Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial

Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality

Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it.

Drawing on interviews with roboticists and AI researchers and with devotees of the online game Second Life, among others, Geraci illuminates the ideas of such advocates of Apocalyptic AI as Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil. He reveals that the rhetoric of Apocalyptic AI is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. In both systems, the believer is trapped in a dualistic universe and expects a resolution in which he or she will be translated to a transcendent new world and live forever in a glorified new body. Equally important, Geraci shows how this worldview shapes our culture. Apocalyptic AI has become a powerful force in modern culture. In this superb volume, he shines a light on this belief system, revealing what it is and how it is changing society.

Country	USA
Author	Robert M. Geraci
Binding	Paperback
Brand	Brand: Oxford University Press, USA
EAN	9780199964000
Edition	Reprint
Feature	Used Book in Good Condition
ISBN	0199964009
Label	Oxford University Press
Manufacturer	Oxford University Press
MPN	Illustrations
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	248
PartNumber	Illustrations
PublicationDate	2012-11-01
Publisher	Oxford University Press
ReleaseDate	2012-11-01
Studio	Oxford University Press

Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality