Welcome to Litsy!

This is a historian‘s perspective of our current place in human history: how will AI change our lives? Harari attempts to answer this question by looking to the past to consider the future of the technology age. I loved this, though it is a long and information-heavy journey through time. Everyone should listen to this to understand our time and place in history, where we came from, and the warnings of where we could be headed.

I didn‘t expect this to read like a memoir (a genre I typically don‘t read) but I appreciate how the author interweaves her own history and story with the illuminating information about facial recognition and image processing AI technologies.

I‘m glad I have read other books about the different technologies grouped together in the description of “AI.”

Unpopular opinion but I thought this novel about a sex robot with a growing sentience and free will and her nasty, cruel master never quite plumbed the issues it purports to raise, remaining superficial and/or dropping those issues entirely (Annie‘s whitewashed resemblance to Doug‘s ex-wife is one instance of this). Frankly, I was bored. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-annie-bot-by-sierra-greer.html

If you love science fiction and want to be scared about AI this is the book. Better read for women than men..why? Bc if a man likes this then I am really scared! Love that a woman wrote this. Be free! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greer‘s book is a remarkably thoughtful exploration of sexuality, human relations, and identity, especially given that it is only 230 pages. I really loved Annie.

This is not a bad book at all, it is just making me uncomfortable and is just not for me. #hailthebail #dnf

This book is important. It‘s also A LOT. It goes way back in time to how we gathered and why ( we love a unifying narrative) and all the ways those narratives have caused us harm or to do harm. We are the smartest and dumbest of creatures. It all leads up to the creation of AI and the good and bad it can and will bring. We need to create self correcting strategies. We need to fund education. We need to start yesterday.

I‘m doing a deep dive on reading books about AI, and this one is fantastic for explaining the different kinds of technology referred to as AI, how it works and was created, what it can do and what it can‘t. Highly recommend.

(Image: batik by Lene Wojcik)

Building away. YNH is talking about how computer algorithms can go awry and referencing Facebook's involvement in spreading lies and misinformation against the Rohingya people. I read about this in Maria Ressa's How to Stand up to a Dictator. What's awful is even when people called out the lies and called on FB to stop the algorithms, the damage was done. CBC spoke this week about how easy and cheap it is to buy groups on FB with followers 😢