Are You a Machine?: The Brain, the Mind, And What It Means to Be Human

by Eliezer J. Sternberg, Shannon Balke (Illustrator)

Right now, someone in an artificial intelligence lab is fusing silicon circuitry in an attempt to engineer the human mind. In a hospital, a neurosurgeon is attempting to influence a patient's emotions by firing electrical impulses into his brain. In a classroom, a teacher is explaining how neurons in the brain interact to generate thoughts, feelings, and decisions. The question of where consciousness comes from and how it works is likely the greatest mystery we face. Despite progress in our knowledge of the brain, we still don't know how it allows us to do things like enjoy a sunset, solve a math problem, or use our imagination. For those of us who have ever thought about issues of the mind or free will, these developments pose provocative questions. What would happen if those mysterious processes could be understood? Would a scientist be able to know everything about our minds just from studying the systems in our brains? Could he predict how we will think and act? After all, the brain is an organ just like the heart or stomach, and scientists can figure out when the heart will beat and when the stomach will release bile. If such a thing could be accomplished, would that make me a machine? There are those who approach this question from a technological perspective. Someday, an engineer might be able to build a robot with my memories, opinions, and behavior. Would that make me a machine? This concise, lucid primer on neuroscience and philosophy of mind takes the reader to the very depths of the mystery of consciousness, exploring it through the eyes of key philosophers, neuroscientists, and technologists. Avoiding jargon and oversimplification, author Eliezer J. Sternberg illuminates baffling questions of the brain, mind, and what it means to be human.

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2007

Reviews

[Jacob Longini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before going over this book's drawbacks, I will say that I enjoyed the opportunity to review concepts of the self, AI, and the mind/body distinction by engaging with this text. This book does a good job reviewing the debates surrounding these issues and summarizing the opinions of previous philosophers. However, the general tone of these summarizations is rather puerile. I felt like I was being babied through many of the concepts. Perhaps this is because the book is written for a younger audience, but I felt as if the author could give the reader a little more credit and trust that they would be able to understand the concepts without too much dumbing-down. Furthermore, I believe the author's conclusions to be a little naive - (I guess this is a minor spoiler). He believes AI could never be capable of a human-like consciousness because human thought is not algorithmic and is therefore capable of broader problem solving than computer programming. However, I do not think Sternberg defends his position that human thought is not algorithmic well enough, and I also think he rules out the possibility of an advanced computer program capable of learning, improving, and running systems above the algorithmic level. Another note, which perhaps points out that the book is a little outdated, is that recent neuroscience suggests that free will does not exist, something which Sternberg asserts they believe in. The author clings to naive notions that human consciousness is special and non-physical; the reality suggested by modern science is that the human experience is an incredibly complex illusion, but it is fully physical and fully scientific. I recommend the reader of this book or whoever is interested in these topics check out Bruce Hood's "The Self-Illusion" and Julian Bagini's "The Ego Trick".

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book because it gave me context and basic overviews of other thinkers beyond Kurzweil. Really great primer on mind-machine thinking that allows you to get a better sense of the possibilities and limitations of technology as it relates to consciousness. I feel like it is too easy to lean on technological progress and Sci-fi ideas about Skynet and forget how complex the human mind really is.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked his other books more.