seems to have become a lost art (ie having a discussion and respecting all viewpoints whether one agrees with them or not) will we be able to navigate this exciting but challenging time ahead”.

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Excerpt

“I think, therefore… What am I?”

Let’s examine something I hid in plain sight when I designed the cover of this book:

“I think, therefore… what am I?”

“I think therefore I am” is a famous philosophical statement by René Descartes, which asserts that the very act of thinking proves one’s existence. It is a statement that has been debated for centuries and has significant implications for our understanding of consciousness, self-awareness, and artificial intelligence.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), this statement has gained new significance, raising important questions about the nature of consciousness and the possibility of machine sentience.

AI has made significant progress in recent years, with machines that can seemingly ‘think’ – recognize speech, translate languages, play games, and even write poetry. However, despite these impressive achievements, AI still lacks the kind of self-awareness and consciousness that is characteristic of human beings – but not everyone agrees. This has led to debates about the nature of consciousness and whether machines can truly think and be self-aware.

This also raises questions about whether machines can ever be considered truly alive or whether they are simply sophisticated tools that mimic human behaviour. Some argue that machines can never be truly conscious because they lack the kind of subjective experience that humans

have. Others argue that consciousness is simply a product of information processing and that machines can, in theory, be conscious if they are programmed in the right way.

Then there is the question of whether machines can have free will, which is closely tied to the idea of consciousness. Free will is the ability to make choices that are not determined by external factors. If AI reaches a point where it is fully independent from any human input, learning from its own successes and failures, can it then be argued that AI has free will to decide what it does next?

Another important consideration is the ethical implications of creating machines that are capable of what we might consider as thought and even consciousness. If machines can truly think and feel, then it becomes more difficult to justify treating them as mere objects or tools. This raises important questions about the ethics of creating and using AI and whether we have a moral obligation to consider the well-being of conscious machines.

It is these and many other considerations that lead me to write this book.

I hope it provides food for thought…

About the Author

Ms Bella St John is one of the most original thinkers you could hope to meet when it comes to a range of topics whether it be quantum physics, history, psychology, artificial intelligence, spirituality, culture, business, branding, marketing, writing, where science fiction and science fact intersect, and so much more…

She is an intelligent anachronist who is much more at home wearing long skirts and writing with her gold fountain pen than she is in jeans and a t-shirt and writing with a ballpoint.

Bella is an acclaimed Achievement Strategist, Writer, Artist, and Photographer who combines a lifetime examining ‘what makes people tick’ with her eclectic range of interests.

“Who am I? Although I’ve achieved some amazing things in my life, I consider myself a ‘work in progress’, so the answer to that question changes often, but some things that remain fairly constant – I love things Edwardian/Victorian (I’m one of those definitely born in the wrong time period – shoot me a message if you can relate!), red wine, exploring new places, writing, photography, quantum physics (yes, I know, that doesn’t exactly fit the Victorian theme), being inspired, inspiring others, anything steam-powered, learning new things – and discussing and sharing with others. In 2016, I decided to essentially retire, sell up, and see the world fulltime – becoming a 24/7 Luxurious Nomad, despite having a mobility challenge. Some people have said of my adventures and all the things I have done that I must be at least 172 years of age (no comments about me looking 172 years old, thank you!)”

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