Life 3.0: Being human in the age of Artificial Intelligence


by Max Tegmark (2017)

This book, in being huge in scope and purpose and in the beautifully constructed nature of the arguments, is reminiscent of a book written by another physicist David Deutsch.    Whilst tackling fundamental theories of the universe, neither author can let go of an argument without tying up all the related explanations into a near perfectly constructed crystal ball, so that even when, as frequently happens, many questions remain unanswered, you feel you know precisely the measure of where humanity is at with the frayed ends.

The book is by turns, vertiginously terrifying, pragmatic and finally almost consoling.  One of the most chilling moments stems from Max's argument about the possibility of intelligent life in the observable universe. His is not a conventional take, but it is worth considering because it is by no means impossible, and if he is right, it places a huge burden upon mankind to get things right if the universe is to retain the qualities of intelligence and consciousness.

This book will be one of those to which one returns on a regular basis, not only to spice up dinner party conversations with astonishing facts, such what happens when you apply e = mc² to extracting energy from a breakfast biscuit, but more meaningfully because it progresses the argument in so many essential fields such as ethics, the nature of consciousness and the emergent and evolving nature of goals.

Overall, "Life 3.0" is a must read simply because this book and the related initiative is likely to prove hugely important in the future of the universe.  On that basis alone, quite apart from the elegance of the writing and the scope of the arguments, you have to rate it a 10.

Rating: 10/10






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