EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga – Tech Journal

Are you interested by AI? Do you get pleasure from science fiction? Do you might have an opinion about how AI will impression the human species? Are you captivated with it or nervous about it? Or do you assume you realize the reply?

Dave Jilk (my first enterprise accomplice and one in all my closest associates) not too long ago printed EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga.

When Dave described the concept for the e book he was engaged on throughout a protracted 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 this moment, however Dave had been doing analysis in that area for round a decade. After we talked about AI, our discussions often revolved round features of AGI. I used to be primarily in listening and questioning mode since Dave’s data and ideas shortly went past my understanding of – properly – all of it.

Dave might have taken his deep understanding of AI, expertise on the whole, 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 will 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 put in writing a poem—a really lengthy poem—an epic poem about AITHER, the primary totally human-level synthetic common intelligence. It’s a memoir by AITHER, fully from AITHER’s viewpoint. As the primary human-level AGI, AITHER muses extensively about id and objective, 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. Should you like album-length soundtracks, Dave subsetted a soundtrack for the wireheading scene.

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

“These should 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 ingredient of the e book, and are referred to 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 numerous work, however it’s completely value it.”

In order for you extra of the backstory, have a look at the EPOCH web site.

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