COMPUTER WEEKLY
Sutton. Surrey. England


NOV. 23, 1995

. . . and a philosophical study of the technology

Artificial Minds
Stan Franklin
Published by MIT Press
1995
HB £22.95
ISBN 0262061783



Stan Franklin, a professor at the University of Memphis. takes on the challenge of introducing a new paradigm of mind to the lay reader.

The work is academic in style and assumes an interest in the philosophy of science. It reads like the series of interdisciplinary semiformal lectures on which it was based and provides an intelligent introduction to the core of artificial intelligence work. primarily in the US.

It assumes a university environment and might have benefited from adaptation for a wider audience.

The UK business reader is

unlikely to survive the first chapter. but the interest of education and computing students should be caught.

The book is a worthwhile addition to libraries in artificial intelligence. cognitive science and philosophy and would provide a good basis for a seminar series. There is good treatment of the Dreyfus critique on skill and technology and of the concerns of Godel and Penrose. Notes are clear and helpful.

In an ideal world business people would read such works before relying on new technology. As it is they would do well to talk to someone who understands the issues the book addresses.

The business world of tomorrow will have much to do with artificial minds and the products of the research described in this book.

Richhard Ennals