Great Philosophical Objections to Artificial Intelligence

An entertaining introduction to the clashes between philosophy and AI over the last 70 years, from claims and counter-claims about the ability to implement consciousness, to arguments about cognitive architecture and ChatGPT.

Now updated to include the latest developments in AI, this is an exploration of the most famous philosophical arguments against building a machine with human-level intelligence. The arguments are organised into four central AI wars, showing how the debate played out between the philosophers, AI scientists, and engineers building AI systems.

Here is your guide to the major philosophical questions and attacks AI has received throughout its history. Packed with fresh insights and supporting material, this second edition features new content on:

• Language Learning Models (LLMs) and the existence of generative AI
• Sustainable AI and its ability to regulate our climate
• The theoretical, ethical and legislative issues around ‘computational creativity’
• The uncanny valley effect and its potential consequences for AI

Are we on the brink of a new AI War? This introduction is for anyone looking to understand the debates that have shaped the philosophy of AI and the arguments that will define its future. It shows us what AI has been doing since its invention in the 1950s—pointing us back, repeatedly, to the philosophical questions humans have always faced: questions about knowledge, meaning, and how we should behave toward each other and towards the rest of the world.