Reviews

The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive by Brian Christian

asafae26's review against another edition

funny informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

This was an overall enjoyable and informative read with plenty of moments of reflection. At some points it was a little repetitive or dry, but overall I would recommend this book. Sadly a little outdated now, although there is still plenty that remains relevant today.

ciyaturnip's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

frudzicz's review against another edition

3.0

It's too loose a trek;
Through disconnected ngrams.
Human. All too meh.

lecterclarice's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

bodagirl's review against another edition

If I had read this book when I initially added it to my TBR in 2011-ish I would have found it interesting, but AI and GenAI have evolved too much.

bumsonseats's review against another edition

3.0

In 2009, Brian Christian won the title of Most Human Human in the Tur ing Test (Lobner Prize), which is a test where humans must convince other humans (during a 5-minute screen conversation) that they are in fact human and not AI programme. The AI programme can win the Most Human Computer Award.
In this book he explores what makes humans human, and how we can change when faced with robots and clever machines. A good read.

bechols's review against another edition

5.0

I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as his other two books. I was wrong. Playful, thought-provoking, varied, with several great turns of phrase.

“I can’t really explain it, it’s easier to just show you”, the analogy to keyframes in video, and the further implication for creativity particularly got to me.

Recommended.

omdel's review against another edition

4.0

This is a finely written, entertaining overview of AI and how computers imitate processes like conversation. However, after you read it you're left with very few, long-term take aways in either insight or information. It's as if the offer said a bunch of things you already knew using eloquent and entertaining words. On the plus side, though, this also serves as a great compilation of quotes from Bertrand Russell, Garry Kasparov and others. My kindle edition has tons of highlighted passages.

saadr's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

hebryant's review against another edition

5.0

"The word games Scattergories and Boggle are played differently but scored the same way. Players, each with a list of words they've come up with, compare lists and cross off every word that appears on more than one list. The player with the most words remaining on her sheet wins. I've always fancied this a rather cruel way of keeping score. Imagine a player who comes up with four words, and each of her four opponents only comes up with one of them. The round is a draw, but it hardly feels like one....As the line of human uniqueness pulls back ever more, we put the eggs of our identity into fewer and fewer baskets; then the computer comes along and takes that final basket, crosses off that final word. And we realize that uniqueness, per se, never had anything to do with it. The ramparts we built to keep other species and other mechanisms out also kept us in. In breaking down that last door, computers have let us out. And back into the light.

Who would have imagined that the computer's earliest achievements would be in the domain of logical analysis, a capacity held to be what made us most different from everything on the planet? That it could drive a car and guide a missile before it could ride a bike? That it could make plausible preludes in the style of Bach before it could make plausible small talk? That it could translate before it could paraphrase? That it could spin half-plausible postmodern theory essays before it could be shown a chair and say, as any toddler can, "chair"? We forget what the impressive things are. Computers are reminding us."