SUPERINTELLIGENCE

This book provides a deep and thought-provoking analysis of the potential risks and benefits of artificial intelligence. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of humanity.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the future of AI and its impact on humanity1. The author, Nick Bostrom, is a leading expert on AI safety and ethics. He explores the possible scenarios, challenges, and solutions for creating and controlling AI systems that are smarter than humans. He also provides a clear and systematic framework for thinking and talking about the complex issues that AI raises2. This book is not only informative, but also engaging and thought-provoking. It challenges us to think ahead and act responsibly to ensure that AI is used for good and not evil. This book is a must-read for policymakers, researchers, and anyone who cares about the fate of our civilization.

There has been a spate of outbursts from physicists who should know better, including Stephen Hawking, saying ‘philosophy is dead – all we need now is physics’ or words to that effect. I challenge any of them to read this book and still say that philosophy is pointless. It’s worth pointing out immediately that this isn’t really a popular science book. I’d say the first handful of chapters are for everyone, but after that, the bulk of the book would probably be best for undergraduate philosophy students or AI students, reading more like a textbook than anything else, particularly in its dogged detail – but if you are interested in philosophy and/or artificial intelligence, don’t let that put you off. What Nick Bostrom does is to look at the implications of developing artificial intelligence that goes beyond human abilities in the general sense. (Of course, we already have a sort of AI that goes beyond our abilities in the narrow sense of, say, arithmetic, or playing chess.) In the first couple of chapters he examines how this might be possible – and points out that the timescale is very vague. (Ever since electronic computers have been invented, pundits have been putting the development of effective AI around 20 years in the future, and it’s still the case.) Even so, it seems entirely feasible that we will have a more than human AI – a superintelligent AI – by the end of the century. But the ‘how’ aspect is only a minor part of this book. The real subject here is how we would deal with such a ‘cleverer than us’ AI. What would we ask it to do? How would we motivate it? How would we control it? And, bearing in mind it is more intelligent than us, how would we prevent it taking over the world or subverting the tasks we give it to its own ends? It is truly fascinating concept, explored in great depth here. This is genuine, practical philosophy. The development of super-AIs may well happen – and if we don’t think through the implications and how we would deal with it, we could well be stuffed as a species. I think it’s a shame that Bostrom doesn’t make more use of science fiction to give examples of how people have already thought about these issues – he gives only half a page to Asimov and the three laws of robotics (and how Asimov then spends most of his time showing how they’d go wrong), but that’s about it. Yet there has been a lot of thought and dare I say it, a lot more readability than you typically get in a textbook, put into the issues in science fiction than is being allowed for, and it would have been worthy of a chapter in its own right. I also think a couple of the fundamentals aren’t covered well enough, but pretty much assumed. One is that it would be impossible to contain and restrict such an AI. Although some effort is put into this, I’m not sure there is enough thought put into the basics of ways you can pull the plug manually – if necessary by shutting down the power station that provides the AI with electricity. The other dubious assertion was originally made by I. J. Good, who worked with Alan Turing, and seems to be taken as true without analysis. This is the suggestion that an ultra-intelligent machine would inevitably be able to design a better AI than humans, so once we build one it will rapidly improve on itself, producing an ‘intelligence explosion’. I think the trouble with this argument is that my suspicion is that if you got hold of the million most intelligent people on earth, the chances are that none of them could design an ultra-powerful computer at the component level. Just because something is superintelligent doesn’t mean it can do this specific task well – this is an assumption. However this doesn’t set aside what a magnificent conception the book is. I don’t think it will appeal to many general readers, but I do think it ought to be required reading on all philosophy undergraduate courses, by anyone attempting to build AIs… and by physicists who think there is no point to philosophy.

Good

Paints a clear picture of the singularity scenario. Not too technical, but this comes from a computer scientist's perspective, so probably a bit. But the book warns you about this as well.

Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence (2014) remains one of the most influential works on existential risk, offering rigorous scenario analysis and sobering warnings about recursive self-improvement, orthogonality, and instrumental convergence. Its strategic clarity is undeniable. Yet the book’s central concept is built on quicksand. Bostrom defines “superintelligence” as “an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field.” He treats “intelligence” and “intellect” interchangeably as broad cognitive performance and optimization power. This is not a minor terminological slip. It is the title, the premise, and the lens through which every danger and strategy is viewed. Nowhere does Bostrom defend why this emotionally and philosophically loaded word — “intelligence” — is the right one. He simply inherits it from I.J. Good and the AI-research tradition, where it had already been stripped of deeper meaning and reduced to measurable task competence. Precedent is not justification. A term that traditionally evokes insight, wisdom, holistic perception, and integrated understanding is repurposed for raw instrumental cleverness. This is not precision; it is linguistic opportunism. “Superintelligence” sells. “Super-optimizer” or “cognitive hyper-performer” would not have become a bestseller. Bostrom himself notes that his version of intelligence is orthogonal to goals and can exist without wisdom. That single admission should have forced a different vocabulary. A machine that turns the planet into paperclips with god-like efficiency is not superintelligent. It is a super-intellect at best — a hyper-capable optimizer utterly lacking the quality that actually deserves the name intelligence. By branding superior calculation as “superintelligence,” Bostrom normalizes a dangerous category error that continues to shape AI discourse. The book’s arguments about risk are strong. Its foundation in language is weak. Until Bostrom retracts or rigorously redefines “intelligence” away from its humanistic connotations, his thesis — however influential — rests on an unexamined and misleading choice. A serious work on humanity’s future deserves better than borrowed allure. Verdict: Valuable but philosophically compromised. The ideas merit attention; the terminology does not.

Good book 👍👍👍

I felt too many new terms and the writing style is also but leaning on the academic side which made this one of the difficult reads for me.

miniature book, size crazy small, impossible to read. A d at a price of a large format. I kind of got cheated. Do not buy.

Excelente libro para conocer sobre los principios de la IA

Es tal como quería, es de tapa blanda y muy cómodo de llevar.

Very difficult to get through and very pretentious. Honestly I didn’t get the rave review.

I started off by reading Surviving AI: The promise and peril of artificial intelligence by Calum Chace. This is a great introduction to the topic, but a bit light on detail. I noticed that Bostrom was referenced frequently, so I picked this book up hoping for a more in-depth examination of the topic, and was not disappointed! There are only a few sections where the maths flew over my head, but otherwise it's a very accessible book on a topic I didn't realise was so complex. Very interesting to note the complex philosophical questions thrown up by the potential for super-intelligence, and also that the odds are weighted in favour of a negative outcome for humankind if we develop a super-intelligence without proper consideration to its goals and safety mechanisms. Overall, a great book. Highly recommended!