The essential reader on the philosophical foundations and implications of artificial intelligence, now comprehensively updated for the twenty-first century.
In the quarter century since the publication of John Haugeland’s Mind Design II , computer scientists have hit many of their objectives for successful artificial intelligence. Computers beat chess grandmasters, driverless cars navigate streets, autonomous robots vacuum our homes, and ChatGPT answers existential queries in iambic pentameter on command. Engineering has made incredible strides. But have we made progress in understanding and building minds? Comprehensively updated by Carl Craver and Colin Klein to reflect the astonishing ubiquity of machine learning in modern life, Mind Design III offers an essential collection of classic and contemporary essays on the philosophical foundations and implications of artificial intelligence. Contributions from a diverse range of philosophers and computer scientists address the nature of computation, the nature of thought, and the question of whether computers can be made to think. With extensive new material reflecting the explosive growth and diversification of AI approaches, this classic reader equips students to assess the possibility of, and progress toward, building minds out of computers.
Reading Mind Design III was a deep dive into the philosophy of mind and AI that really made me pause and think. Some essays are challenging, even dense at times, but that’s exactly what makes the book so rewarding. I loved how each contribution offered a slightly different perspective on how minds—both human and artificial—might be designed, understood, or interpreted. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t just give answers; it forces you to wrestle with the questions, and I found myself coming back to certain ideas days after reading them. Definitely a stimulating read for anyone curious about cognition, intelligence, and the future of thinking.
There are many interesting articles about limitations of ML based approach to AGI, neuroscience (e.g., representational model of circular neurons for insects to come back home), etc. But purely philosophical articles are meh…especially from Fodor. Post modernism should not leave arts.