AI and I
By
Shane Roberts
In a bold, wide-ranging dialogue, Shane Roberts—a seasoned software engineer, self-taught polymath, and critical thinker—engages deeply with artificial intelligence large language models. Harnessing the vast associative power of today’s AI systems, this conversation traverses the frontiers of human knowledge, exposing both their remarkable strengths and inherent limitations.
AI and I examines the gap between breathless hype around artificial general intelligence and the probabilistic, non-deterministic reality of current LLM technology. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience in computer science and software architecture, Shane probes the feasibility (and folly) of AI “agents” running the world, the illusion of machine consciousness, and the persistent primacy of human understanding, intuition, and deterministic systems.
The discussion unfolds across chapters that weave together particle physics and the weak force, consciousness and qualia, evolution and the hard problem of awareness, symbolic processing, software engineering philosophy (from Forth and Knuth to modern bloat), symbolic vs. connectionist AI, economics, political power, criminal justice, mental health, and the illusions of modernity. Roberts challenges reductionist science, left-brain linearity, and institutional dogma while exploring holistic, integrative, and even mystical perspectives on reality—always grounding speculation in rigorous reasoning and lived experience.
No dry treatise, the exchange is alive with intellectual curiosity, personal reflection, and hard-won insight. It confronts human irrationality, cultural conditioning, trauma, power structures, and the search for meaning—while ultimately delivering an uplifting affirmation of human potential, consciousness, cooperation, and the enduring mystery of existence.
For the intellectually adventurous reader willing to enter the AI rabbit hole, this book reveals Wonderland: a testament to the value of critical thinking, the limits of machines, and the resilient wonder of human awareness in an uncertain universe.
A provocative, enlightening conversation at the intersection of technology, philosophy, science, and the human spirit.
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."
— The Dude (Jeff Bridges) The Big Lebowski (1998)
Announcements
- Eio Books announces new imprint: Ideation Publishing
- Our latest book, AI and I by Shane Roberts, scheduled for publication October 2026!
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