Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Elisabeth Malartre (Author)
Key Phrases: wearable computers, Man Plus, Robots Plus, The Augmented Animal (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The simple title of this book belies its profundity-and its sense of humor. Besides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of developments in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, physicist Benford and biologist Malartre also address deeper questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind, as well as humankind's nervous relationship with increasingly sophisticated machines. Looking at robots' use in all areas, such as unskilled labor, precision work (like surgery), the home and the battlefield, Benford and Malartre take into account not just the latest research and developments, but the long popularity of robots and cyborgs in pop culture (citing movies like A.I. and The Day the Earth Stood Still). Their concluding argument, that consciousness and the intellectual power of the human mind emerge from the complexity of the brain, and thus cannot be reduced to the functioning of its individual components, leads them to doubt, convincingly, that robots (machines that mimic humans) and cyborgs (man-machine hybrids) will ever amount to more than sophisticated tools, enhancing human life but never replacing it. Throughout, the authors maintain a playful sense, an optimistic view of the future and a steady grip on this rapidly expanding field.
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Review

A Selection of the Scientific American Book Club

“Interviews with pioneers and participants in enhancement research, robotics and engineering, and informed perspectives on the theory, economics, and actuality of life extension, give Beyond Human the flavor of a tourist guide to the future, conducted by natives…. Serve[s] up a feast.”
--Nature

“The simple title of this book belies its profundity—and its sense of humor. Besides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of developments in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, physicist Benford and biologist Malartre also address deeper questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind, as well as humankind’s nervous relationship with increasingly sophisticated machines.”
--Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765310821
• ISBN-13: 978-0765310828
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #986,438 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview, April 12, 2008

By	Vance "Klaatu" - See all my reviews

This is a well-written comprehensive overview of the coming technological and cultural changes wrought by increases in robot and AI development. It refers to many sci-fi treatments of the subject, since Benford is an accomplished sci fi writer in his own right. Some parts dragged, but overall a good and interesting effort.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Neat, but not for enthusiasts., July 4, 2008

By	Jesse Allen (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book offers a pretty exciting examination of current technologies and their possible future applications, but doesn't go farther than hopeful speculation. The language is not very technically specific, and most of the examples are from sci-fi movies and books.
This book is fun and worth checking out from the library, but I highly recommend that you purchase "The singularity is near" for a more stimulating read.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Future's Future Companion Guide, March 22, 2009

By	Sniff Code "www.sniffcode.com" (Somewhere out there) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs (Paperback)

When the future "that's closer than you think" gets just a little closer, this book will be the Crash Course Companion guide to go with it. It will have to be, since most other books on the same topic involve a textual style that requires a great deal of heavy lifting. This book, however, is divided in nice, quick and easy to read anecdotal chapters. Speculative? Yes. Of course. It's the future we're talking about here. This book looks past the visible horizon line, advising that just because we can't see it, doesn't mean we won't. In fact, the Copyright date is 2007. Two years has passed and I've seen many of the questions (Robot Laws) re-surfacing in Wired Magazine. The Future may not be here, but when it gets print in Wired, it's easy to believe that it's just 'round the corner, waiting to go "boo" the moment we step into its shadows.