The Most Human Human

What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive

By: Brian Christian

Narrated by: Brian Christian

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The Most Human Human is a provocative, exuberant, and profound exploration of the ways in which computers are reshaping our ideas of what it means to be human. Its starting point is the annual Turing Test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against people to determine if computers can “think.” Named for computer pioneer Alan Turing, the Tur­ing Test convenes a panel of judges who pose questions—ranging anywhere from celebrity gossip to moral conundrums—to hidden contestants in an attempt to discern which is human and which is a computer. The machine that most often fools the panel wins the Most Human Computer Award. But there is also a prize, bizarre and intriguing, for the Most Human Human. In 2008, the top AI program came short of passing the Turing Test by just one astonishing vote. In 2009, Brian Christian was chosen to participate, and he set out to make sure Homo sapiens would prevail. The author’s quest to be deemed more human than a com­puter opens a window onto our own nature. Interweaving modern phenomena like customer service “chatbots” and men using programmed dialogue to pick up women in bars with insights from fields as diverse as chess, psychiatry, and the law, Brian Christian examines the philosophical, bio­logical, and moral issues raised by the Turing Test. One central definition of human has been “a being that could reason.” If computers can reason, what does that mean for the special place we reserve for humanity?

©2011 Brian Christian (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"THE MOST HUMAN HUMAN is immensely ambitious and bold, intellectually provocative, while at the same time entertaining and witty – a delightful book about how to live a meaningful, thriving life." (Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams and Ghost)

"A book exploring the wild frontiers of chat-bots is appealing enough; I never expected to discover in its pages such an eye-opening inquest into human imagination, thought, conversation, love and deception. Who would have guessed that the best way to understand humanity was to study its imitators?" (David Eagleman, author of Sum and Why The Net)

"This is a strange, fertile, and sometimes beautiful book. It has been said that man creates images of himself, then comes to resemble the images. Something like this seems to be going on with the computer. Brian Christian writes with a rare combination of what Pascal took to be two contrary mindsets: the spirit of geometry and the spirit of finesse. He takes both the deep limitations and halting progress of artificial intelligence as an occasion for thinking about the most human activity - the art of conversation." (Matthew B. Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft)

Interesting

Some interesting thoughts about 'what a human is', but more intersting philosphical discussion can be found in the short stories of 'The Minds Eye'. I admire Turring a lot (breaking the Nazi war codes was helpful). But its about time that someone said the obvious thing, the Turring Test is a silly and dated test. Its like you have two dogs, one is an excellent hunter, retriever, and search dog and one can bark out a word that sorta sounds like 'Hello' and you claim the second dog is smarter because it can talk. Computer intelligence will only ever really matter to the extent that it capitalizes on the strengths that computers have not on the degree that it mimics human behavior.

wandering speculation on what makes humans human

What did you like best about The Most Human Human? What did you like least?

I come from more of a technical background in regards to AI, and found a more philosophical treatise on man vs machine refreshing. Many of my personal interests (computer chess, neural networks, the singularity, speculation on the soul) crossed here, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I did find some of the conclusions to be a bit self aggrandizing of the liberal arts, which unfortunately tainted my views on many of his arguments.

Were the concepts of this book easy to follow, or were they too technical?

The writer is extremely precise with his choice in language, which is not surprising given his background in poetry, and his philosophical arguments were well laid out. From a technical perspective, this book targets a more lay audience, and thus was not difficult to follow.

Did Brian Christian do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

It wasn't a book that really had characters other than the author himself.

Any additional comments?

It read a little slow at times, and tended to drift towards the end. It was interesting, but not a page turner by any means.

Another great work from the author

Brian has a tremendous talent for recognizing and communicating the depth of meaning from the mundane. I admire his ability to say something profound and esoteric in a way I would imagine it would be understood and appreciated by an otherwise disinterested person.

You don't have to be a computer science fan to deeply appreciate this book. However, I suppose reading this book would mKe you more likely to become interested in computer science.

Make no mistake, this is a philosophy book at its core gift-wrapped in technological history.

Tremendous job Brian; you are a great human confederate after all.

FYI- I would love to recommend this book to my 8 & 10yr old sons. But, some content and language are not appropriate for their ages. I am a sad that I cannot share it with them yet.

Well Written, Well Read

I bought this book on a lark, since I needed something this month and it sounded quirky and interesting. And I was pleasantly surprised by a deeply philosophical inquiry into that space between computer science, philosophy and sociology, Three subjects that I find interesting, but I've never really studied before. It isn't a deep study of any particular subject, but I would highly recommend it, just the same.

Aside from that, the reading seemed to suit the writing perfectly. I think that it was read by the author, in which case he made an excellent choice doing so himself.

Write tells a good story beyond his Turing Test

The writer really knows how to talk about what it means to be human. The Turing Test competition is a device for the author to talk about what it means to be a human versus being a computer. The actual competition that the author wins is not as exciting as his preparation for the competition and his expositions on thinking machines (both humans and computers).

Not at all what I expected. Better!

Would you listen to The Most Human Human again? Why?

Probably... someday. The book touches on many different areas - all of which go into what it is to be human - many areas where one's own humanity could be considered sorely lacking. I also hope and expect to read the sequel, as I expect that the Turing contest is only going to get more interesting as time goes on.

What other book might you compare The Most Human Human to and why?

Not sure. I will say that my very next audible.com purchase was "The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human" by Jonathon Gottschall. Narrated by Kris Koscheski.

Computer Sci. Sheds light on the Human Condition

This is a fascinating look at who we are as human beings from the perspective of a person picked to take part in a challenge to pick the computer out from a group of people. How far have computers come? Can they be mistaken for human beings? They can mimic human beings but what is it, really, that makes us different from them? This is the story of a man in a struggle to make that determination and be forced to test it. Think about it... you go to a web site and you are invited to "chat" with someone about the products offered on that site: are you chatting with a real human being? How can you tell? How you can tell, is what this book is about...

Human Psychology 4.0

This is a MUST read for anyone interested in AI or, for that matter, pure human psychology. Christian (who, by the way, does a fine job of narrating!) presents, with StevenPinkeresque style and wit, the reasons why the computer, as it becomes stronger and stronger in the ways of logic and computation, ironically becomes farther removed from us rather than more like us. He helps to shake away the still clinging prejudices left over from the Age Of Reason and makes us aware that being a "creature-computer interface" is not such a bad thing, that the emotional, "irrational" part of us is a good bit of what makes us---well, us! All of this in a rich tapestry of science, case histories and personal anecdotes which makes for a very enlightening and enjoyable read. This is the best writing on the human mind I have read since Pinker's How The Mind Works, which would serve as a great companion to this book.

Sidenote: 10/8/2012 I took on several on of noted on-line bots, like Cleverbot and A.L.I.C.E., and was not at all impressed. They might be able to fake surface small talk or even argue (as long as it is in insult and not in reasonable debate)--but sustaining conversation on a topic, wondering, showing genuine insight or awe--I would never mistake them for a human at the other end.

When computing meets humanity.

Would you listen to The Most Human Human again? Why?

Definitely. The book specially gains momentum in the second half with some extremely thought provoking essays and insights into the realm of artificial intelligence and what computing holds for us in future.

What other book might you compare The Most Human Human to and why?

Information. Though I prefer The Most Human Human more than information. This book is about a human struggle to define his humanity against computing. Its more philosophical in nature too.

What about Brian Christian’s performance did you like?

I loved his intonation and pauses. His grasp over the subject matter seemed complete. He navigated the complex terrain of computer science with remarkable poise.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Most Human Human.

Any additional comments?

A great read of people involved with technology. This book offers some beautiful essays into the nature of technology and how AI may unfold in future. But yeah, it is a little slow in the beginning but gain momentum in the second half.

interesting topic

Would you listen to The Most Human Human again? Why?

I would not listen to The Most Human Human again. I ordered this book because I wanted to find out what the human experience would be like as the one competing against a machine in the Turing test. The book had a lot of background information like Eliza and Parry, which I was already familiar with due to already established interest on the topic. The details on data compression dragged on for a little too long yet better explanation on the topic can be found elsewhere. I wish there was more narrative on author's experience, and less background or technical details. I would recommend this book to someone with less technical background or knowledge about chatbots but want to get a basic idea. I did not find it too insightful as someone with a technical background.