The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut - 4+ stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut - 4* - My Review

I had previously read Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World, a blend of non-fiction and fiction about the relationship between scientific genius and mental health issues. The MANIAC continues this theme. This book is split into three sections – the first focuses on Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest, the second on Hungarian mathematician John Von Neumann, and the third on Korean Go Master Lee Se-dol and the Artificial Intelligence computing program called AlphaGo.

Ehrenfest’s section tells of his work in quantum mechanics and his involvement in a murder-suicide. Ehrenfest lived during the Nazi era in Germany, and his son was confined to a mental facility. This section is short and appears to be all (or mostly) non-fiction.

Von Neumann’s section reads like a (fictional) biography that includes interviews of people who knew him, including his family members, friends, and colleagues. Von Neumann was undoubtedly a genius, but also had a callousness to his personality. One example of this is his recommendation of how to deploy the uranium and plutonium bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to maximize destruction. For me, this section is the strongest, and the most frightening. This section covers his involvement in the Manhattan Project, development of game theory, early AI, the mathematical basis of quantum mechanics, and more, as seen through the eyes of others.

The third section tells of the computer AlphaGo versus Lee Se-dol in the Go contests held in 2016. Go is a board game of strategy for two players with a goal of surrounding the most territory on the game board, as invented in China over 4500 years ago. This section portrays developments in artificial intelligence, and its success in beating one of the best human players. That is, until AlphaGo encounters an audacious move by Lee Se-dol that caused a temporary breakdown in its logic.

The three sections are tied together thematically. I believe Labatut is tracing the development of intelligence, and its expansion from human to machine. He is also pointing out the need for morality in decision-making rather than reliance on cold logic. I found the entire book fascinating. It will appeal to those interested in science, mathematics, and the history of technology.

[NancyJ]

Joy D wrote: "The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut - 4* - My Review

I had previously read Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World, a blend of non-fiction and fiction about the..."

Great review as always Joy. This is on my 2024 plan, so I’m so glad to see your review. I want to understand more about artificial intelligence (in real life), but I feared that it would be too technical. I liked When We Cease to Understand the world, so I think this might be the right author for me. I just hope the author isn’t the only one thinking about the morality problems. (We’ve all seen The Terminator, right?)

[Joy D]

Thanks, Nancy. If you liked his first book, you'll probably like this one. Labatut is rapidly making his way onto my favorite authors list. He is looking at the scientific advancements (and scientists) of past with an eye to the future, with the idea that we cannot let AI or other advancements get out of hand. We already have examples where the human decisions to use science in an unethical manner has resulted in massive death and destruction (e.g., the development of the atomic bomb, the Nazi use of eugenics and poison gas).

I think the AI emphasis here is on the initial development, with a caution to use it wisely. There is not much danger in playing computer games with it (as in Alpha Go), but it points out the ways that AI can be "duped" and thus, open up possibilities for it to go off in an illogical direction with potential serious results if it were being used for something other than a game. (Remember the film War Games?)

I find the entire concept fascinating and relevant. I imagine in future works Labatut will continue these themes. I can't wait for his next work.