Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality
"What happens when a religious studies scholar enters the digital dream worlds of Artificial Intelligence? Robert Geraci shows us deities and devils in the details of some of the most ambitious predictions about our computational future. His cyberspace odyssey reveals that the transcendent aspirations of transhumanists are rooted in the earth of human history and culture."--Stefan Helmreich, author ofSilicon Second Nature: Culturing Artificial Life in a Digital World"In this book Robert Geraci highlights how the apocalyptic world view found in Western religions today also appears in the unlikely fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Clearly written, rooted in extensive interviews, this book provides new insights into what motivates scientists to try to create computers with human traits and capacities."--Noreen Herzfeld, author ofIn Our Image:  Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit"Robert Geraci's thoughtful examination of technology-based quests for transcendence offers a serious look at apocalyptic scenarios that, while remaining for now in the realm of science fiction, nonetheless claim significant cultural influence.  I don't know when we will see robots with human-like intelligence, but our longing for them, and what that says about us, is what Geraci's book helps us understand.--David S. Touretzky, Research Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University