BOOK REVIEWS
The latest releases for curious minds
advancedformisstillindevelopment– onethat
canlearnfromitsexperiencesandsolveall
kindsofproblems.Fangoesontoexplainthe
biggestAIchallengeswe’llfaceinthefuture- ethicalquestions,powerfulenoughcomputers
andprogrammingtoavoidendangeringus.
Thesearebigconcepts,butthey’reexplained
brilliantlyina formatthat’seasytodigestand
fullofusefulinformation.Likeotherbooksin
theBigIdeaseries,ever ypagehasatleastone
image,alongwitha caption,toprov ide
backgroundknowledgeonthesubject.
Potentiallyunknownterms,suchasacronyms
ortechnicalnames,arepulledoutand
explainedinsmallnotesaroundthetext.A nd
thetextitselfisn’twrittenasoneblock;instead,
it’ssplitintodifferentsizes,withthe‘bigideas’
beinginthelargesttext.Theideaisthatif you
onlyhave 30 minutes,youcanreadthelargest
t wofontsizestogetanover v iewofthesubject,
butideallyyou’dsitfora coupleofhourstoget
moredetailfromthesmallertext.It’sa simple
systemthatworksreallywell,andmakesthis
incrediblyinterestingandcomprehensivebook
eveneasiertorecommend.
I
t’sa bigquestion,andonethattechnolog y
enthusiasts have asked themselves since the
first autonomous machines emerged in the
1950s. Will achiev ing true artificial intelligence
be the final act of the human race? Listen to the
Holly wood blockbuster and you’d be forgiven for
thinking we’re already doomed – according to
them, we’re already liv ing in an artificial world
created by our mechanical overlords while they
farm us for energ y. But do we really need to
worr y about computers taking over?
This book, part of the Big Idea series, starts by
explaining the AI we already use, almost
unknowingly, in our daily lives. It gives some
simple, relatable examples – Netflix’s
recommendation algorithm, Apple’s Siri
assistant and the system that suggests things
you might want to buy next from A mazon.
But these, author Shelly Fan explains, aren’t
the true AI that early pioneers imagined. Instead
of being autonomous beings that learn complex
ideas and form their own thoughts, these
systems simply use machine learning to prov ide
you with a ser v ice. They use simple data inputs
toprov idesimpledataoutputs.Buta moreListenersofthehitpodcastNoSuchThingAs
A Fish will have an idea of what to expect
here, and happily they are correct: page
after page of intriguing and dow nright
implausible facts about the year that was
2019 from the w riting team behind hit panel
show QI.
Proceeding in alphabetical order from
The A A to Zuckerberg, Mark (okay, that’s
probably not the best example of its
contents, but what can you do), there are
items that might elicit moments of déjà v u- although thankfully Brexit is banned from
the book – but others slide gloriously under
the radar. We’re thinking the Florida man
who confused a sw imming pool worker for
an iguana and shot him, though not fatally,
and the proposed South Korean robot
museum to be built by robots.
Containing the podcast team’s trademark
melding of insight and comedy, this makes
the transfer from audio to page seamlessly.
Some of the humour might be a bit risqué for
the ver y youngest readers, but for ever yone
else this will be great fun, ideal to pick up
and absorb in bite-sized chunks. Plus it
might make a welcome change from
buying the Guinness Book of World Records
every year...
090 How It Works http://www.howitworksdaily.com
“Fan goes on
explain the big
AI challenge
we’ll face in
the future
ses for curious minds
A
nnttoo
ggest ge
eses
nn
”
Will AI
Replace Us?
A closer look at whether robots
will ever rule the worldQ Author: Shelly Fan Q Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Q Price: £12.95 / $18.95 Q Release: Out nowQ Author: No Such Thing As A Fish
Q Publisher: Hutchinson
Q Price: £12.99 / $24.95
Q Release: Out nowThe Book of
the Year 2019
The alternative book of
world records