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lucyp21's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
I requested this book from NetGalley when I saw it on the Women's Prize Longlist and discovered it wouldn't be coming out until the end of March, after the shortlist was announced. I didn't get this finished by the time the shortlist was announced but I had started it by that point.
This book looks at AI and what exactly it does, both in terms of the technology it uses, but also how it is built in the first place. It is an extremely topical book and I commend the author on already keeping an eye on the AI technology before it started being used all over the place. Murgia does a really good job at not only looking at the way AI can harm society negatively, through loss of privacy for example, but also how it can benefit society (medical situations) but only if it is used alongside human skill. When AI works to people's benefit is when it is used to give people a second opinion, rather than replacing people/workers altogether.
Murgia travels all around the world as the use of AI, and especially the creation of it, doesn't just happen in the Global North. She looks at how it gets trained, who does the training and what kind of situation the trainers themselves are in (in terms of pay and working conditions). And, as expected, there is exploitation going on in the creation of it, but also in the use of it. And this book is great at talking about the wider implications on relying on a computer trained by humans to be impartial or objective.
4.5 stars!
astridandlouise's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
_inge_'s review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
The world of AI is brought to light by stories about real people and how algorithms have had influence on their lives. A lot of good can be done by using smart computational power, but there's also risk of abuse, further inequality and oppression. We should pick our leaders very carefully because someone is going to have to establish the rules of the game.
whatkatereadsnext's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
jcampbell's review against another edition
challenging
5.0
Such a fantastic look into the human costs of AI. From data labellers being paid above the living wage for their area and still exploited when you consider the vast amounts of money companies are making on their labour; to rideshare drivers who are having algorithms routinely underpay them for the distance and time they have worked.
The book is diverse in its discussion and keeps you really engaged as it helps refocus the narrative from the technology to the people building it, using it and suffering because of it.
The book is diverse in its discussion and keeps you really engaged as it helps refocus the narrative from the technology to the people building it, using it and suffering because of it.