Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion

What do you think of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Do you know of any AI today that is amazing that you can share with us? Which do you think pushes the boundaries of our ideas of ethics and morality further, artificial fertility treatment programs or artificial intelligence research? What are the sorts of ethical questions each field of science raises?

Now that I am done I realize why this book was written cold and flat

(view spoiler)[ I am marking this spoiler since it is a big one. We obviously find out that our narrator is a machine/AI. Once I finished I thought how genius that was. I wonder why Anax had to think of questions the why she did. (hide spoiler)]

Also... does this book make you question evolution?

It makes me question evolution when controlled by humans. AI thrived because of the development of it by humans, much like genetically modified plants, etc.

Evolution by natural selection, that's different :)

I thought Art's manifesto about clay and silicates and how ideas are an entity on their own was very interesting. The way Art always questions Adam's assertions about what makes him better than a machine made me think, because often I would have no answer to Art's pointed questions.

Kritika wrote: "I thought Art's manifesto about clay and silicates and how ideas are an entity on their own was very interesting. The way Art always questions Adam's assertions about what makes him better than a m..."

I find that true too. I too would think about Art's questions and wonder what my answers would be. I didn't know. I would read what Adam's answers were and I started to realize he was grasping straws.

Angie wrote: "What do you think of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Do you know of any AI today that is amazing that you can share with us? Which do you think pushes the boundaries of our ideas of ethics and moral..."

Honestly, I think this book made me realize how stunted my own brain is. I don't think philosophically about this sort of thing generally and if I do, it's not with the brilliance found in Genesis.

But to answer part of your question, I do think that ethics and morality are pushed more with genetic manipulation (that could be extrapolated from artificial fertility treatment programs) than artificial intelligence, at least in the Western Judeo-Christian world. Like Adam, we can believe that we, as humans, have a soul and artificial intelligence does not. Thus, artificial intelligence can be seen as an "other" and thus not bound by the same ethical code (though the existence of a "soul" is tentative as Art shows). But does a human clone have a soul? It is made of the same stuff as any other human, but it is made in a lab.

Anyway, like Adam, I am grasping like straws, but I still believe that genetic manipulation pushes our boundaries further.

Kim wrote: "Angie wrote: "What do you think of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Do you know of any AI today that is amazing that you can share with us? Which do you think pushes the boundaries of our ideas of et..."

I love your first comment about being stunned. I too feel that I don't totally think this way. Have you seen the discussions on Beckett's blog? I try to read through them and understand and form an opinion that is smart and witty, but alas I just don't think this way.

Angie wrote: "Kim wrote: "Angie wrote: "What do you think of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Do you know of any AI today that is amazing that you can share with us? Which do you think pushes the boundaries of our..."

I'll admit that I haven't seen the discussions on his blog. He's way too smart for me!