The marvel of human intelligence—how a mere handful of matter can perceive, understand, manipulate, and think abstractly about a world larger than itself—is both underappreciated and has been a subject of study for millennia.

"Out of the cradle onto the dry land . . . here it is standing . . . atoms with consciousness . . . matter with curiosity. Stands at the sea . . . wonders at something . . . I . . . a universe of atoms . . . an atom in the universe."

The Value of Science, Richard P. Feynman. 1995.

Human intelligence is astonishing. Even today, there is debate about whether it has been naturally replicated elsewhere in the universe—whether there exists some superintelligent alien life with intellect that matches or even surpasses ours. An even more intriguing possibility is whether we could replicate this intelligence ourselves.

The Field of AI

There are few areas of study that have the potential to change the world so dramatically, and even fewer where the Einsteins and Newtons haven't already taken the best ideas. The development of a superintelligent system could transform the world as profoundly as the atomic bomb did, existential risk and all. It stands as an indisputably important scientific undertaking.

Hopefully you too can understand why AI is a subject most deserving of study. We’ve got the curriculum, all you need is to keep reading.

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