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All Rights Reserved.</div> <header id="header" class="clearfix" role="banner">  <div id="branding" class="branding-elements clearfix"> <div id="logo"> <a href="/"><img class="site-logo" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/edge_logo.jpg" alt="Edge.org" /></a> </div>  <hgroup class="element-invisible h-group" id="name-and-slogan"> <strong class="element-invisible" id="site-name"><a href="/" title="Home page">Edge.org</a></strong> </hgroup> </div>  <div class="region region-header"><div class="region-inner clearfix"><div id="block-block-8" class="block block-block no-title odd first block-count-1 block-region-header block-8"> <div class="content" class="block-content content"> <div style="clear: right; float:right; width: 330px;"> <script> (function() { var cx = '012042634644280309647:jygomqbx65u'; var gcse = document.createElement('script'); gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; gcse.async = true; gcse.src = (document.location.protocol == 'https:' ? 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Intellectual skyrockets of stunning brilliance. Nobody in the world is doing what <em>Edge</em> is doing...the greatest virtual research university in the world</strong>.<strong>"</strong> —Denis Dutton, Founding Editor, <em>Arts & Letters Daily</em></p> <p class="rtecenter"><em>_________________________________________________________________</em><br /><strong>Dedicated to the memory of <a href="http://edge.org/conversation/frank-schirrmacher-1959-2014" target="_blank">Frank Schirrmacher (1959-2014)</a>.</strong><br /><em>_________________________________________________________________</em></p> <div>In recent years, the 1980s-era philosophical discussions about artificial intelligence (AI)—whether computers can "really" think, refer, be conscious, and so on—have led to new conversations about how we should deal with the forms that many argue actually are implemented. These "AIs," if they achieve "Superintelligence" (Nick Bostrom), could pose "existential risks" that lead to "Our Final Hour" (Martin Rees). And Stephen Hawking recently made international headlines when he noted "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." </div> <div> </div> <p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size:24px;"><strong>THE <em>EDGE </em>QUESTION—2015 <br /> WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MACHINES THAT THINK?</strong></span></p> <p>But wait! Should we also ask what machines that think, or, "AIs", might be thinking about? Do they want, do they expect civil rights? Do they have feelings? What kind of government (for us) would an AI choose? What kind of society would they want to structure for themselves? Or is "their" society "our" society? Will we, and the AIs, include each other within our respective circles of empathy?</p> <p>Numerous<em> </em>Edgies<em> </em>have been at the forefront of the science behind the various flavors of AI, either in their research or writings. AI was front and center in conversations between charter members Pamela McCorduck (<em>Machines Who Think</em>) and Isaac Asimov (<em>Machines That Think</em>) at our initial meetings in 1980. And the conversation has continued unabated, as is evident in the recent <em>Edge</em> feature <a href="http://edge.org/conversation/the-myth-of-ai" target="_blank">"The Myth of AI,"</a> a conversation with Jaron Lanier, that evoked rich and provocative commentaries.</p> <p>Is AI becoming increasingly real? Are we now in a new era of the "AIs"? To consider this issue, it's time to grow up. Enough already with the science fiction and the movies, <em>Star Maker</em>, <em>Blade Runner</em>, <em>2001</em>, <em>Her</em>, <em>The Matrix</em>, "The Borg." Also, 80 years after Turing's invention of his Universal Machine, it's time to honor Turing, and other AI pioneers, by giving them a well-deserved rest. We know the history. (See George Dyson's 2004 <em>Edge</em> feature <a href="http://edge.org/conversation/turing-39s-cathedral" target="_blank">"Turing's Cathedral."</a>) So, once again, this time with rigor, the <em>Edge</em> Question—2015:</p> <p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size:24px;"><strong>WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MACHINES THAT THINK?</strong></span></p> <p><a href="http://edge.org/memberbio/john_Brockman" target="_blank">John Brockman</a><br /> Publisher & Editor, <em>Edge</em></p> <p></p> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="max-width: 640px;"><tbody><tr><td width="50%"> <div style="max-width: 175px; float: right;"> <center class="rtecenter"><strong><a href="https://www.edge.org/contributors/q2015" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/q2012/images/contributors.gif" style="float:right" /></a></strong></center> </div> </td> <td width="50%"> <div style="max-width: 175px; float: left;"> <center class="rtecenter"><strong><a href="https://www.edge.org/responses/q2015" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/q2012/images/responses.gif" /></a></strong></center> </div> </td> </tr></tbody></table><p class="rtecenter"> "<a href="http://edge.org/contributors/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">Contributors"</a>: links to a printable/shareable page of 186 individual responses<br /><a href="http://edge.org/responses/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">"View All"</a>: link to printable/shareable <span text-align:="">131,500 words </span>manuscript of all responses </p> <p>[186 Responses:] Pamela McCorduck<em>, </em>George Church, James J. O'Donnell, Carlo Rovelli, Nick Bostrom, Daniel C. Dennett, Donald Hoffman, Roger Schank, Mark Pagel, Frank Wilczek, Robert Provine, Susan Blackmore, Haim Harari, Andy Clark, William Poundstone, Peter Norvig, Rodney Brooks, Jonathan Gottschall, Arnold Trehub, Giulio Boccaletti, Michael Shermer, Chris DiBona, Aubrey De Grey, Juan Enriquez, Satyajit Das, Quentin Hardy, Clifford Pickover, Nicholas Humphrey, Ross Anderson, Paul Saffo, Eric J. Topol, M.D., Dylan Evans, Roger Highfield, Gordon Kane, Melanie Swan, Richard Nisbett, Lee Smolin, Scott Atran, Stanislas Dehaene, Stephen Kosslyn, Emanuel Derman, Richard Thaler, Alison Gopnik, Ernst Pöppel, Luca De Biase, Maraget Levi, Terrence Sejnowski, Thomas Metzinger, D.A. Wallach, Leo Chalupa, Bruce Sterling, Kevin Kelly, Martin Seligman, Keith Devlin, S. Abbas Raza, Neil Gershenfeld, Daniel Everett, Douglas Coupland, Joshua Bongard, Ziyad Marar, Thomas Bass, Frank Tipler, Mario Livio, Marti Hearst, Randolph Nesse, Alex (Sandy) Pentland, Samuel Arbesman, Gerald Smallberg, John Mather, Ursula Martin, Kurt Gray, Gerd Gigerenzer, Kevin Slavin, Nicholas Carr, Timo Hannay, Kai Krause, Alun Anderson, Seth Lloyd, Mary Catherine Bateson, Steve Fuller, Virginia Heffernan, Barbara Strauch, Sean Carroll, Sheizaf Rafaeli, Edward Slingerland, Nicholas Christakis, Joichi Ito, David Christian, George Dyson, Paul Davies, Douglas Rushkoff, Tim O'Reilly, Irene Pepperberg, Helen Fisher, Stuart A. Kauffman, Stuart Russell, Tomaso Poggio, Robert Sapolsky, Maria Popova, Martin Rees, Lawrence M. Krauss, Jessica Tracy & Kristin Laurin, Roy Baumeister, Paul Dolan, Kate Jefferey, June Gruber & Raul Saucedo, Bruce Schneier, Rebecca MacKinnon, Antony Garrett Lisi, Thomas Dietterich, John Markoff, Matthew Lieberman, Dimitar Sasselov, Michael Vassar, Gregory Paul, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Andrian Kreye, Andrés Roemer, N.J. Enfield, Rolf Dobelli, Nina Jablonski, Marcelo Gleiser, Gary Klein, Tor Nørretranders, David Gelernter, Cesar Hidalgo, Gary Marcus, Sam Harris, Molly Crockett, Abigail Marsh, Alexander Wissner-Gross, Koo Jeong-A, Sarah Demers, Richard Foreman, Julia Clarke, Georg Diez, Jaan Tallinn, Michael McCullough, Hans Halvorson, Kevin Hand, Christine Finn, Tom Griffiths, Dirk Helbing, Brian Knutson, John Tooby, Maximilian Schich, Athena Vouloumanos, Brian Christian, Timothy Taylor, Bruce Parker, Benjamin Bergen, Laurence Smith, Ian Bogost, W. Tecumseh Fitch, Michael Norton, Scott Draves, Gregory Benford, Chris Anderson, Matthew Ritchie, Raphael Bousso, Christopher Chabris, James Croak, Beatrice Golomb, Moshe Hoffman, John Naughton, Matt Ridley, Eduardo Salcedo-Albaran, Eldar Shafir, Maria Spiropulu, Noga Arikha, Rory Sutherland, Tania Lombrozo, Bart Kosko, Joscha Bach, Esther Dyson, Anthony Aguirre, Steve Omohundro, Murray Shanahan, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Steven Pinker, Max Tegmark, Jon Kleinberg & Senhil Mullainathan, Freeman Dyson, Brian Eno, W. Daniel Hillis, Demis Hassabis & Shane Legg & Mustafa Suleyman, Katinka Matson</p> <hr /><center><strong><a href="http://edge.org/inthenews/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">Read About The 2015 <em>Edge</em> Question</a></strong><br /><a href="http://edge.org/inthenews/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think"><img alt="News" src="https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/q2015/QuestionMosiac.jpg" style="width: 630px; height: 355px;" /></a> <hr /></center> <div> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/images/uvm.png" style="line-height: 18.9090900421143px; width: 373px; height: 84px;" /></p> <p><strong>UVM robotics expert contributes essay to world-famous Edge conversation</strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=news&storyID=20113&category=ucommtop" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 28px;"><span class="s1">What Do You Think About Machines That Think?</span></span></a></strong></p> <p>By Joshua E. Brown 1-28-2015</p> <p> <img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/images/bongarduvm.png" style="width: 423px; height: 304px;" /></p> <p> John Brockman's <a href="http://edge.org/" title="edge.org">Edge Question</a> is a major event in the intellectual calendar each year — its roots go back to talks he had with Isaac Asimov and others in 1980. This year's question, "What do you think about machines that think?" drew essays from Daniel C. Dennett, Nicholas Carr, Steven Pinker, Freeman Dyson, George Church and nearly two hundred other luminaries and Nobel Prize winners.</p> <p>UVM computer scientist and robotics expert <a href="http://www.cs.uvm.edu/~jbongard/" title="Bongard lab">Joshua Bongard</a> was asked to weigh in, too. ...</p> <p>...[R]ead the whole essay. It’s online now and will appear in a printed book as each of the Edge questions — like “What will change everything?” (2009) and “What is your dangerous idea?” (2006) — has for the last decade.</p> <hr /><p><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/images/wiredNEW.png" style="line-height: 18.9090900421143px; width: 169px; height: 37px;" /><br /><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/images/wiredscienceblogs.png" style="line-height:18.9090900421143px;width:336px;height:70px;" /><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/01/naches-machines/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size:28px;">"Naches" from our Machines</span></strong></a></p> <p>By <a href="http://edge.org/memberbio/samuel_arbesman" target="_blank">Samuel Arbesman</a> 1.29.15</p> <p><img alt="" src="/images/naches.png" style="line-height: 18.9090900421143px; width: 400px; height: 223px;" /></p> <p> This year’s <a href="http://edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">Edge question</a> is “<a href="http://edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">What do you think about machines that think?</a>” My<a href="http://edge.org/response-detail/26117">response</a> is less about their likelihood and more about how we should respond, as a society, if this ever comes to pass. Specifically, it involves <a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/naches.html">naches</a>, the Yiddish term for pride and joy...</p> <p>Read the rest <a href="http://edge.org/response-detail/26117">here</a>.</p> <hr /><p><a id="NPR" name="NPR"></a><br /><img alt="" src="/images/nprlogo.gif" style="line-height: 13.8666658401489px;" /><br /><img alt="" src="/images/branding.jpg" style="line-height: 13.8666658401489px;" /><br /><a href="https://edge.org/memberbio/tania_lombrozo" target="_blank">Tania Lombrozo</a></p> <p><img alt="" src="/images/brain.npr.jpg" /></p> <p>Thinking machines are consistently in the news these days, and often a topic of discussion here at <em>13.7</em>. Last week, Alva Noë came out as a <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2015/01/23/379322864/the-ethics-of-the-singularity">singularity skeptic</a>, and three of us contributed to <a href="http://edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">Edge.org's annual question</a> for 2015: What do you think about machines that think?</p> <p>In response to the Edge.org question, I argued that <a href="http://edge.org/response-detail/26213">we shouldn't be chauvinists when it comes to defining thinking</a> — that is, we should resist the temptation to restrict what counts as thinking to "thinking like adult humans" or "thinking like contemporary computers." Marcelo Gleiser suggested that <a href="http://edge.org/response-detail/26171">we're already living as transhumans</a>, enhanced by our technogadgets and medical improvements. And Stuart Kauffman considered <a href="http://edge.org/response-detail/26156">Turing machines, the quantum and human choice</a>.</p> <p>In addressing the relationship between humans and thinking machines, all three of our responses — and those by many others — raised questions about what (if anything) makes us uniquely human. Part of what's fascinating about the idea of <em>thinking</em> machines, after all, is that they seem to approach and encroach on a uniquely human niche, <em>homo sapiens</em> — the wise.</p> <hr /><p class="p1"><a id="lanacion" name="lanacion"></a><br /><img alt="" src="/images/lanacion300.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 58px;" /><br /><span class="notranslate" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Domingo 25, de enero do 2015 | lanacion.com (Buenos Aires)</span></p> <h1 class="p1"><img alt="" src="https://www.edge.org/images/lanacionQ2015.png" style="line-height: 18.9090900421143px; width: 400px; height: 193px;" /><br style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;" /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:28px;"><span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)"><a href="http://bit.ly/1El35Ag" target="new">What do you think about machines think?</a></span></span></strong></h1> <p itemprop="description"><strong><span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)">More than 180 scientists, philosophers, writers and technicians responded to the annual call Edge.org website with original reflections on the scope, risks and possibilities of artificial intelligence, a field-edge science that is already bringing the future to present</span></strong></p> <p><span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)">Artificial intelligence, is one of the most promising developments of modern science, or risk to humanity?</span> <span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)">Between these two poles, with irony, optimism and caution, the 186 scientists, writers and thinkers convened this year by Edge.org-a website associated with a publisher that promotes thinking and discussion of the art in science, arts and moved literature- to meet its annual question.</span> <span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)">The collaborators wrote brief essays available on the web ( <a href="https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.edge.org/&usg=ALkJrhh6ABkJnlPcWBjDYMYLSjThay2TJA" target="_blank">www.edge.org</a> ) and, like every year, will soon have its publication on paper.</span> <span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)">Here a selection of their responses.</span></p> <p><span onmouseout="_tipoff()" onmouseover="_tipon(this)"><strong>Pamela McCorduck, Steven Pinker, Irene Pepperberg, Thomas A. Bass, Paul Davies, Nicholas G. Carr.</strong></span></p> <p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="/images/lanacionQ15.png" style="line-height: 18.9090900421143px; text-align: center; width: 300px; height: 416px;" /></p> <p> <a id="calcalist" name="calcalist"></a></p> <hr /><h1 class="p1"><img alt="" src="/images/calcalist.png" style="width: 294px; height: 56px;" /></h1> <h1 class="p1"><span style="font-size:28px;"><span class="s1"><a href="http://bit.ly/1wqwIYa" target="_blank">I</a></span><a href="http://bit.ly/1wqwIYa" target="_blank"><span class="s1">s Your Computer About To Become The Enemy?</span></a></span></h1> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">By Sheizaf Rafaeli 22:01:15, 07:14</span></p> <p class="p2"><strong>180 intellectuals responded to this Edge annual question - "What do you think about computers that think?" Soon this question may become an issue for all of us</strong></p> <p class="p2">"What do you think about computers that think?" The question for 2015 on the prestigious Edge.org site. Each year the site gives the same question to more than 180 intellectuals and publishes their answers in one sequence, later published as a thick book. Respondents ranged from columnists in <em>The New York Times, </em>Nobel Prize winners, best-selling authors, and heroes of the technology world, many of them close friends of the site's colorful editor, literary agent John Brockman. Previously published questions: "What scientific concept has to retire?", "What tools will improve everyone's thinking?" and "What should we be worried about? ". This year, as mentioned, Brockman called 180 intellectuals to express an opinion on the question Hawking has been talking about. And Disclosure: I was delighted to receive an invitation to participate this year in most of this dialogue, and my response, ordered to be short - even short of this column - for the annual anthology published. </p> <p>Several respondents, including the writer <strong>Pamela McCorduck</strong>, Italian physicist <strong>Carlo Rovelli</strong>, Professor <strong>Margaret Levi </strong>of Stanford University and the Israel Prize laureate and former president of the Weizmann Institute <strong>Haim Harari</strong>, refer to machines that think as inevitable, and in large measure daily. Interest in human responsibility and proper management like any other field, and material nightmares. More than the machines thinking like people, I am concerned about people who think like machines, writes Harari.</p> <p>Others relate to the very dismissive forecast: Vice President for Research of the George Washington University, Neurobiologist, <strong>Leo Chalupa</strong> doubts machines will be capable of abstract thought. Science fiction writer <strong>Bruce Sterling </strong>writes that computers may be major players in the future, but the script will never write people. They further emphasize emotion and will remain forever confined to human beings.</p> <hr /><h1 class="p1"><img alt="" src="/images/wsjlogo.gif" style="width: 348px; height: 31px;" /></h1> <p class="p1"><strong><span style="font-size:28px;"><a href="http://on.wsj.com/1wqoGyu" target="_blank"><span class="s1">What a Child Can Teach a Smart Computer</span></a></span></strong></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">By <a href="https://edge.org/memberbio/alison_gopnik" target="_blank">Alison Gopnik</a> Jan. 22, 2015 </span></p> <h2 class="p2"><img alt="" src="/images/wsjgopnik.png" style="width: 400px; height: 255px;" /></h2> <p class="p2">Every January the intellectual impresario and literary agent John Brockman (who represents me, I should disclose) asks a large group of thinkers a single question on his website, edge.org. This year it is: <a href="http://edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think" target="_blank">“What do you think about machines that think?”</a> There are lots of interesting answers, ranging from the skeptical to the apocalyptic.</p> <p>I’m not sure that asking whether machines can think is the right question, though. As someone once said, it’s like asking whether submarines can swim. But we can ask whether machines can learn, and especially, whether they can learn as well as 3-year-olds. ...</p> <hr /><h1 class="p1"><img alt="" src="/images/BB15.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:28px;"><a href="https://boingboing.net/2015/01/21/very-big-thinkers-ponder-wh.html" target="_blank"><span class="s1">Very big thinkers ponder: "What do you think about machines that think?"</span></a></span></h1> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">By <a href="https://boingboing.net/author/david_pescovitz"><span class="s2">David Pescovitz</span></a> at 6:40 am Wed, Jan 21, 2015</span></p> <p><span class="s1"><img alt="" src="/images/drum.jpg" style="width: 301px; height: 301px;" /></span></p> <p> <span>Over at BB pal John Brockman's Edge.org, nearly 200 very smart people, like <strong>Daniel C. Dennett, Brian Eno, Alison Gopnik, Nina Jablonski, Peter Norvig, and Rodney Brooks,</strong> ponder the EDGE Annual Question of 2015: <a href="http://edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">What do you think about machines that think?</a> </span></p> <hr /><p class="rtecenter"> <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/" name="nova" target="_blank" id="nova"><img alt="" src="/images/ilsolelogo300.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="/images/nova2015.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 201px;" /></a></p> <p></p><center> <p class="p1">This week's <em>Nova</em> magazine features contributions from<br /><strong><a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/frank-tipler-lintelligenza-artificiale-ci-salvera-tutti" target="_blank">Frank Tipler</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/paul-saffo-che-ruolo-resta-per-luomo" target="_blank">Paul Saffo</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/tomaso-poggio-una-pietra-miliare-per-il-pensiero-umano" target="_blank">Tomaso Poggio</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/nicholas-carr-le-macchine-pensano-come-macchine" target="_blank">Nicholas Carr</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/kevin-kelly-chiamateli-alieni-artificiali" target="_blank">Kevin Kelly</a>, <br /><a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/juan-enriquez-potremmo-costruire-una-coscienza-distinta" target="_blank">Juan Enriquez</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/juan-enriquez-potremmo-costruire-una-coscienza-distinta" target="_blank">Peter Norvig</a>,<a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/joichi-ito-dobbiamo-ridefinire-le-relazione-con-quello-che-ci-circonda" target="_blank"> Jochi Ito</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/giulio-boccaletti-aumentare-la-capacita-cognitiva-delluomo" target="_blank">Julio Boccaletti</a>, <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/carlo-rovelli-altre-creature-naturali-di-un-mondo-naturale" target="_blank">Carlo Rovelli</a>,<br /><a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/douglas-coupland-capiamo-cose-lessenza-delluomo" target="_blank">Douglas Coupland</a>, and <a href="http://nova.ilsole24ore.com/frontiere/haim-harari-il-timore-di-uomini-che-pensano-come-macchine" target="_blank">Haim Harari</a></strong></p> <p></p></center> <hr /><div class="rteleft"> <p><a id="em" name="em"></a><span style="font-weight: 700; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: freight-sans-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 1.6;">"Another year, and some of the most important thinkers and scientists of the world have accepted the intellectual challenge." </span><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">—El Mundo</em><br /><img alt="" src="/images/elmundologo.jpg" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br /> EL MUNDO. DOMINGO 18 DE ENERO DE 2015</p> </div> <div> <div align="center"> <div> <div align="left"> <h1 class="p1"><a href="http://www.elmundo.es/ciencia/2015/01/18/54babd4b22601dcf6a8b4573.html" target="_blank">THE CHALLENGE OF THINKING MACHINES</a></h1> <p class="p1"> "What do you think about machines think?" This is the annual question that the digital magazine <em>Edge </em>launches every year around this time, and which it presents to some of the brightest minds on the planet. Just over a month ago, in early December, Stephen Hawking warned of the potentially apocalyptic consequences of artificial intelligence, which in his opinion could eventually lead to "the end of the human species". But really, should we fear the danger of a future army of humanoids out of control? Or rather we should celebrate the extraordinary opportunities that could give us the development of thinking machines, and even sentient beings? Do such beings along with ourselves pose new ethical dilemmas? Would they be part of our "society"? Should we grant them civil rights? Would we feel empathy for them? Another year, and some of the most important thinkers and scientists of the world have accepted the intellectual challenge posed by the editor of <em>Edge</em>, John Brockman. This is just a selection of some of the most interesting responses.</p> <p class="p2"><strong><span>Nick Bostrom, Daniel C. Dennett, Frank Wilczek, Steven Pinker</span></strong></p> <p class="p2"><img alt="" src="/images/elmundo2015.501.jpg" style="text-align: center; width: 391px; height: 500px;" /></p> </div> <div class="rtecenter"> <hr /><p class="rteleft"><a id="sz" name="sz"></a><br /><img src="https://www.edge.org/q2014/images/SZ.gif" style="font-size: 12px; width: 351px; height: 41px;" /></p> </div> <div align="left"> <div class="rteleft"><strong>SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG</strong></div> <div class="rteleft">FEUILLETON</div> <p class="rteleft"><span style="font-size: 28px;"><strong>Was denken Sie über Maschinen, die denken?</strong></span><br /><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;">Nr. 12, Freitag 16, Januar 16 </span></p> <p class="rteleft">Once a year, the literary agent John Brockman presents a question to scientists on the website edge.org.. This year it's about artificial intelligence. Here is a selection of responses [three parts on <em>Süddeutsche.de</em> online): </p> <p class="rteleft"><strong>Responses by David Gelernter, Peter Norvig and Douglas Coupland, </strong><strong>Alison Gopnik, Brian Eno and Daniel L. Everett, </strong><strong>Seth Lloyd, Thomas Metsinger, Susan Blackmore</strong></p> <p class="rteleft"><img alt="" src="/images/sz2015.500.png" style="font-size: 12.7272720336914px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px; text-align: center;" /></p> <p class="rteleft"><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/1yvlRTZ" target="_blank">Part I: David Gelernter, Peter Norvig and Douglas Coupland</a> </strong><span style="font-size: 12.7272720336914px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">Jan 16</span><br /><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/1yvm8Xc" target="new">Part II: Alison Gopnik, Brian Eno and Daniel L. Everett</a> </strong><span style="font-size: 12.7272720336914px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">Jan 17</span><br /><strong><a href="http://bit.ly/1sT2y4F" target="_blank">Part III: Seth Lloyd, Thomas Metzinger, Susan Blackmore</a> </strong><span style="font-size: 12.7272720336914px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">Jan 18</span></p> </div> </div> <hr /><div> <center> <h3><strong><a href="https://www.edge.org/edge-in-the-news" target="_blank">PRAISE FOR <em>EDGE</em></a></strong></h3> <p><img alt="" src="/images/2013question.jpg" /></p> <p></p></center> <p><strong>"Take a look. No matter who you are, you are bound to find something that will drive you crazy." </strong><em>— The New York Times</em></p> <p><strong>"A profound question a treasure trove of ideas...each one is a beautiful and instructive reflection, which encourages thinking and reading."</strong><em>— de Volkskrant</em></p> <p><strong>"...A collection that reads like the best TED talks ever. It's an absolute pleasure to read." (</strong><a href="http://bit.ly/1aF1vXV)" target="_blank">Click for 20-second video</a>) <em>— Fareed Zakaria, GPS, CNN</em></p> <p><strong>"Probably the most useful space at the moment for anyone who wants to peer into the flowering of the most advanced human thought</strong><em>— Vozpopuli</em></p> <p><strong><a href="https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/naughton-observer12/Guardian_Observer.pdf" target="_blank">"The World's Smartest Website; </a><a href="https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/naughton-observer12/Guardian_Observer.pdf" target="_blank">a salon for </a><a href="https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/naughton-observer12/Guardian_Observer.pdf" target="_blank">the world’s finest minds</a>."</strong>— <em>The Guardian</em></p> <p><strong>"I always come back to Edge. In the world of Anglo-Saxon ideas (that still prevail throughout the whole world, or among the elite of the world), there is no smarter guide."</strong>— <em>O Globo</em></p> <p><strong>"Thrilling ... Everything is permitted, and nothing is excluded from this intellectual game."</strong><br /> — <em>Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung</em></p> <p><strong>"We'd certainly be better off if everyone sampled the fabulous Edge symposium which, like the best in science, is modest and daring at once." </strong>— David Brooks, <em>New York Times</em> Column </p> <p><strong>"An epicenter of bleeding-edge insight across science, technology and beyond, hosting conversations with some of our era's greatest thinkers. ...(A) lavish cerebral feast ... one of this year's most significant time-capsules of contemporary thought." </strong>— <em>The Atlantic</em> </p> <p><strong><strong>"</strong>The most stimulating English-language reading to be had from anywhere in the world.</strong>" <em>— The Canberra Times</em></p> <p><strong>"The inquiry becomes an a fascinating experience. The pleasure of intelligence is a renewable source of intellectual energy." </strong>— <em>Il Sole 24 Ore</em></p> <p><strong>"Brilliant, essential and addictive. It interprets, it interrogates, it provokes. Each text can be a world in itself." </strong>— <em>Publico</em></p> <p><strong>"Open-minded, free ranging, intellectually playful ... an unadorned pleasure in curiosity, a collective expression of wonder at the living and inanimate world ... an ongoing and thrilling colloquium."</strong> — Ian McEwan, <em>The Telegraph</em></p> <p><strong>"A kind of thinker that does not exist in Europe.” </strong>— <em>La Stampa</em></p> <p><strong>"Not just wonderful, but plausible." </strong>— <em>Wall Street Journal</em></p> <p><strong>"One of the purest outlets of intellectual thought on the Web." </strong>— <em>Süddeutsche Zeitung</em></p> <p><strong>"Fantastically stimulating...It's like the crack cocaine of the thinking world.... Once you start, you can't stop thinking about that question." </strong>— BBC Radio 4</p> <p><strong>"The brightest minds in the known universe." </strong><em>— Vanity Fair</em></p> <p><strong>(</strong><strong><a href="https://www.edge.org/edge-in-the-news">More: Newsbytes</a>; <a href="https://www.edge.org/news" target="_blank">Links to <em>Edge</em> in the News: Features, Reviews, Articles</a></strong><strong>)</strong></p> <h3 class="rtecenter"><em style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">_________________________________________________________________</em></h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[// ><!]]> </script><script type="text/javascript" src="?&!"></script><script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[// ><!]]> </script><link href="data:image/png;base64,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" rel="SHORTCUT ICON" /><link href="?&|" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /></div></div></div><section class="field field-name-field-weight field-type-weight field-label-above view-mode-full"><h2 class="field-label">Weight: </h2><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">-9</div></div></section> </div> <nav class="clearfix"><ul class="links inline"><li class="print_html first"><a href="/print/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think" title="Display a printer-friendly version of this page." class="print-page" onclick="window.open(this.href); 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WHAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Think-About-Machines-That/dp/006242565X" title="What to Think About Machines That Think" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/Machines_Cover.png" width="424" height="640" alt="What to Think About Machines That Think" title="What to Think About Machines That Think" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2015-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2015</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think">WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MACHINES THAT THINK?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Idea-Must-Die-Scientific/dp/0062374346%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAIUDIBB5W2YOHL3CQ%26tag%3Dedgeorg-20%26l" title="This Idea Must Die" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/This%20Idea%20Must%20ies%20pb%20c.jpg" width="1594" height="2400" alt="This Idea Must Die" title="This Idea Must Die" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2014-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2014</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-scientific-idea-is-ready-for-retirement">WHAT SCIENTIFIC IDEA IS READY FOR RETIREMENT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Should-Worried-About-Scientists/dp/006229623X%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAIUDIBB5W2YOHL3CQ%26tag%3Dedgeorg" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/51r44cx05sL._SL160_.jpg" width="107" height="160" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2013</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-should-we-be-worried-about">WHAT *SHOULD* WE BE WORRIED ABOUT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a 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typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/751_twmys300_3.jpg" width="86" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2011-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2011</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-scientific-concept-would-improve-everybodys-cognitive-toolkit">WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/06vvlq" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/903_internetcov150_1.jpg" width="87" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2010</span> : <a href="/annual-question/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think">HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-10 views-row-even clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/i9KYz2" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/201_ThisWillChangeEverything150_1.jpg" width="88" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2009-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2009</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-will-change-everything">WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-11 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/V5PHnv" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/309_9780061686542_1.jpg" width="86" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2008-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2008</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about-why">WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-12 views-row-even clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/PetcjC" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/605_Cover_Optimism_US_3.jpg" width="87" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2007-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2007</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-are-you-optimistic-about">WHAT ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-13 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/lgOvLg" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/113_Cover_Dangerous_US_3.jpg" width="86" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2006-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2006</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-is-your-dangerous-idea">WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-14 views-row-even clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="http://is.gd/HBj8WL" title="" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/978_Cover_Believe_US_3.jpg" width="87" height="130" alt="" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2005-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2005</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it">WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-15 views-row-odd clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2004-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2004</span> : <a href="/annual-question/whats-your-law">WHAT'S YOUR LAW?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-16 views-row-even clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2003-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2003</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-are-the-pressing-scientific-issues-for-the-nation-and-the-world-and-what-is">WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-17 views-row-odd clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2002-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2002</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-is-your-question-why">WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION? ... WHY?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-18 views-row-even clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2001-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2001</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-now">WHAT NOW?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-19 views-row-odd clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2001-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2001</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-questions-have-disappeared">WHAT QUESTIONS HAVE DISAPPEARED?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-20 views-row-even clearfix"> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2000-01-01T00:00:00-05:00">2000</span> : <a href="/annual-question/what-is-todays-most-important-unreported-story">WHAT IS TODAY'S MOST IMPORTANT UNREPORTED STORY?</a></span> </span> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-21 views-row-odd clearfix"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-us-book-image"> <div class="field-content"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Inventions-Past-000-Years/dp/068485998X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1548955711&sr=8-3&keywords=greate" title="The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years" target="_blank" rel="" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-none" src="https://www.edge.org/sites/default/files/annualimage/bookimage/greatestinventions.jpg" width="308" height="474" alt="The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years" title="The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years" /></a></div> </div> <span class="views-field views-field-nothing book-title"> <span class="field-content"><span class="date-display-single" 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