Kindle Edition Amazon Tony Thorne MBE Category:  Science Publisher: Etcetera Press ISBN-10:  1508506957 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 190 Copyright: Feb 16, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781508506959 Price: $2.99 (eBook) The New Intelligent Lifeform revolution is only a few years away now. It will change everyone's way of life..forever! This book, now also on its second reprinting in China, explains why...you must read it!  Artificial (General) Intelligence, or AGI will be with us soon and will change our way of life completely. It will follow on from the impressive Smart Devices we have today. Even more incredible developments are coming, and then more and more again, leading exponentially to AGI and computer self-awareness… the Singularity. Many experts believe this will happen in less than nine years from now, leading to robotic machines that are far more intelligent than we are, and able to do any jobs that humans can do… faster and better and for longer. Working 24/24, unlike us, they can each replace up to 3 human workers. Many experts believe they will also have awareness, and will also be able to replicate and develop their “learning” software leading inevitably to ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence).  The runaway consequences that will change our lives, dramatically and nothing will be the same again. Will we be ready for such a devastating event? Can we prevent it happening? This easy to read book, explains what is about to occur and why. It also includes “For and Against” comments and arguments by experts in the field, plus sections describing the latest developments and speculations about what we will experience in the very near future, plus a comprehensive further reading list.   Excerpt At the time of preparing this new edition, the third major advance revealed is a remarkable program named AlphaGo, created by scientists in Google's Deep Mind Division, and about ten years earlier than anyone thought possible, not so long ago. There's more about it in a later section of this book. The latter two machines appear to use the same neural network process the human mind performs, albeit not as accurately or as fast, and without access to such a vast database. Faced with these developments, sceptics prefer to redefine thinking, to limit it to something only humans can do. Then they continue in this denial no matter how many smarter developments are made. Even they will soon realize, though, that the things only humans can do are becoming fewer and fewer every day. Then what? About every year and a half, an interval that is quickly reducing, the power of computer chips doubles. They are also shrinking in size; hence, they require less energy to work even faster. Again, the famous Moore’s Law holds true, and this is expected to continue until chips near the size of molecules and their processing speeds approach that of light itself. There’s still quite a ways to go, but many scientists reckon that in less than another ten years, we will see the first computer brain created equal in ‘computing power’ to ours. Progress is exponential and not linear. It may be difficult for us to appreciate the outcome of something that doubles each time, but we can put it in terms of this imaginary example to help us get a better grasp of the concept. Consider folding over a large, hypothetical sheet of paper. When you do, the resulting thickness will be double that of the original. If you do this again and again and again, in less folds than you might imagine, the resulting thickness will reach about halfway to the moon. Just one more fold will get you all the way there! In this same way, technology is moving in seemingly impossible, ever larger, leaps and bounds. Computer brain power equality will be achieved very quickly in the last couple years of this cycle. Three years before, it will only have about one-eighth of the power required, from only one-sixteenth of it the year before that. In that last remarkable and historical year, it will double again to reach the heights of human brain computing power, but it will be able to operate significantly faster. That is the reality of exponential growth.

5 stars~ Thorough explanation of The Singularity ~ BySilverLinin
The concept of artificial intelligence taking over humanity, or THE Singularity, is not a new idea. Classic science fiction novels, comics, TV, and movies played on the fears of invasions of robots, cyborgs, and other invaders bent to destroy human beings and take over the world. Those who survived fought to maintain control. I grew up wondering if a scenario like The Terminator could really happen, in which a computer and its creation of cyborgs could ever be more than entertainment. Also, could we even stop the progression of taking technology and intelligence to a higher level, that is to a point that we do not have to do anything laborious because computers will do it for us? Tony Thorne's book - ' The Singularity is Coming ' addresses these concerns and beyond with factual detail and personal accounts to the progress artificial intelligence has made. His prediction based on expert forecasts of a disaster greater than global warming and nuclear war. I have read many of his speculative fiction stories, and have awed with his creativity and imagination in crafting a probable society in which we are comfortable with the common use of robots, cyborgs, androids, and other artificial intelligence that was more of a fantasy even 50 years ago. This book takes into account his research in the area and puts it into perspective that is more likely now than it has ever been before. You will enjoy reading in his voice and truly contemplate the future of the singularity.

5 stars A thought-provoking read. by ByRunEatSleep
Literally mind-boggling, this book explores what will become of mankind if we continue our developments of AI or Artificial Intelligence. Is this endless quest for development a good idea? Will the robots pf the future merely be our assistants or will they take over? A good read.