Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke | 1968 | Watch
A classic work of science fiction that explores humanity’s place in the universe. The story is driven by the discovery of a black monolith buried below the moon’s surface and the voyage from Earth to Jupiter to follow its signal. Hal – a computer aboard the Discovery spacecraft – is the unexpected protagonist. Hal is sentient and in many ways, exceeds human abilities, but his emotional breakdown that springs from an existential conflict of goals gives rise to the movie’s turning point.
Spike Jonze | 2013 | Watch
A bittersweet love story between Theodore (a lonely introvert) and Samantha (a sentient operating system). Her explores the themes of love and loss and the degrees to which immersion into an imagined reality yield deep emotional connection.
Nick Bostrom | Oxford University Press, 2016 | Book
A philosophical treatise that explores the possibility and the implications of the evolution of super-intelligent computers. Bostrom argues that this is an existential problem for all of humanity, and that we must be intentional to solve the problem of controlling such an artificial intelligence.
James Barrat | Thomas Dunne Books, 2013 | Book
Similar in spirit and in conclusions to Bostrom’s work, Barrat focuses on how continuous self-improvement, when a computer learns how to learn, might yield a super intelligent machine.
Marvin Minsky | 1986 | Book
Written by one of the great minds of artificial intelligence, Dr. Minsky proposes a theory of human intelligence as an emergent behavior that derives from the opportunistic and collaborative interaction of simple, mindless agents.
Giulio Tononi | Pantheon, 2012 | Book
Here the neuroscientist Dr. Tononi describes IIT, the Integrated Information Theory and how it can explain the nature of consciousness.
Grady Booch | 2013-2016 | Explore
A series of articles and podcasts on the intersection of computing and the human experience.
Grady Booch | Watch
An exploration of the development of intelligent computers as projections of what we dream and what we fear.
