God-like: A 500-Year History of Artificial Intelligence in Myths, Machines, Monsters


Book by Kester Brewin: “In the year 1600 a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things.

350 years later, having witnessed ‘Trinity’ – the first test of the atomic bomb – America’s leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth.

25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this ‘machine for augmenting human intellect’, dazzling as he stands ‘Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands.’

AI is both stunningly new and rooted in ancient desires. As we finally welcome this ‘god-like’ technology amongst us, what can learn from the myths and monsters of the past about how to survive alongside our greatest ever invention?…(More)”.