Author: Byron Reese
In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history:100,000 years ago we harnessed fire, which led to language. 10,000 years ago we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare. 5,000 years ago we invented the wheel and writing, which led to the nation-state. We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. The Fourth Age provides extraordinary background information on how we got to this point and how - rather than what - we should think about the topics we’ll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity.