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The Digital Ape: how to live (in peace) with smart machines
How smart machines are transforming us all — and what we should do about it.The smart-machines revolution is re-shaping our lives and our societies. Here, Nigel Shadbolt, one of Britain’s leading authorities on artificial intelligence, and Roger Hampson dispel terror, confusion, and misconception. They argue that it is human stupidity, not artificial intelligence, that should concern us.Lucid, well-informed, and deeply human, The Digital Ape offers a unique approach to some of the biggest questions about our future.
368 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 5, 2019
A decent book, if (inevitably) biased towards Linked Open Data and social machines research, but the audiobook narrator is a disaster - I'm sure 'Tim-Bernard Lee' and all the 'statistians' now working on data science would agree.
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November 7, 2018Nigel Shadbolt is one of the most fascinating and important scientists alive today.
Jim Al-Khalili
There has never been a more important time to discuss what it means to be human, in the past, now, and in the future. This is a book for anyone interested in getting behind the headlines and understanding how technology is impacting our world. The writers are two masters in their field who are not only erudite but immensely humane and compassionate.
Martha Lane Fox
This is a brilliantly readable, genuinely cutting-edge book that is also often very entertaining. Of all the recent studies of automation and AI, The Digital Ape stands head and shoulders above the rest. Shadbolt and Hampson have written a landmark book.
Andrew Keen, Author of How to Fix the Future and The Internet is Not the Answer
All explore the relationship between the human animal and what might be its most momentous creation yet: artificial intelligence … In a series of wide-ranging chapters, the authors argue that human beings are not just distinguished by their ability to use tools but also largely shaped by it.
Weekend Australia
Jim Al-Khalili
There has never been a more important time to discuss what it means to be human, in the past, now, and in the future. This is a book for anyone interested in getting behind the headlines and understanding how technology is impacting our world. The writers are two masters in their field who are not only erudite but immensely humane and compassionate.
Martha Lane Fox
This is a brilliantly readable, genuinely cutting-edge book that is also often very entertaining. Of all the recent studies of automation and AI, The Digital Ape stands head and shoulders above the rest. Shadbolt and Hampson have written a landmark book.
Andrew Keen, Author of How to Fix the Future and The Internet is Not the Answer
All explore the relationship between the human animal and what might be its most momentous creation yet: artificial intelligence … In a series of wide-ranging chapters, the authors argue that human beings are not just distinguished by their ability to use tools but also largely shaped by it.
Weekend Australia
January 4, 2020
Given the rise of artificial intelligence and other forms of smart machines, books of this flavour (what it means to be human, how to exist alongside smart machines etc.) are gaining in popularity. This wasn’t a particularly famous one – I hadn’t heard of it until I came across it browsing at a fairly large bookstore – but was well worth the read. I think I read somewhere that one of the authors is a journalist of some sort, and if true that does come through in the writing as it’s very accessible. The book covers quite a bit of breadth, but each chapter is sufficiently meaty that I didn’t feel like any of the points were particularly touch-and-go.
What I particularly liked about this one is the fact that both authors adopted an optimistic viewpoint – they declare themselves as optimists in an interview given relating to this book - acknowledging that there are issues to be solved but always taking the stand that “we can do something about it”. This is also the productive mindset that I generally like, there is nothing we can do now about the use of smart machines becoming more widespread (plus the benefits it brings, as they very eloquently discuss). I therefore am of the view that it is much more useful to think about how we might harness the good it brings and how we can adapt to an increasing adoption of machines in our life rather than some of the more pessimistic books on the topic which just harp on and on about job losses and the like without actually bringing to the table a workable solution. And, no, I don’t consider “reduce our reliance on smart machines” in that category.
The book also points to some books on the topic, sometimes including excerpts as quotes, some of which I would be interested to follow up on as further reading the next time I am in the mood for a book on this topic. One that I’d hold onto in my “books to keep” shelf, and one that I’d consider re-reading sometime in the future. 4.5 stars, 4 on Goodreads as while there wasn’t anything specific I didn’t like about it, somehow it lacked the oomph for the 5 stars.
What I particularly liked about this one is the fact that both authors adopted an optimistic viewpoint – they declare themselves as optimists in an interview given relating to this book - acknowledging that there are issues to be solved but always taking the stand that “we can do something about it”. This is also the productive mindset that I generally like, there is nothing we can do now about the use of smart machines becoming more widespread (plus the benefits it brings, as they very eloquently discuss). I therefore am of the view that it is much more useful to think about how we might harness the good it brings and how we can adapt to an increasing adoption of machines in our life rather than some of the more pessimistic books on the topic which just harp on and on about job losses and the like without actually bringing to the table a workable solution. And, no, I don’t consider “reduce our reliance on smart machines” in that category.
The book also points to some books on the topic, sometimes including excerpts as quotes, some of which I would be interested to follow up on as further reading the next time I am in the mood for a book on this topic. One that I’d hold onto in my “books to keep” shelf, and one that I’d consider re-reading sometime in the future. 4.5 stars, 4 on Goodreads as while there wasn’t anything specific I didn’t like about it, somehow it lacked the oomph for the 5 stars.
September 4, 2018
What did you like about this book?
Please consider the quality of illustrations, diagrams, photographs, paper quality, font style /size, language as well as the actual content
Please be alert for potential safety issues. Science textbooks from major publishers are usually safety conscious, but some books from small publishers, books that fall into the ‘hints for teachers’ category and ‘hobbies’ books or not actually written for education which may need careful consideration.
The writing style is easy to read and chatty as it flows from one topic to the next. The book flows logically, following the authors’ frame of mind as they move through a discussion of our use of technology. Some of the content in the book is extremely up to date, reflecting the fast moving pace of technology, whilst drawing on facts and quotes from earlier days which as just as relevant today.
The language isn’t overly technical making this a good book for someone with an interest in AI and smart machines but who doesn’t have the depth of subject knowledge to read and digest specialist journals. Instead the authors have included a comprehensive set of references and bibliographies if you want to check out the quotes sources mentioned in each chapter.
Occasionally the book was a little dry in places, which is to be expected if the authors cover all the research and reflect the true picture in technology. The way the book flows means it is easy to read but at the end I didn’t recall many of the arguments or facts given because of the way they are presented by the author and not returned to. The list of references and bibliography go someway to compensating for this.
December 18, 2018
What we think of as human nature cannot be assessed in the absence of the tools we use. Our most popular tool, the stone hand axe, predates our own species of Homo Sapiens by over 2 million years. As a result tens of thousands of generations of our forebears used tools to shape our world, each new generation a product of the tools that shaped the world.
Now, the tools we use are not only thinks you can drop on your foot, they are social, linguistic, organizational, conceptual, and increasingly digital. And although the authors of ‘The Digital Ape’ describe many dramatic visions of future humanity, we shouldn’t take particular eventuality as necessary of determined.
The digital ape makes a good case that as the pace of technological change increases, we need to redouble our efforts the have wide ranging conversations about the right way to regulate the entire suite of tools we use in order to make sure that the future we get is one we actually want to live.
Now, the tools we use are not only thinks you can drop on your foot, they are social, linguistic, organizational, conceptual, and increasingly digital. And although the authors of ‘The Digital Ape’ describe many dramatic visions of future humanity, we shouldn’t take particular eventuality as necessary of determined.
The digital ape makes a good case that as the pace of technological change increases, we need to redouble our efforts the have wide ranging conversations about the right way to regulate the entire suite of tools we use in order to make sure that the future we get is one we actually want to live.
April 6, 2020
So, I stumbled upon this book in Berlin, Dussmann, and had to buy it.
Since I'm writting a master's thesis (philosophy) on the matter of human and technology, this book is one of my main literature.
I think it has an excellent introduction in the topic (using of tools, evolving of humans using that same tool, etc.) and leads you to the present day complexity of hyper-complex habitat that we live in. Plurperspective and interdisciplinary, simple yet not trivializing, with really good examples.
And the most important thing - no sci-fi black scenarios that people usually do like to imagine when discussing about AI!
Since I'm writting a master's thesis (philosophy) on the matter of human and technology, this book is one of my main literature.
I think it has an excellent introduction in the topic (using of tools, evolving of humans using that same tool, etc.) and leads you to the present day complexity of hyper-complex habitat that we live in. Plurperspective and interdisciplinary, simple yet not trivializing, with really good examples.
And the most important thing - no sci-fi black scenarios that people usually do like to imagine when discussing about AI!
October 17, 2018
Thought provoking
With an unashamedly idealistic outlook, the book adds to th Canon of well crafted works, reflecting on nothing less than the future of mankind. It sits with Sapiens and The Rise of the Robots and takes intelligent contra views to parts of both.
A good and largely accessible written style . Well worth the read.
With an unashamedly idealistic outlook, the book adds to th Canon of well crafted works, reflecting on nothing less than the future of mankind. It sits with Sapiens and The Rise of the Robots and takes intelligent contra views to parts of both.
A good and largely accessible written style . Well worth the read.
November 22, 2019
Interesting, but meandering & verbose.
March 17, 2020
Reasonable book on technology in modern life but doesn't say anything original or groundbreaking. You'll have heard most of this before.
July 7, 2024
A good read during the AI hype, some very strong evidence that much hasn't changed, just more people know about it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews