2084 and the AI Revolution, Updated and Expanded Edition

Book Description

Will technology change what it means to be human?

You don't have to be a computer scientist to have discerning conversations about artificial intelligence and technology. We all wonder where we're headed. Even now, technological innovations and machine learning have a daily impact on our lives, and many of us see good reasons to dread the future. Are we doomed to the surveillance society imagined in George Orwell's 1984?

Mathematician and philosopher John Lennox believes that there are credible responses to the daunting questions that AI poses, and he shows that Christianity has some very serious, sensible, evidence-based things to say about the nature of our quest for superintelligence.

This newly updated and expanded edition of 2084 will introduce you to a kaleidoscope of ideas:

• Key recent developments in technological enhancement, bioengineering, and, in particular, artificial intelligence.
• Consideration of the nature of AI systems with insights from neuroscience.
• The way AI is changing how we communicate, implications for medicine, manufacturing and the military, its use in advertising and automobiles, and education and the future of work.
• How data is used today for surveillance, thought control.
• The rise of virtual reality and the metaverse.
• The transhumanist agenda and longtermism.
• The agreements and disagreements that scientists and experts have about the future of AI.
• The urgent need for regulation and control in light of the development of large language transformers like CHATGPT.
• Key insights from Scripture about the nature of human beings, the soul, our moral sense, our future, and what separates us from machines.

In straight-forward, accessible language, you will get a better understanding of the current capacity of AI, its potential benefits and dangers, the facts and the fiction, as well as possible future implications.

Since the questions posed by AI, daunting as they might be, affect most of us, they demand answers. 2084 and the AI Revolution, Updated and Expanded Edition has been written to challenge and ignite the curiosity of all readers. Whatever your worldview, Lennox provides clear information and credible answers that will bring you real hope for the future of humanity.

Author

John C. Lennox (MA MMath. MA (Bioethics) PhD, DPhil, DSc, FISSR) is Professor of Mathematics (Emeritus) at the University of Oxford and (Emeritus) Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He is author of a number of books on the interface between science, philosophy, and theology, including, God and Stephen Hawking, Determined to Believe, Can Science Explain Everything? and Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix? Prof. Lennox is a widely recognized public intellectual who has engaged in numerous debates with public figures such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Ruse, and Peter Atkins on questions at the interface of science, philosophy, and religion.

Endorsements

"If you plan to read one book on AI, this should be it. If you intend to read many books on AI, this should be the first. John Lennox provides a broad foundation encompassing the basics, dangers, corporate and individual players, large language models versus machine learning versus human surveillance, economics, ethics, and how all these interface with a biblical worldview. It's all here in a delightfully readable format for the layperson or the casual user of AI."
--James Tour, professor of chemistry, nanoengineering, and computer science, Rice University

"Another brilliant book by John Lennox, who strikes the right balance between the benefits and dangers of AI. He will show you the Source of all intelligence, and where you can find him before it's too late."
--Frank Turek, author and speaker

"What does AI know? What does AI hope for? And what is AI going to do? Sam Altman doesn't have the answer; John Lennox does."
--Perry Marshall, author, Evolution 2.0: Breaking the Deadlock between Darwin and Design

"John Lennox offers the most up-to-date information about how AI influences our jobs, our relationships, and our bodies. This expanded edition of 2084 is both deep and eminently readable, with important discussion questions for groups at the end of each chapter. Anyone who cares about the future of humanity should read this book."
--Elaine Howard Ecklund, author, Why Science and Faith Need Each Other; Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Rice University

"AI, the metaverse, transhumanism--no matter how much you think you know about those things, John Lennox's magisterial and exhaustively researched survey of future tech will explode your dataset!"
--Douglas Estes, author, SimChurch and Braving the Future; associate professor of religion, New College of Florida

"This revised edition of 2084 is a real tour de force, bringing together with unparalleled clarity, wisdom, and compassion a public understanding of AI technological foundations, ethics, and the AI-human relationship. Renowned scholar and Christian apologist John Lennox is a lighthouse for navigating complex technological advancements with spiritual depth that inspires us to reflect on what it means to be human now and for the future of our grandchildren."
--Dr. Michael Barrett, vice dean and professor of information systems and innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School and fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge

Additional Information

Cover: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 384
Publisher: Zondervan Books
Publication Date: November 26, 2024