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123 reviews for:
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want
Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna
4.12 AVERAGE
123 reviews for:
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want
Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna
4.12 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Very good summary of the present state of AI from a societal point of view. How much of it is over hyped and which problems are of concern and which aren’t.
While I agree fully with the authors that current AIs are so far removed from AGI that their impact should be seen as wholly separate and that the players are using the scare tactics around AGI for nefarious purposes, i feel that the authors are a little too dismissing the concept of AGI and research into it as a hypothetical… even if only as a branch of philosophy… hence 4,5 stars and not 5
While I agree fully with the authors that current AIs are so far removed from AGI that their impact should be seen as wholly separate and that the players are using the scare tactics around AGI for nefarious purposes, i feel that the authors are a little too dismissing the concept of AGI and research into it as a hypothetical… even if only as a branch of philosophy… hence 4,5 stars and not 5
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Lots of good information. This brings the buzz about AI into perspective. It's far more exploitative then I had initially imagined.
Audiobook note: I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the recording. There was a faint echo to the recording that made it sound auto generated. (Which would be directly in opposition to what this had to say.) An overly sarcastic tone wasn't my favorite thing either.
Audiobook note: I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the recording. There was a faint echo to the recording that made it sound auto generated. (Which would be directly in opposition to what this had to say.) An overly sarcastic tone wasn't my favorite thing either.
informative
medium-paced
I am giving this book an additional half star for content, because some of the new information presented to me. It was informative, but I found the overall voice to be grating, and consistently trying too hard to be funny.
It’s interesting to me that the authors mention their podcast—it is abundantly clear to me that the chapters within this book were not necessarily written in connection with each other. In other words, the chapters feel as if they were written to serve as individual articles, rather than as parts of a whole. This is especially obvious when the same phrases come up, over and over again. I was also frustrated by how often the phrase “in this chapter” or “as we’ll discuss in [chapter number].” It was bizarre. Excluding the table of contents and chapter headers themselves, the word “chapter” was used on 56 different occasions throughout the book. Personally, I don’t need a callback to a topic that was discussed 30 pages ago. Maybe I’m being petty, but I found this contributed to the overall condescending tone of the book.
Although The AI Con had interesting things to say about the AI development field and its outsized capabilities and impact on the world, I found it to be redundant and bloated, despite the relatively short length. The repetition was unnecessary, and borderline insulting. There are much better books on the topic out there, without the insufferable voices of the authors.
It’s interesting to me that the authors mention their podcast—it is abundantly clear to me that the chapters within this book were not necessarily written in connection with each other. In other words, the chapters feel as if they were written to serve as individual articles, rather than as parts of a whole. This is especially obvious when the same phrases come up, over and over again. I was also frustrated by how often the phrase “in this chapter” or “as we’ll discuss in [chapter number].” It was bizarre. Excluding the table of contents and chapter headers themselves, the word “chapter” was used on 56 different occasions throughout the book. Personally, I don’t need a callback to a topic that was discussed 30 pages ago. Maybe I’m being petty, but I found this contributed to the overall condescending tone of the book.
Although The AI Con had interesting things to say about the AI development field and its outsized capabilities and impact on the world, I found it to be redundant and bloated, despite the relatively short length. The repetition was unnecessary, and borderline insulting. There are much better books on the topic out there, without the insufferable voices of the authors.
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sobering take on how the tech industry has sold us "AI hype", and about how to resist the AI inevitability doctrine using pointed questions and humor. It left me ready to say "no" to AI in work and my personal life.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
As an "AI" hater who works in tech, I learned a few new points from this one. Hanna and Bender write compellingly and give readers action items to resist our "AI" hype hellscape.
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
informative
fast-paced