Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, AI, is the latest craze among twenty-first century geeks. Max Tegmark nailed it in his new, dynamic book, Life 3.0. The book tends to lean to the new-wave college-graduate scene. Tegmark begins by putting 3.0 into perspective. He executes this sense of order by establishing Life 1.0 and Life 2.0 before orchestrating Life 3.0. He even makes a case for three stages of life apart from AI concerns.

He starts his audacious arguments by defining intelligence and memory. Tegmark shows how intelligence and memory support learning, among other things. Even though Tegmark provides a light tone to deep concerns, he surprises us with intriguing insight. The author is a powerful writer and deep thinker despite his gentle touch on increasingly curious avenues in science. With a professorship at MIT, he stands as an intellectual giant.

He is the new kid on the block, with only one other book, Our Mathematical Universe. Yet that book, together with Life 3.0, promises to launch him further into the limelight. This is the kind of book the general reader can easily absorb yet in it find the sort of intellectual stimulation you should expect from such a compelling story.