Description:
A new theory of mind that includes nonhuman and artificial intelligences.
The much-lauded superiority of human intelligence has not prevented us from driving the planet into ecological disaster. For N. Katherine Hayles, the climate crisis demands that we rethink basic assumptions about human and nonhuman intelligences. In Bacteria to AI, Hayles develops a new theory of mind--what she calls an integrated cognitive framework (ICF)--that includes the meaning-making practices of lifeforms from bacteria to plants, animals, humans, and some forms of artificial intelligence. Through a sweeping survey of evolutionary biology, computer science, and contemporary literature, Hayles insists that another way of life, with ICF at its core, is not only possible but necessary to safeguard our planet's future.Brief description: N. Katherine Hayles is distinguished research professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles and James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of literature at Duke University. She is the author of many books, most recently Postprint: Books and Becoming Computational.
Review Quotes: "Bacteria to AI will change the terms of the debate on the cognitive capacities of contemporary AI and their place in human lifeworlds. Following from the groundbreaking critical insights of Unthought, Hayles traces her integrated cognitive framework into the age of generative AI. From the bacteria-inspired techniques of gene editing to the text generation of GPT-3, Hayles brings her unique and astute voice to some of the most urgent questions of our times. Bacteria to AI is a must-read."--Louise Amoore, Durham University