There is a large amount of interest (maybe hype?) in the business and investment world these days about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine intelligence (MI). These areas are related: AI focusing on replication of human intelligence while MI (which subsumes AI) using computer processing to address a broad set of data-intensive problems with approaches that may or may not be human-like.

I personally have been investing in companies whose business models center on MI, including Sparrho, Lexoo and Contego, and I'm currently considering Qlearsite. And beyond these and other companies' near-in efforts to solve particular business problems with MI, I have been following with interest the debate on further out questions about what AI and MI hold for the future of society. A fascinating aspect of this is how computers can interact with and/or replicate our emotions.

I am not among those like Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Nick Bostrom who perceive existential risk to humanity from AI. While the fears of the singularity and similar phenomena are not fanciful, they are (in my view) too far out, with too many technical barriers and defenses in the way, for us to engage in hand-wringing now. But I do agree that debating these issues is important and interesting.

Computers are already intruding into how we experience reality, including our emotions. I have previously blogged about Start-Ups Offering Mind-Altering Technologies. One of the companies Thync that I mentioned in that blog has now launched its product and claims to be getting great customer results in providing energy, calm, mindfulness, fitness and sleep. Authors like Nick Bostrom and Nate Soares have asked whether we can teach ethics to an AI, and Cambridge University has just launched a center focusing on ethical issues for AI. More philosophically we wonder whether an AI can experience genuine emotion (I recommend the film Ex Machina on this point). Technology and research in these areas will certainly continue to advance (some of the most popular channels of my investee Sparrho, which aggregates and recommends science content, focus on MI and neuroscience).

I have explored my own take on these issues, and my interest in the nature of reality, from a business perspective in my second novel Enlightenment Inc.. The novel spins out the implications of a simple, addictive application that significantly changes the way users perceive reality. I am now looking for an agent and publisher for this novel (any leads are welcome), and want to make sure I get it into print before reality again begins closely imitating my fiction.