Full Product Details
Author: Robert Geraci (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Manhattan College)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.60cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 16.30cm
Weight: 0.488kg
ISBN: 9780195393026
ISBN 10: 0195393023
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 18 March 2010
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
<br> What happens when a religious studies scholar enters the digital dream worlds of Artificial Intelligence? Robert Geraci shows us deities and devils in the details of some of the most ambitious predictions about our computational future. His cyberspace odyssey reveals that the transcendent aspirations of transhumanists are rooted in the earth of human history and culture. <br>--Stefan Helmreich, author of Silicon Second Nature: Culturing Artificial Life in a Digital World <br> In this book Robert Geraci highlights how the apocalyptic world view found in Western religions today also appears in the unlikely fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Clearly written, rooted in extensive interviews, this book provides new insights into what motivates scientists to try to create computers with human traits and capacities. <br>--Noreen Herzfeld, author of In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit<br> Robert Geraci's thoughtful exami
"""Scholars interested in the intersection of popular science and religion will likely find Geraci's work helpful. Portions of the book, especially the chapter on virtual reality and video games, would also be appropriate for the undergraduate classroom."" --Journal of Religion and Popular Culture ""Robert Geraci's thoughtful examination of technology-based quests for transcendence offers a serious look at apocalyptic scenarios that, while remaining for now in the realm of science fiction, nonetheless claim significant cultural influence. I don't know when we will see robots with human-like intelligence, but our longing for them, and what that says about us, is what Geraci's book helps us understand.""--David S. Touretzky, Research Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University"
Scholars interested in the intersection of popular science and religion will likely find Geraci's work helpful. Portions of the book, especially the chapter on virtual reality and video games, would also be appropriate for the undergraduate classroom. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture Robert Geraci's thoughtful examination of technology-based quests for transcendence offers a serious look at apocalyptic scenarios that, while remaining for now in the realm of science fiction, nonetheless claim significant cultural influence. I don't know when we will see robots with human-like intelligence, but our longing for them, and what that says about us, is what Geraci's book helps us understand. David S. Touretzky, Research Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Author Information
Robert M. Geraci is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College. He is the Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation EAGER grant studying meaningful and transcendent experiences in virtual worlds, and received a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar grant to study the intersection of religion and artificial intelligence at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (2012-2013).
