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khauthor 's review for:
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I found out about this new book (released two months ago) on a Facebook page book page for US Air Force Academy alumni.
The author Michael Kanaan and I were cadets at the Academy at the same time. Although we didn't know each other, when I saw him announce pre-orders for his new book about artificial intelligence in the early summer of 2020, I wanted to support his work and learn more about A.I.
As an Air Force officer, I'm very familiar with military style writing at the executive level. When I opened this book I expected to see dense writing packed with militaristic jargon, strung together in uninteresting ways, in the style of anything I ever read that came out of any Air Force professional military education (PME). I expected pedantic, dry, and somewhat dull.
I'm happy to report that is not the case with T-Minus AI.
Kanaan successfully takes the complicated subject of AI and makes it understandable for those of us who do not live and breath the technical facets of it on a daily basis.
The book has a logical flow. It takes readers from the development of the concept of AI, through its early precursors, how modern AI works and is trained, then finally to the impact AI is having on nations around the world. It was clearly written for the AI uninitiated (most people) to demonstrate the importance of the technology now and in the future.
I also thought he did a very good job of including technical descriptions of AI and computing without turning it into a white paper about AI. Like many of my fellow Academy alumni (and me), Kanaan occasionally geeks out with numbers. Sometimes this was in the context of AI or describing the details of a historical event. I mention this because I know this may discourage some people from reading the book, because it may come off as too technical, too mathy.
I personally enjoyed the inclusion of the numbers. They provided great context on just how difficult it is for the human mind to comprehend giga, terra, and petabytes of data that flash by our eyes in nanoseconds nearly everyday of our lives these days, when we use our smartphones or uses the internet for our daily activities
As someone who travels to Asia fairly often (I have family in Singapore), and is actively learning Mandarin Chinese, the information about China's reach and influence in AI research, development, and implementation was eye-opening, and a bit chilling. I felt as if I were back at the Academy reading a required book for MSS100. It was that informative and insightful, making me wonder what if anything the US is REALLY doing to counter the Chinese.
Kanaan combined math, science, engineering, history, and even a little philosophy into this book. These are a few of my favorite things. I wish this book would have come out sooner, so I could have had a firmer grasp on AI before I included aspects of it in my first fiction book, but now I'm even more informed to write my next two books.
Bottom line: if you, like many people, know nothing about AI outside of what you have seen or read in science fiction media; if you are interested in how AI is connected to nearly every facet of your life right now; or if you are interested in the potential long-term impacts of the technology in the context of military strategy or domestic uses, T-Minus AI is a must read.
5-Stars
The author Michael Kanaan and I were cadets at the Academy at the same time. Although we didn't know each other, when I saw him announce pre-orders for his new book about artificial intelligence in the early summer of 2020, I wanted to support his work and learn more about A.I.
As an Air Force officer, I'm very familiar with military style writing at the executive level. When I opened this book I expected to see dense writing packed with militaristic jargon, strung together in uninteresting ways, in the style of anything I ever read that came out of any Air Force professional military education (PME). I expected pedantic, dry, and somewhat dull.
I'm happy to report that is not the case with T-Minus AI.
Kanaan successfully takes the complicated subject of AI and makes it understandable for those of us who do not live and breath the technical facets of it on a daily basis.
The book has a logical flow. It takes readers from the development of the concept of AI, through its early precursors, how modern AI works and is trained, then finally to the impact AI is having on nations around the world. It was clearly written for the AI uninitiated (most people) to demonstrate the importance of the technology now and in the future.
I also thought he did a very good job of including technical descriptions of AI and computing without turning it into a white paper about AI. Like many of my fellow Academy alumni (and me), Kanaan occasionally geeks out with numbers. Sometimes this was in the context of AI or describing the details of a historical event. I mention this because I know this may discourage some people from reading the book, because it may come off as too technical, too mathy.
I personally enjoyed the inclusion of the numbers. They provided great context on just how difficult it is for the human mind to comprehend giga, terra, and petabytes of data that flash by our eyes in nanoseconds nearly everyday of our lives these days, when we use our smartphones or uses the internet for our daily activities
As someone who travels to Asia fairly often (I have family in Singapore), and is actively learning Mandarin Chinese, the information about China's reach and influence in AI research, development, and implementation was eye-opening, and a bit chilling. I felt as if I were back at the Academy reading a required book for MSS100. It was that informative and insightful, making me wonder what if anything the US is REALLY doing to counter the Chinese.
Kanaan combined math, science, engineering, history, and even a little philosophy into this book. These are a few of my favorite things. I wish this book would have come out sooner, so I could have had a firmer grasp on AI before I included aspects of it in my first fiction book, but now I'm even more informed to write my next two books.
Bottom line: if you, like many people, know nothing about AI outside of what you have seen or read in science fiction media; if you are interested in how AI is connected to nearly every facet of your life right now; or if you are interested in the potential long-term impacts of the technology in the context of military strategy or domestic uses, T-Minus AI is a must read.
5-Stars