The Sentient Robot: The Last Two Hurdles in the Race to Build Artificial Superintelligence

Artificial intelligence is on the point of taking humankind into a new age. The turning point will come when AI has advanced so far that it matches human intelligence in every way. Human intelligence, whilst slower in some respects, is still more flexible than AI. But, once AI has caught up, it will take no time at all before going on to surpass humans by a huge distance. That scary prospect is termed artificial superintelligence (ASI).

Rupert Robson argues that we are now just two conceptual hurdles away from developing ASI. The first of the two hurdles is to embed consciousness in AI, thereby giving us the sentient robot. This will enable ASI to see the world through our eyes. The second of the two hurdles is about the developmental step needed in AI design so as to achieve human-level flexibility in thought.

A new world is about to open up before us. We need to understand it and prepare for it.

Rupert Robson studied philosophy of mind at Oxford as part of his degree in philosophy, politics and economics. He left banking in 2006 in order to write a book on the ways in which humankind might shape the world and in turn be shaped in the coming decades. The emerging possibility of conscious AI led to the conception and writing of The Sentient Robot.