The Digital Mind, Arlindo Oliveira
The Digital Mind, Arlindo Oliveira
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Digital Mind
How Science is Redefining Humanity

Author: Arlindo Oliveira

Narrator: Braden Wright

Unabridged: 12 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/06/2018


Synopsis

What do computers, cells, and brains have in common? Computers are electronic devices designed by humans; cells are biological entities crafted by evolution; brains are the containers and creators of our minds. But all are, in one way or another, information-processing devices. The power of the human brain is, so far, unequaled by any existing machine or known living being. Over eons of evolution, the brain has enabled us to develop tools and technology to make our lives easier. Our brains have even allowed us to develop computers that are almost as powerful as the human brain itself. In this book, Arlindo Oliveira describes how advances in science and technology could enable us to create digital minds.Exponential growth is a pattern built deep into the scheme of life, but technological change now promises to outstrip even evolutionary change. Oliveira describes technological and scientific advances that range from the discovery of laws that control the behavior of the electromagnetic fields to the development of computers. He calls natural selection the ultimate algorithm, discusses genetics and the evolution of the central nervous system, and describes the role that computer imaging has played in understanding and modeling the brain. Having considered the behavior of the unique system that creates a mind, he turns to an unavoidable question: Is the human brain the only system that can host a mind? If digital minds come into existence--and, Oliveira says, it is difficult to argue that they will not--what are the social, legal, and ethical implications? Will digital minds be our partners, or our rivals?

About Arlindo Oliveira

Arlindo Oliveira is President of Instituto Superior Técnico (Técnico Lisboa), where he is also Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian on June 01, 2017

According to the blurb, this book is a 'delightful romp through computer science, biology, physics and much else...' It certainly is no delightful romp. The Digital Mind is probably best described as an academic's idea of what a popular science book is like. The result is a strange mix of reasonably......more

Goodreads review by Artur on May 27, 2018

Tendo em conta a visão cinzentista que se tem dos académicos portugueses, é um pouco estranho ver um livro de índole tão especulativa escrito pelo atual presidente do IST. E editado pelo IST. Não que Mentes Digitais seja especialmente arrojado, na categoria de livros futuristas e trans-humanistas, é......more

Goodreads review by Maria on June 22, 2020

Arlindo Manuel Limede de Oliveira, é um académico, investigador e escritor português. Autor de mais de 150 artigos científicos e artigos em conferências e, de três livros: The Digital Mind, publicado pelo MIT Press e IST Press, Computer Architecture, publicado pela World Scientific e pelo IST Press......more

Goodreads review by João on July 05, 2018

Eu diria um pouco técnico de mais para o público em geral. Mas um grande livro!......more

Goodreads review by A.J. on November 14, 2023

The best chapters of the book were the last two. The first few chapters talked about the basics of how computers work. There's some very confusing parts about Turning machines, which I did not really understand. I assume it was essentially like a difficult crash course on computer science, but with......more