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hux 's review for:
The Maniac
by BenjamÃn Labatut
It's ironic that a book about AI should read as though it was written by AI. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the book (at least the majority of it) is very easy to read and I zipped through it quite quickly, finding it mostly entertaining but a little dry.
The story is based on real events and people, predominantly John Von Neumann, a physicist whose work touched on various fields but especially artificial intelligence. The last part of the book then switches to the creator of an AI computer that plays GO and defeats the world's best player Lee Sedol. The theme of AI is interesting and certainly current, its tentacles reaching into everything right now, so Labatut chose a valid subject matter. But the first few chapters aside, I'm not sure I ever truly enjoyed the writing style nor the fact that it details real people in a fictionalised setting. Truth be told, it made think I might be better off simply reading a biography of Von Neumann (clearly a fascinating character). The book details his early life, his genius, his move to America and is involvement in the Manhatten Project. But you never really get a true sense of the man or his work, only a general outline which paints him (somewhat predictably) as an aloof, occasionally cranky genius (again, a biography might have been more rewarding). That being said, Labatut deserves credit for the research he must have done.
It was fun to read for a while but I began to lose interest slightly and only perked up again when it was time to move on to the story of Sedol playing against the AlphaGo AI computer. But the sudden switch to a significantly less brilliant character slowed things down too much. Plus, I've never really liked the whole concept of a fictionalised account of real people's lives, and a lot of it felt like I was reading a Wikipedia entry, albeit one which is essentially giving me the facts but in an easy to digest and mildly more animated manner. Ultimately, the whole thing felt a little dull and lifeless, lacking in any real human warmth or creative prose (hence, the book itself started to feel a little robotic). Maybe that was the point, maybe Labatut is a genius.
Overall, it was fine, readable, clear, and I mostly enjoyed it. I just never found it to be anything very beautiful, artistic or soulful. Essentially, a very fun Wikipedia entry in book form.
The story is based on real events and people, predominantly John Von Neumann, a physicist whose work touched on various fields but especially artificial intelligence. The last part of the book then switches to the creator of an AI computer that plays GO and defeats the world's best player Lee Sedol. The theme of AI is interesting and certainly current, its tentacles reaching into everything right now, so Labatut chose a valid subject matter. But the first few chapters aside, I'm not sure I ever truly enjoyed the writing style nor the fact that it details real people in a fictionalised setting. Truth be told, it made think I might be better off simply reading a biography of Von Neumann (clearly a fascinating character). The book details his early life, his genius, his move to America and is involvement in the Manhatten Project. But you never really get a true sense of the man or his work, only a general outline which paints him (somewhat predictably) as an aloof, occasionally cranky genius (again, a biography might have been more rewarding). That being said, Labatut deserves credit for the research he must have done.
It was fun to read for a while but I began to lose interest slightly and only perked up again when it was time to move on to the story of Sedol playing against the AlphaGo AI computer. But the sudden switch to a significantly less brilliant character slowed things down too much. Plus, I've never really liked the whole concept of a fictionalised account of real people's lives, and a lot of it felt like I was reading a Wikipedia entry, albeit one which is essentially giving me the facts but in an easy to digest and mildly more animated manner. Ultimately, the whole thing felt a little dull and lifeless, lacking in any real human warmth or creative prose (hence, the book itself started to feel a little robotic). Maybe that was the point, maybe Labatut is a genius.
Overall, it was fine, readable, clear, and I mostly enjoyed it. I just never found it to be anything very beautiful, artistic or soulful. Essentially, a very fun Wikipedia entry in book form.