--- product_id: 105599900 title: "Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era" price: "฿1374" currency: THB in_stock: true reviews_count: 7 url: https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/105599900-our-final-invention-artificial-intelligence-and-the-end-of-human store_origin: TH region: Thailand --- # Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era **Price:** ฿1374 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era - **How much does it cost?** ฿1374 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.th](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/105599900-our-final-invention-artificial-intelligence-and-the-end-of-human) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era eBook : Barrat, James: Kindle Store Review: AI Steadily Accelerating - I read this book in 2013 when it was first published. It is now near the end of 2024, 12 years later. Back in 2013, you rarely read about AI (artificial intelligence), AGI (artificial general intelligence) or ASI (artificial super intelligence); now, I see mention of them in the press and other media almost daily. Barrat's book attempts two things: (1) to convince the reader that artificial intelligence is here today and growing --- and its growth is accelerating, and (2) to argue that humanity MUST develop ways to instill AI with some type of morality or ethics, so that, even though its intelligence will surpass that of humanity, it will in some sense respect its creators and not turn on us. In the first effort, Barrat certainly succeeds --- the past 12 years have proved that. But, based on what I have been hearing and reading since ChatGPT hit the internet two years ago, except for a few voices crying out in the wilderness, humanity is making little if any progress on the second item --- perhaps that task is close to impossible? Barrat defines AGI as a level of intelligence roughly equal to that of human beings. He defines ASI as a level of intelligence greater than that. He then argues that AI will soon be able to both replicate itself and increase its intelligence --- and do so more and more rapidly. In 2024, I repeatedly read that AI will reach AGI within the next 3 to 5 years --- then, how long will it be before AGI learns to improve itself? Think of intelligence measured by points on a continuum (like a number line from high school math). AGI (modern day human-level intelligence) is a fixed point on that continuum. But at what point, either somewhat smaller than AGI or somewhat larger than AGI, will AI, of its own accord, begin to move to higher and higher points on the continuum (which is what Barrat means by AI improving itself)? We have no way of knowing, but Barrat argues convincingly that this phenomenon WILL occur, and most of the book is devoted to this argument. Digression: Our universe contains billions and billions of planets, and, I suspect, many with life, and, many of those with intelligent life. Won't a substantial number of them have gone through the AGI - ASI process? Is there no evidence of this that we can detect with our telescopes? In a universe populated with ASI's, why haven't we heard anything? Are we one of the first civilizations to develop artificial intelligence? Barrat doesn't open this Pandora's box, but I suspect he was tempted to (see pp. 90 - 92). To the curious reader: Look through the other 5-star reviews. Most of them bring up similar, valid points. Barrat has written an intelligent, highly readable book that is also, frankly, pretty alarming. And it is not dated at all --- it reads as though it was written yesterday. It is well worth reading now and in the foreseeable future. (added in May 2025): Much of what Barrat predicts is happening. Some things are occurring or about to occur that move beyond his predictions. The curious person might read "Situational Awareness" (by Leopold Aschenbrenner), AI 2027, or Ray Kurzweil's latest effort. Floating in space without a tether might be preferable to what is coming. Added Aug 10, 2025: With the recent release(s) of ChatGPT (up to version 5.0 now), AI can, by any reasonable measure, pass the Turing Test. Many folks regularly use ChatGPT, and it is truly stunning. Barrat mentions various individuals in OUR FINAL INVENTION, such as I.J. Good and Eliezer Yudkowsky, who have been deeply worried about AI evolving from AGI to ASI. Yudkowsky has written a new book, IF ANYONE BUILDS IT, EVERYONE DIES, that is due to come out next month. In some sense, it may serve as a sequel or extension to Barrat's book. ..... ..... Review: War is the father of progress? - This book is different from most of the others on AI since it tries to give a somewhat differentiated and true picture of the future. The author has talked to many of the most popular names in AI like Ray Kurzweil, Eliezer Yudkowski, Ben Goertzel, Steve Omohundro, to name just a few and out of these interviews has formed a book which everyone should read who is interested not only in AI but in the future of humanity in general. However, although Mr. Barrat takes considerable concern and strength into his argumentation it seems to me that he started his enterprise with the purpose to show that AI is dangerous and the disadvantages by far outweigh the advantages. This is one point I want to make the other is that I doubt a little if someone who is talking to you over a cup of coffee really is concerned what he says (most of the people interviewed are men by the way). However, there is one thing why I recommend this book to a bigger audience and that is Mr. Barrat has a special gift: he can explain complicated and complex situations, theories, and expressions in a simplified way and make them understandable even for a laypublic. Like when he explains Bayesian statistics main idea in one sentence (p.103), qualia (p.227), or how the brain works (p.213), or the artificial neural network or the role of the big companies in the AI research. Mr. Barrat finds to his best form when he explains the role of DARPA and shows that without the funding of DARPA there would be almost no research in AI. On the other hand he makes clear that DARPA is a defense agency and that in the end AI might be used to kill humans. By the way IBM's famous SyNAPSE project is "a wholly DARPA-funded attempt to build a computer with a mammalian brain's massively parallel form and function".(p.182) These correlations if anything make the book readable and worth buying, ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B00CQYAWRY | | Accessibility | Learn more | | Best Sellers Rank | #194,371 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #25 in Human-Computer Interaction (Kindle Store) #116 in AI & Semantics #140 in General Technology & Reference | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,773) | | Enhanced typesetting | Enabled | | File size | 1.8 MB | | ISBN-10 | 9781250032263 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1250032263 | | Language | English | | Page Flip | Enabled | | Print length | 338 pages | | Publication date | October 1, 2013 | | Publisher | Thomas Dunne Books | | Screen Reader | Supported | | Word Wise | Enabled | | X-Ray | Enabled | ## Images ![Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71-0K3lNRqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ AI Steadily Accelerating *by R***N on November 5, 2024* I read this book in 2013 when it was first published. It is now near the end of 2024, 12 years later. Back in 2013, you rarely read about AI (artificial intelligence), AGI (artificial general intelligence) or ASI (artificial super intelligence); now, I see mention of them in the press and other media almost daily. Barrat's book attempts two things: (1) to convince the reader that artificial intelligence is here today and growing --- and its growth is accelerating, and (2) to argue that humanity MUST develop ways to instill AI with some type of morality or ethics, so that, even though its intelligence will surpass that of humanity, it will in some sense respect its creators and not turn on us. In the first effort, Barrat certainly succeeds --- the past 12 years have proved that. But, based on what I have been hearing and reading since ChatGPT hit the internet two years ago, except for a few voices crying out in the wilderness, humanity is making little if any progress on the second item --- perhaps that task is close to impossible? Barrat defines AGI as a level of intelligence roughly equal to that of human beings. He defines ASI as a level of intelligence greater than that. He then argues that AI will soon be able to both replicate itself and increase its intelligence --- and do so more and more rapidly. In 2024, I repeatedly read that AI will reach AGI within the next 3 to 5 years --- then, how long will it be before AGI learns to improve itself? Think of intelligence measured by points on a continuum (like a number line from high school math). AGI (modern day human-level intelligence) is a fixed point on that continuum. But at what point, either somewhat smaller than AGI or somewhat larger than AGI, will AI, of its own accord, begin to move to higher and higher points on the continuum (which is what Barrat means by AI improving itself)? We have no way of knowing, but Barrat argues convincingly that this phenomenon WILL occur, and most of the book is devoted to this argument. Digression: Our universe contains billions and billions of planets, and, I suspect, many with life, and, many of those with intelligent life. Won't a substantial number of them have gone through the AGI - ASI process? Is there no evidence of this that we can detect with our telescopes? In a universe populated with ASI's, why haven't we heard anything? Are we one of the first civilizations to develop artificial intelligence? Barrat doesn't open this Pandora's box, but I suspect he was tempted to (see pp. 90 - 92). To the curious reader: Look through the other 5-star reviews. Most of them bring up similar, valid points. Barrat has written an intelligent, highly readable book that is also, frankly, pretty alarming. And it is not dated at all --- it reads as though it was written yesterday. It is well worth reading now and in the foreseeable future. (added in May 2025): Much of what Barrat predicts is happening. Some things are occurring or about to occur that move beyond his predictions. The curious person might read "Situational Awareness" (by Leopold Aschenbrenner), AI 2027, or Ray Kurzweil's latest effort. Floating in space without a tether might be preferable to what is coming. Added Aug 10, 2025: With the recent release(s) of ChatGPT (up to version 5.0 now), AI can, by any reasonable measure, pass the Turing Test. Many folks regularly use ChatGPT, and it is truly stunning. Barrat mentions various individuals in OUR FINAL INVENTION, such as I.J. Good and Eliezer Yudkowsky, who have been deeply worried about AI evolving from AGI to ASI. Yudkowsky has written a new book, IF ANYONE BUILDS IT, EVERYONE DIES, that is due to come out next month. In some sense, it may serve as a sequel or extension to Barrat's book. ..... ..... ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ War is the father of progress? *by T***N on May 11, 2014* This book is different from most of the others on AI since it tries to give a somewhat differentiated and true picture of the future. The author has talked to many of the most popular names in AI like Ray Kurzweil, Eliezer Yudkowski, Ben Goertzel, Steve Omohundro, to name just a few and out of these interviews has formed a book which everyone should read who is interested not only in AI but in the future of humanity in general. However, although Mr. Barrat takes considerable concern and strength into his argumentation it seems to me that he started his enterprise with the purpose to show that AI is dangerous and the disadvantages by far outweigh the advantages. This is one point I want to make the other is that I doubt a little if someone who is talking to you over a cup of coffee really is concerned what he says (most of the people interviewed are men by the way). However, there is one thing why I recommend this book to a bigger audience and that is Mr. Barrat has a special gift: he can explain complicated and complex situations, theories, and expressions in a simplified way and make them understandable even for a laypublic. Like when he explains Bayesian statistics main idea in one sentence (p.103), qualia (p.227), or how the brain works (p.213), or the artificial neural network or the role of the big companies in the AI research. Mr. Barrat finds to his best form when he explains the role of DARPA and shows that without the funding of DARPA there would be almost no research in AI. On the other hand he makes clear that DARPA is a defense agency and that in the end AI might be used to kill humans. By the way IBM's famous SyNAPSE project is "a wholly DARPA-funded attempt to build a computer with a mammalian brain's massively parallel form and function".(p.182) These correlations if anything make the book readable and worth buying, ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review *by C***S on November 7, 2019* The author uses very convincing arguments. There is no doubt that we are in front of a very scary scenario. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/105599900-our-final-invention-artificial-intelligence-and-the-end-of-human](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/105599900-our-final-invention-artificial-intelligence-and-the-end-of-human) --- *Product available on Desertcart Thailand* *Store origin: TH* *Last updated: 2026-06-11*