Superhuman

The question driving artificial intelligence (AI) research has shifted. No longer do we ask whether machines can be intelligent, but whether they can match us, or surpass us entirely. And with that question returns an older, deeper fear: the fear of being surpassed.

superhuman (adj.) That which transcends the possibilities and limits of human nature.

transcend (v.) To exceed or go beyond the limits of. To surpass.

After The Shortcut and Machina Sapiens, this is the third episode in a compelling series of books on the new era of thinking machines by Nello Cristianini. AI is now reaching human performance levels in many of the cognitive tasks in which we excel. But what will happen next? Are we entering an era in which machines will be able to understand things that are incomprehensible to us?

No intelligence is unlimited, not even ours, so we ask ourselves: what lies beyond human limits? But while we invest huge amounts of money in building a machine capable of competing with us, we refuse to accept that this is possible. We both desire and fear that encounter.

In this new, visionary book, we will see AI successfully pass extremely difficult tests, right up to the final test, in which they will tackle areas that are impenetrable even for our best experts. Will we be able to understand what lies beyond the limits of our intelligence?