Monday, August 8 2005 17:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: 'Last Frontiers of the Mind-Challenges of the Digital Age', a book capturing the development, evolution of the human mind and the danger posed to it by artificial intelligence, is all set to be officially launched in Bangalore on August 12.

The book written by the late IAS officer and former advisor to the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Mohandas Moses, traces the philosophies of the mind and consciousness from Hippocrates to the present day cognitive scientist Hoffstader. It also explores the evolution of the mind from Pleistocene age to development of artificial intelligence by Allan Turing.

The book warns that the neural connections which gives rise to the higher order of consciousness may tend to atrophy because of the surrogage concept of formation agency of the machine.

The use of computers or man made machines may finally result in losing out several skills leading to an inferior brain gradually.

Announcing the forthcoming launch of the book, wife and former education secretary to Government of India Achala Moulik said the book had been a product of years of research conducted by the author when he was Secretary of Welfare and was into rehabilitation projects.

His curiosity of the power of the mind over the brain was fuelled further when he was posted during turbulent times in J and K and studied closely the behavioural effects of those wounded in the head by terrorists, she said.

The book running into 400 pages and 39 chapters has been published by Prentice Hall.