Beyond Intelligent Machines: Consciousness, Control, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence (River Publishers Series in Computing and Information Science and Technology)

Artificial intelligence has crossed a historic threshold. What began as narrow automation and pattern recognition has evolved into systems capable of reasoning, generating knowledge, shaping economies, influencing geopolitics, and challenging how we define intelligence and humanity itself. AI is no longer merely a supporting technology—it is becoming a foundational force shaping modern civilization.Beyond Intelligent Machines: Consciousness, Control, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence examines what lies beyond today’s AI systems. The book explores not only how AI works, but what it is becoming and how its trajectory may reshape power, identity, labor, security, and even consciousness. Topics range from large language models and agentic AI to embodied intelligence, emotional systems, and emerging questions about machine autonomy and artificial awareness.Rather than treating AI purely as a technical achievement, the book frames it as a socio-technical system embedded within culture, economics, ethics, and global competition. It confronts critical questions: What happens when intelligence scales faster than governance? Can machines exhibit agency without intention? How do we maintain meaningful human oversight as decision-making systems become increasingly autonomous?Written for readers seeking to understand where AI is headed—not just how it works—this book argues that the future of AI will be shaped not only by algorithms, but by the values, constraints, and choices we embed within them today. Read more