DRAFT: THIS MAY BE REVISED LATER. This plain text document may later be replaced by html, with clickable contents. In that case a link to the new document will be provided here. Aaron Sloman http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~axs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last updated: 6 Jun 2023 From Aaron Sloman Tue Jun 6 15:08:18 BST 2023 To: PHILOS-L@liverpool.ac.uk From Aaron Sloman Tue Jun 6 15:10:26 BST 2023 From: a.sloman@cs.bham.ac.uk To: philosop@lists.louisiana.edu Subject: Recent book on Computing and Philosophy by William Rapaport Bcc: , A NEW BOOK ON COMPUTING AND PHILOSOPHY By William J. Rapaport This message is also available online at: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/research/projects/cogaff/misc/rapaport-computing-and-philosophy.txt Partial review of a new book by William Rapaport published early in 2023: Philosophy of Computer Science: An Introduction to the Issues and the Literature by William J. Rapaport https://cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/ available from three publishers: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Philosophy+of+Computer+Science%3A+An+Introduction+to+the+Issues+and+the+Literature-p-9781119891925 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/philosophy-of-computer-science-william-j-rapaport/1142866110?ean=9781119891901 https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Computer-Science-Introduction-Literature/dp/1119891906/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Rapaport+philosophy+computer&qid=1686002630&sr=8-1 There is also an Amazon kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Computer-Science-Introduction-Literature-ebook/dp/B0BSMGMWZN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1684966433&sr=8-1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PARTIAL REVIEW OF RAPAPORT'S NEW BOOK By Aaron Sloman http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~axs Rapaport's book is a university-level textbook on the philosophy of computer science, which seems to me to be unusual in its depth and breadth. I recommend this book partly on the basis of a summary of its contents, and partly because of my previous acquaintance with the author's work, including his previous book. Unlike most philosophers who discuss implications of AI and Computing, Rapaport has degrees in mathematics, computer science and philosophy. The new book is aimed at both philosophers and computer scientists (especially students) who want to learn about relationships between Computer Science (including AI) and Philosophy, and also at the general public who might be interested in both fields. It is designed to help such readers by giving them background knowledge -- so that they can read the literature for themselves, form their own reasoned opinions, and perhaps join discussions on these topics. It introduces some of the central questions in the philosophy of computer science, beginning with What is philosophy? for computer scientists are unfamiliar with philosophy. Thereafter the focus is mainly on questions about the nature of computer science and its various sub-disciplines and application areas. It presents a series of questions, each of which leads to further questions, e.g.: Is computer science -- a science -- a branch of engineering? -- some combination of branches of engineering? or -- something else altogether? It also addresses a collection of background questions: o What is science? o What is engineering? o What is a computer? And (since computer science investigates varieties of computation, including their pre-requisites, and their uses): o What is computation? o Are there naturally occurring forms of computation (i.e. types of computation and computational mechanism not created by humans)? o What are algorithms, and how are they related to varieties of computation? o What are procedures? o Is computer science restricted to the study of machines designed by humans or does it (or should it) also include naturally occurring forms of computation, or information processing, e.g. information processing abilities and the underlying mechanisms, in many different biological species? === It includes this disclaimer: "This book is not an attempt to be an encyclopedic, up-to-the-minute survey of every important issue in the philosophy of computer science." Rather the aim is "to give the reader the background to enable fruitful exploration of the issues and in some cases the potential to join in the conversation". === As part of that background, it discusses variants of the Church-Turing Computability Thesis, which (to a first approximation) proposes that our intuitive notion of computation is completely captured by the formal notion of Turing Machine computation. This leads to a collection of subsidiary questions, such as -- What is a Turing Machine? -- What is "hypercomputation"? -- What types of computation can go beyond Turing Machine computation? -- Do such (super-Turing?) forms of computation exist in any products of biological evolution? === Many computations are specified in computer programs, which are executed by computers, so -- What is a computer program? Humans originally designed computer programs as implementations of algorithms, so: -- What are algorithms? -- What is an implementation? === Various questions link computations to the rest of what exists: Programs are abstract specifications that can be expressed using text on paper or in various more recently developed media for storing and communicating information. However, running programs often go beyond producing answers to questions: they can have "real-world" effects, e.g. controlling what a computer prints out, or controlling assembly processes on a factory production line, providing an airline reservation service, or an email distribution service. Recently developed networked computing facilities make it possible for a scattered and changing group of individuals with overlapping interests, who have not previously met one another, and are located on several different continents, to meet at short notice (e.g. hours or minutes rather than days or weeks) for an online discussion using visual, audio and textual communication -- functionality that is provided using internet resources that can be allocated (by service providers) to support intercontinental discussions without having to build new physical structures or new physical links between physical structures. Those mechanisms use recently developed hardware and software technologies supporting computer programs along with other resources, such as interface devices for use by human users, that provide access to new forms of computational functionality. The nature and variety of types of computer program has changed in many deep ways since the earliest computers were built, each of which was able to run only one program at a time, using only very restricted sets of computer instructions, whereas now their functionality is far more complex and varied, and can include actions performed by collections of electronically linked computers running different programs with different attached devices. Examples include automated assembly line in factories producing vehicles, or other machines, of varying complexity. === EXAMPLE QUESTIONS how are programs and computation (e.g. the programs and computations used in an airline reservation system, or a flight control system, or an international online conference), related to the physical world? Some programs, especially in the sciences, are designed to model or simulate or explain some real-world phenomenon. Can such programs be considered as providing relatively new ways of expressing (scientific) theories? Programs are usually considered to be "software", and computers are usually considered to be "hardware", but what exactly is the difference between software and hardware? Is a computer network hardware, software or a combination of the two? What makes it possible for a task previously done by hardware to be done by software, or vice versa? === Computer programs are notorious for having "bugs", which are often only found after the program has been tested and put into use. Can computer programs be logically verified before being used, so that all bugs are eliminated before programs are run? If not, why not? === The book should help students to take part in discussions of questions such as: -- What is artificial intelligence (AI)? -- What is the relation of computation to cognition? -- Can computers think? It also explains what the so-called Turing Test and the Chinese Room Argument are, and considers questions in computer ethics, e.g.: -- Should we trust decisions made by computers? -- a question made urgent by the advent of automated vehicles, for example, and by "deep learning" algorithms that might be biased. -- Should we build "intelligent" machines? Are there significant risks associated with intelligence in machines? E.g. could such a machine decide that it does not agree with the moral principles of its designers, or its owners, and then take "remedial" action, as in some science fiction? -- Do we have moral obligations towards robots (e.g. a robot that wants to learn about how it is implemented)? -- Can robots, and other AI systems, be designed to behave reliably in accordance with moral obligations towards humans? This, of course, begs several questions, e.g. are there any generally agreed moral obligations, and if so what justifies their acceptance? -- Should they consider only the needs and well-being of humans, or should they also consider the needs of other species, e.g. endangered non-human species on this planet, and other types of agent found during future space travel, or future human designed machines? -- Should they always give higher priority to needs of humans than to needs of other threatened species, elephants, orangutans, marine animals, etc. ? === The book also looks at how philosophers reason and evaluate logical arguments, and suggests student assignments designed to help focus the reader's thinking about these issues. For students looking for specific information, the long list of references, and also the extremely detailed index to contents of the book should be very useful. The book is supplemented with online resources at: https://cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/OR/ Online Resources to accompany Philosophy of Computer Science: An Introduction to the Issues and the Literature (Hoboken, NJ; Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2023) The resources include further readings, suggested classroom assignments, and an instructor's manual. === Please report serious errors or omissions in this document to: Aaron Sloman School of Computer Science University of Birmingham UK Email: a.sloman AT bham.ac.uk http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~axs Emeritus professor of AI and Cognitive Science =================================================================================