Computer Intelligence

Computer Intelligence (CI) is the combination of computer power and the increasingly sophisticated software which that power makes possible. CI has an ever-increasing impact on human society, the economy, and how we fight wars. Artificial Intelligence is a recent innovation with both an impressive impact and concerns over its dangers, but it is simply a tipping point in the evolution of CI. AI techniques are practical because CI passed a threshold of performance that made its methods computationally feasible. Such breakthroughs have occurred in the past, and will continue at an accelerating pace. CI's growth will continue to impact society, change the nature of our economy, and change warfare, with cyberwarfare the critical battleground.
A core reason for the growing power of computer technology is faster computer processing and more memory. Today, that fundamental trend is being accelerated by options such as cloud computing and specialized chips.
CI also requires invention in the methodology that the software executes. AI techniques such as "machine learning" using "deep neural networks" are an advance in such methodology. Such improvements add power to CI by adding to the things it can do, not just how fast it can do them. AI is instructive in that much of the methodology has been available, but required computer power to get to a tipping point to make methods such as deep neural networks computationally practical. That viewpoint gives insights into what to expect of future breakthroughs.
The book discusses the history, current state, and future of Computer Intelligence. With its growing impact on our lives and society, it behooves us to understand computer intelligence more deeply, both to take full advantage of the technology and to avoid potential dangers. CI will impact us at an increasing rate, and understanding it will help us control its evolution. Meisel explores how Computer Intelligence can be With Us or Against Us.