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vickywoodburn's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I really liked what this book was trying to do and I found the format to be a very engaging one for breaking down science. However, the authors were alarmingly overly optimistic with their views of AI applications and I feel that potential roadblocks were highly glossed over.
anttirask's review
4.0
AI 2041 is a curious book. It combines sci-fi short stories and accompanying non-fiction essays that are also somewhat fictitious, since they are, as are the short stories themselves, speculating about what will the world look like in 20 years from now. They do, however, also explain some key concepts of AI and machine learning that are already in use, in some form, today.
The short stories have all different characters, but are linked by the existence of rather advanced AI and a world that has evolved due to advancement in that and other technologies.
As science fiction goes, the book felt like a less cynical version of Black Mirror. The book doesn't necessarily paint a cheery picture, because humanity hasn't managed to combat climate change that well, for instance, but the closest thing to resembling war is a terrorist attack by crazy quantum computing scientist (one of the more far-fetched plots, by the way). I know it's a little bleak to criticize a book not depicting of how a war would be fought in 20 years, but thanks to the war raging in Ukraine at the moment, it's hard to imagine a world without wars, even if we get AI working.
So, what did I think of the book in the end? I did like most of the ideas and also most of the execution of the short stories. Naturally, amongst the 10 stories, some of them were better than the others (it's hard to keep that consistency, even if it's just one author), but I can say that it was easy to get through all of them. And there were even moments that I managed to forget that there was a lecture coming, after the story, about the underlying technology.
Still, my favorite quote (it's from the outro and doesn't really spoil anything) from the book is actually form [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg], the author of [b:Neuromancer|6088007|Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1)|William Gibson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554437249l/6088007._SY75_.jpg|909457]: “The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed yet”. And that was the thought I was left with after having read the book. If we can't produce equity with the technology that we have now, is the world really going to change for the better just because of AI. I'm not sure. But it's still interesting to think about the possible scenarios of what the world might look like 20 years from now.
The short stories have all different characters, but are linked by the existence of rather advanced AI and a world that has evolved due to advancement in that and other technologies.
As science fiction goes, the book felt like a less cynical version of Black Mirror. The book doesn't necessarily paint a cheery picture, because humanity hasn't managed to combat climate change that well, for instance, but the closest thing to resembling war is a terrorist attack by crazy quantum computing scientist (one of the more far-fetched plots, by the way). I know it's a little bleak to criticize a book not depicting of how a war would be fought in 20 years, but thanks to the war raging in Ukraine at the moment, it's hard to imagine a world without wars, even if we get AI working.
So, what did I think of the book in the end? I did like most of the ideas and also most of the execution of the short stories. Naturally, amongst the 10 stories, some of them were better than the others (it's hard to keep that consistency, even if it's just one author), but I can say that it was easy to get through all of them. And there were even moments that I managed to forget that there was a lecture coming, after the story, about the underlying technology.
Still, my favorite quote (it's from the outro and doesn't really spoil anything) from the book is actually form [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg], the author of [b:Neuromancer|6088007|Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1)|William Gibson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554437249l/6088007._SY75_.jpg|909457]: “The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed yet”. And that was the thought I was left with after having read the book. If we can't produce equity with the technology that we have now, is the world really going to change for the better just because of AI. I'm not sure. But it's still interesting to think about the possible scenarios of what the world might look like 20 years from now.
grid's review
4.0
There’s a lot to love about this book. Not so much in the stories themselves, although those are mostly fine. Mostly I really liked the future prediction bits, even though I'm not usually much of a non-fiction reader, I definitely enjoyed this. There is definitely also value in the stories in that they depict the future predictions and make them more easily palatable / consumable. Not to mention interesting.
There were several biases present, I thought. But of course everyone has their blind spots. The worst for me was when the author repeatedly claimed that universal basic income would just lead to drug addiction and depression. I also find the idea that autonomous cars could one day drive only inches apart at super high speeds kind of laughable. Maybe on indoor tracks with very good environmental controls, but not in real world circumstances, is my bet.
Overall, this gave me a lot of food for thought, and I'll admit there's a part of me that wants to just go chapter by chapter and give my own takes, but I'm no expert on this stuff, even though I think about it a lot.
There were several biases present, I thought. But of course everyone has their blind spots. The worst for me was when the author repeatedly claimed that universal basic income would just lead to drug addiction and depression. I also find the idea that autonomous cars could one day drive only inches apart at super high speeds kind of laughable. Maybe on indoor tracks with very good environmental controls, but not in real world circumstances, is my bet.
Overall, this gave me a lot of food for thought, and I'll admit there's a part of me that wants to just go chapter by chapter and give my own takes, but I'm no expert on this stuff, even though I think about it a lot.
misshgtraveling's review
3.0
I believe the biggest area of improvement needed with the AI conversion as a whole is to address fear. Experts in AI seem to be ignoring that issue entirely and I don't think this book helps to address fear of AI. Otherwise, a good overview, introduction, and explanation of AI. Very utopian and disconnected from reality.
bentoush's review
challenging
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
otisbuster's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dptillman's review against another edition
The non fiction sections are interesting but the short stories don’t do it for me, couldn’t get into them
hussainweb's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a long book for what it purportedly sets out to do, but it is enjoyable. Each of the ten stories is well written. While not sophisticated stories, they have enough depth to be enjoyable while delivering the vision of the future. Each of the stories is followed by an explanation of the various technologies and how they work (at an overview level) and also the non-technical aspects such as bias, economics, social impact, etc.
If you’re interested in the wide world of the AI, this would be a very interesting read for you.
If you’re interested in the wide world of the AI, this would be a very interesting read for you.