Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis : Can Technology Really Save the World?

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Section I: Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things -- I.1. Nothing new under the Sun -- I.2. Oh, for a nice cold soda: The birth of the internet of things -- I.3. The two-month, ten-man project to transform the world -- I.4. Getting to grips with the jargon: Symbolic and non-symbolic AI -- Section II: Should I stay or should I go? Ethics in AI -- II.1. Choosing an ethical framework -- II.2. The strange case of Asimov's laws -- II.3. Free will and moral judgement -- II.4. The confused owl of Minerva: Dangers of a moral vacuum -- II.5. Who's in charge of the big bad wolf? -- II.6. What should a declaration of AI rights look like? -- Section III: Gender, Race, Culture and Fear -- III.1. Gender issues in AI -- III.2. Racial issues in AI -- III.3. Cultural issues in AI -- III.4. Fear and loathing in AI -- Section IV: The Thinker: Human Intelligence -- IV.1. Human intelligence: Carolus Linnaeus and his wise, wise men -- IV.2. So what is human intelligence? -- IV.3. Philosophy and intelligence: The framing of our thoughts -- Section V: Other Modes of Intelligence: Thinking Outside the Human Box -- V.1. Animal intelligence: Machiavellian sentience and the wisdom of the swarm -- V.2. Plant intelligence: Headless, brainless, dispersed intelligence -- V.3. Microbial intelligence: Gene-swapping revelry in the quorum -- V.4. Ecosystem intelligence: Systems thinking in the cathedral of thought -- V.5. Systems are non-linear -- V.6. Systems are emergent -- V.7. Systems are sub-optimal -- V.8. Systems rely of real-time feedback -- Section VI: Highway to Hell: The Existentialist Threat Facing Humankind -- VI.1. A brief history of our path towards destruction -- VI.2. The five clear road signs that point towards criticality -- VI.3. Why ecological damage matters to us.

VI.4. Adam Smith and his invisible hand -- VI.5. Kuznets and his curve: How ninety five percent speculation led us badly astray -- Section VII: Forget the Romans. What has AI ever done for us? -- VII.1. AI and economics: The best of things or the worst of things? -- VII.2. AI and society -- VII.3. AI and the environment -- VII.4. Technology and sustainability: Bellicose bedfellows or Romeo and Juliet? -- Section VIII: Imagining a New World -- VIII.1. The swallow whose nest was stolen: A salutary tale -- VIII.2. Blinded by the bling: Dashboard dogs and a disappearing sea -- VIII.3. What needs changed and what change do we need? -- VIII.4. The chains that bind: Taking responsibility for our footprints -- VIII.5. The Ogiek people and the new, improved invisible hand -- VIII.6. Lessons from the edge of the world: The St Kildan legacy -- VIII.7. The Garden of Eden complex: How not to fix the world -- VIII.8. The three cornerstones: Diversity, resilience and integration -- VIII.9. The central role of AI in feedback: Shaping our new world -- Section IX: Barriers to Change -- IX.1. The five philosophical barriers -- IX.2. Structural barriers to change -- IX.3. The seven dragons: Psychological barriers -- IX.4. How AI can help overcome these barriers -- Section X: Transition -- X.1. The nature of transition -- X.2. Studies in transition -- X.3. Why societal change is key -- X.4. How to manage societal change -- X.5. Requiem for the King of Phrygia -- Glossary -- References -- Index.

This book argues that the human model, isolated and reductionist, is not the best basis for AI. It suggests that ecological intelligence is the superior framework. Systems theory is central to the concept of sustainability, and this book argues that AI myst be grounded within the ecology of our planet in order to offer any change.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.