Beyond Zero and One

Machines, Psychedelics, and Consciousness

By: Andrew Smart

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Can we build a robot that trips on acid? This is not a frivolous question, according to neuroscientist Andrew Smart. If we can't, he argues, we haven't really created artificial intelligence. In an exposition reminiscent of crossover works such as Gödel, Escher, Bach and Fermat's Last Theorem, Andrew Smart weaves together Mangarevan binary numbers, the discovery of LSD, Leibniz, computer programming, and much more to connect the vast but largely forgotten world of psychedelic research with the resurgent field of AI and the attempt to build conscious robots. A book that draws on the history of mathematics, philosophy, and digital technology, Beyond Zero and One challenges fundamental assumptions underlying artificial intelligence. Is the human brain based on computation? Can information alone explain human consciousness and intelligence? Smart convincingly makes the case that true intelligence, and artificial intelligence, requires an appreciation of what is beyond the computational.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 Andrew Smart (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

loved it

this is the first book for me to read/listen to of the educational nature. so I don't know how to properly review it. he did a good job on explaining what he is talking about explaining his theories and giving credit to his sources I found this to be very educational and fascinating .

Interesting speculation

The book has some interesting ideas about things that might be seen with AI but not much substance.

Musings on interesting subjects, but no new ideas

(Reviewing the content, not the performance.)
The author touches on many interesting topics, but doesn't present any strong thesis or new ideas.