Boom or Doom‪?‬

A novel philosophical and psychological examination of the strengths and risks of the new AI.

The new AI models are already raising difficult questions about knowledge, mind, agency, values, creativity, and regulations to shape future developments. These questions are deeply philosophical, dependent on general and normative issues concerning the nature of thought, reasoning, morals, art, and politics. In Boom or Doom?, Paul Thagard offers an intensive investigation of the social, scientific, technological, and humanistic consequences of recent developments in AI.

The book features:

Principled investigation of the prospects of the new AI for achieving knowledge and intelligence, considering recent developments such as chain-of-thought reasoningAppraisal of general intelligence and superintelligence based on a comprehensive theory of the features and mechanisms of intelligenceAssessment of the emerging “agentic” AI and robotic applications of AIReview of areas in which AI can produce human benefits, and of areas of great riskEvaluation of the most plausible causal scenarios that could lead to human subordination or extinctionApplication of a new theory of government regulation to artificial intelligence
A broad and rigorous guide to the questions about morality and knowledge raised by AI, Boom or Doom? is essential reading for anyone who wants to go beyond doomsday hyperbole and exaggerated glorification of our newest technology.