Page 12 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics
P. 12
Foreword
“Can human consciousness be duplicated electronically?”Stan Gibilisco
thoughtfully asks us.“Will robots and smart machines ever present a dan-
ger to their makers? What can we reasonably expect from robotics and
artificial intelligence in the next 10 years? In 50 years? In 100 years?” Such
questions as these will be of ever-increasing importance for human cogni-
tion (NI) as machine computation or artificial intelligence continues to
evolve rapidly.
Let us coin a new word, computhink: a contraction of “computer-like
modes or ways of human thinking.”A comprehensive introductory refer-
ence book such as this will help the NI of general readers to learn com-
puthink. This will result in a better understanding and management
of our powerful cousin, AI, for the greater benefit and education of all
humankind.
This book presents a thorough, basic, blissfully nonmathematical cov-
erage of numerous electronic and mechanical concepts that is greatly
needed worldwide. Stan has provided us with the essential vocabulary
of machine computation for the twenty-first century, a vocabulary that
many (not just a select few) people need to understand.
THE HONORABLE DR.DALE PIERRE LAYMAN,PH.D.
Founder and President, ROBOWATCH
www.robowatch.org
x