Ebook: Solomon's code: humanity in a world of thinking machines

A thought-provoking examination of artificial intelligence and its influence on human values, culture, power, and economics as technology continues to change our world

"The Trolley Problem" has long been a favorite of college philosophy classes—flip a switch on a train line and save five peoples' lives at the expense of one? The solution to this conundrum has remained academic—until now.

As write the code for driverless cars, not only have to discuss all the ramifications and scenarios of the Trolley Problem; they also have to provide a black-and-white answer for every conceivable variation of it. This is just one example of how the continuing advancement of technology collides with age-old ethical and cultural mainstays.

As thinking machines make more decisions on our behalf, they can enrich, enable and influence our lives. Whether in medicine, money or love, technologies powered by forms of artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly...