AI is Good for You: The Last 10 Years and the Next 10 Years of Artificial Intelligence

by Eric Jang

When we think of “AI”, our imagination often drifts to scary the killer robots in Terminator and The Matrix and A Space Odessey. Even in sci-fi stories where the humans remain in charge, AI is often portrayed as an enabler of dystopian futures where technology has created a huge rift between the rich and the poor.

Given how bleak most science fiction covering AI is, it’s no surprise that most news media approach the topic with mysticism and trepidation. How do we control AI if it becomes smarter than humans? What kinds of jobs will our children have if all jobs can be done by robots? Journalists are often all-too-willing to amplify these doomsday scenarios to drive engagement.

Instead of adding fuel to the narratives about how AI technology can go horribly wrong, I want to share my optimistic take on how AI technology can make things go wonderfully right . It has the potential to create unfathomable abundance in everyone’s lives. Not only am I optimistic that human-level AI be good for society, but that it is technologically feasible within the decade. I will share a blueprint on how to do just that.

This book is divided into three (1) where AI technology is today, (2) six ingredients for accelerating us towards increasingly general AI in the next decade, and (3) the societal consequences of achieving this. This book draws from the author's experience working as a robotics researcher at Google, as well as his current role as Vice President of AI at 1X Technologies.

Genres: Artificial Intelligence, Futurism

284 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2023

Reviews

[Dima Timofeev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book deserves much more attention than it’s currently getting.

The book explores how to build embodied AI, and as the author points out - and I completely agree- "all the ingredients are within reach, and we can build an AGI within the decade." What I particularly appreciate about this book is its clear, high-level explanation of how embodied AI can be created. Each "ingredient" isn’t just presented in isolation but is thoughtfully connected to biological, technical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives.

I won’t spoil the specifics of the "ingredients" for building embodied AI - you’ll have to discover those for yourself - but I’d like to share two key takeaways I found particularly compelling:

- Humanity is creating an incredible meta-enterprise in the field of everything AI including RL/ML. Likely tens of thousands, if not more, highly skilled researchers are pushing the boundaries on a daily basis.
- Industry conferences act as a kind of fuzzy synchronization for the collective "hive mind," helping to spread and nurture new ideas. It’s similar to how I call "synchronize" on CUDA streams to get into a consistent state.

If you’re interested in the future of software engineering, machine learning, AI, or the embodiment of AI through robotics, I highly recommend this book!

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't really feel that this book explained anything valuable to me. It has technical sections which I didn't completely understand, the structure of the book was an anthology of essays which I disliked. I find The Master Algorithm to be a much better book at explaining what machine learning actually is. The author in this text does describe in general terms how to create an AGI, I didn't really find it convincing. I think we can definitely get AGI, but it felt too disjointed as a text. There were some typos as well. I feel like there are probably better books out there on AI, this one was a nay for me.

[Jerome Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of delightful insights and spicy takes. Jang lays out a really interesting vision for building general intelligence that is rooted in his practical, real world experiences.

There are many noticeable typos, though, and I wish that citations were included. Some chapters also feel more like a loose collection of ideas rather than a precise argument. Wasn't always convinced, but still really enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to seeing what more comes from Jang in the future.

[Eddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

- Great recap of the recent history of AI development.
- Shallow discussion about the future of AI, especially regarding AI safety and x-risk. The level of discourse in places like Less Wrong is much, much higher.

[James Hennessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great plane read but I’m a software engineer

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

too surficial, which is fine, but it reads like a tech bro who is dying to be heard… in a sea of other tech bros