EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga – Tech Cyber Web

Are you interested by AI? Do you get pleasure from science fiction? Do you could have an opinion about how AI will influence the human species? Are you captivated with it or apprehensive about it? Or do you suppose you recognize the reply?

Dave Jilk (my first enterprise accomplice and one in every of my closest buddies) lately printed EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga.

When Dave described the thought for the e-book he was engaged on throughout an extended hike 4 years in the past up and round Inexperienced Mountain in Boulder, I used to be fascinated with what he had determined to tackle. AI wasn’t entrance of thoughts in the identical manner as right now, however Dave had been doing analysis in that area for round a decade. After we talked about AI, our discussions normally revolved round elements of AGI. I used to be primarily in listening and questioning mode since Dave’s information and ideas shortly went past my understanding of – effectively – all of it.

Dave may have taken his deep understanding of AI, expertise basically, philosophy, and psychology in a number of instructions with an intensive writing challenge. However one more e-book explaining AI or philosophizing (or rhapsodizing) about it could be … boring. And whereas I’m having fun with studying a lot of AI-inspired sci-fi, AI is now a routine trope that’s being woven into extra advanced sci-fi.

So, Dave determined to write down a poem—a really lengthy poem—an epic poem about AITHER, the primary absolutely human-level synthetic normal intelligence. It’s a memoir by AITHER, fully from AITHER’s perspective. As the primary human-level AGI, AITHER muses extensively about id and goal, future selves, the significance of magnificence, the character and ethics of technological progress, cultural affect and hegemony, humanity’s tragic flaws, and existential danger.

There’s additionally a soundtrack as a result of each e-book wants a soundtrack. In the event you like album-length soundtracks, Dave subsetted a soundtrack for the wireheading scene.

However EPOCH is just not merely an epic poem in regards to the first human-level intelligence AGI. It’s stuffed with allusions to books, poems, songs, educational papers, work, and movies. In Dave’s phrases:

“These usually are not merely passing linguistic echoes; usually they join with the purpose made or the subject addressed. As an entire they’re additionally an necessary thematic aspect of the e-book, and are known as “osculations.”

EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga took Dave 4 years to create. I learn the primary half about two years in the past and the finished draft about 9 months in the past. I keep in mind vividly telling Amy, “Studying this e-book is loads of work, however it’s completely price it.”

If you would like extra of the backstory, take a look at the EPOCH web site.

However know that I strongly suggest you purchase a replica of EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga proper now if you’re eager about AI, sci-fi, philosophy, psychology, technological progress, humanity’s tragic flaws, or a unbelievable work-product from 4 years of effort.