Deep Utopia
Life and Meaning in a Solved World
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Ideapress Publishing
Published:21st May '24
£23.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
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A greyhound catching the mechanical lure—what would he actually do with it? Has he given this any thought?
Bostrom’s previous book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies changed the global conversation on AI and became a New York Times bestseller. It focused on what might happen if AI development goes wrong. But what if things go right?
Suppose that we develop superintelligence safely, govern it well, and make good use of the cornucopian wealth and near magical technological powers that this technology can unlock. If this transition to the machine intelligence era goes well, human labor becomes obsolete. We would thus enter a condition of "post-instrumentality", in which our efforts are not needed for any practical purpose. Furthermore, at technological maturity, human nature becomes entirely malleable.
Here we confront a challenge that is not technological but philosophical and spiritual. In such a solved world, what is the point of human existence? What gives meaning to life? What do we do all day?
Deep Utopia shines new light on these old questions, and gives us glimpses of a different kind of existence, which might be ours in the future.
"This is a wondrous book. It is mind-expanding. It is poetic. It is moving. It is funny. The writing is superb. Every page is full of ideas.” — Russ Roberts, EconTalk host, President of Shalem College
"Wow!" — Professor Erik Brynjolfsson, Stanford University; Co-author of The Second Machine Age
"When technology has solved humanity’s deepest problems, what is left to do? That is one question considered in a new publication by Nick Bostrom. … He argues that beyond the post-scarcity world lies a “post-instrumental” one … With the arrival of AI Utopia, this would be put to the test. Quite a lot would ride on the result." — The Economist
"Yeah" — Elon Musk
"A fascinating book" — Peter Coy, The New York Times
“Rather than play the doomy hits, Deep Utopia considers a future in which humanity has successfully developed superintelligent machines but averted disaster. … [it] examines what meaning there would be in life inside a techno-utopia, and asks if it might be rather hollow.” — WIRED
"Bostrom is a marvelously energetic prose stylist; it’s uncanny how often he turns subjects like utilitarianism and Malthusian superabundance into genuinely thrilling reading. ... employs a wry understated humor that’s often very quiet in its punchlines. ... A complex and stimulatingly provocative look at just how possible a fulfilling life might be.” — Kirkus Reviews
"This is one of the strangest sort-of popular science (or philosophy, or something or other) books I've ever read. … I can't say I enjoyed reading this book - but I think I am glad that I did." — Popular Science Books
"A major contribution to human thought and ways of thinking." — Robert Lawrence Kuhn
"A really fun, and important, book... the writing is brilliant... incredibly rich... a constant parade of fascinating ideas." — Professor Guy Kahane, University of Oxford
"Brilliant! Hilarious, poignant, insightful, clever, important." — Professor Thaddeus Metz, University of Pretoria, author of Meaning in Life
ISBN: 9781646871643
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
536 pages