Welcome to Litsy!

Excellent book about AI
Across chapters dealing with different themes (livelihood, health, freedom, etc.), the author presents the hopes vs the reality/limitations of AI.
She reminds readers that it's foremost a statistical tool made out of data, by men, and that using it without human oversight could have dangerous/unfair consequences.
She also asks relevant questions about the making and future of it, and its possible impact on society.

This was a selection from last year's Women's Prize NF Longlist, I think I've been on the hold list for at least 8 months for the audio! Pleasantly surprised at just how worth the wait it was!

Equal parts fascinating, infuriating, and sometimes downright terrifying, Murgia dives into the possibilities, perils, and pitfalls of our growing use of AI technology.

Cont'd in comments

A global perspective on AI that casts the various tools and platforms in individual human terms.

This one was definitely a ‘pick‘ for me! Fascinating, and informative this book kept me riveted. I learnt so much that I had no idea about. For example ‘data labourers‘. The people who painstakingly go through images for AI and are paid a pittance. The author shows the impact of AI around the world. A great read that I got from the library but I feel like I need my own copy as I‘ll keep going back to it. It is a scary glimpse into our future.

There are a bunch of recently published AI books, but this one won out for me as it was on the #WomensPrize longlist for nonfiction. I loved the way Murgia focused on actual humans. Zooming in to show how this technology is impacting real folks helped me stay invested. From an English woman‘s stolen photos on social media made into deepfake porn to the poorest nations whose citizens are exposed to horrific content to teach AI—this is well done.

This eventually was terrific. She talks about Chinese universal surveillance, the apparent arbitrariness of law enforcement to prevent rebellion. And the problem of openness around AI. A known code is useful. But if hidden, it seems random and becomes dangerous. And she talks about the predictive nature of ChatGPT, how it predicts language patterns, and so makes things up, conjuring facts. I found the 1st 7 hrs dull, the last 2 fascinating.

Just getting going on audio. It‘s ok so far.

#weirdwordwednesday
Maybe not that weird, but I had to look it up when I came across it earlier in this book.

#firstlinefridays

I thought this was a brilliant read on AI although I spent most of it thinking ‘how can this be allowed to happen‘ (especially in regard to deep fakes 😤). It was giving me anxiety thinking of the world we‘re living in with AI becoming more prominent as a lot of seemed quite bad - however the audio came with a 30min interview with the author which sort of offered a more balanced approach to it- she talked of how it could be used in positive ways.

I‘m so glad this was on the women‘s prize list, because that made sure I read it, and I‘m really glad I did. Murgia looks at the various ways AI is being used or developed, from the good (medical uses) to the bad (so many, but deep fakes especially made me shudder). Of course humans are training the AI, so it not only takes on our prejudices but amplifies them. This is good for all of us to know about.

My current #audio
Really interesting and a lot more accessible than I expected.

#WomensPrizeNF

#wpfornonfictionshortlist #pop24 #52bookclub24 #aty24 #publishedin2024

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I was worried that this #womensprize for NF long lister would be a bit dry but it wasn‘t. (I‘d tried to start Vulture Capitalism which I found difficult to get into so thought this may be the same).

The author uses real-life people and their stories to discuss the impact of AI, both good and bad, which makes it an interesting and accessible read.

Covering areas such as facial recognition, health apps and crime statistics I‘d recommend it.