How AI Ate the World: A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence - and Its Long Future

— —

Chris Stokel-Walker

How AI Ate the World

A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence - and Its Long Future

Chris Stokel-Walker

$42.95 $36.88

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Canbury
09 May 2024

Technology: general issues; Computing & IT; Computer science; Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence will shake up our lives as thoroughly as the arrival of the internet. This popular, up-to-date book charts AI’s rise from its Cold War origins to its explosive growth in the 2020s.

Tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker (TikTok Boom and YouTubers) goes into the laboratories of the Silicon Valley innovators making rapid advances in ‘large language models’ of machine learning. He meets the insiders at Google and OpenAI who built Gemini and ChatGPT and reveals the extraordinary plans they have for them.

Along the way, he explores AI’s dark side by talking to workers who have lost their jobs to bots and engages with futurologists worried that a man-made super-intelligence could threaten humankind.

He answers critical questions about the AI revolution, such as what humanity might be jeopardising; the professions that will win and lose; and whether the existential threat technologists Elon Musk and Sam Altman are warning about is realistic – or a smokescreen to divert attention away from their growing power. How AI Ate the World is a ‘start here’ guide for anyone who wants to know more about the world we have just entered.

By: Chris Stokel-Walker
Imprint: Canbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 380g
ISBN: 9781914487323
ISBN 10: 191448732X
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 09 May 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Adult education , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

INTRODUCTION 1 PART 1: ORIGINS 6 Chapter 1: MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND A MAGIC TOOL 8 Chapter 2: THE FATHERS OF AI 14 Chapter 3: THE AI WINTER LOOMS 27 Chapter 4: OVER TO JAPAN 35 Chapter 5: SHALL WE PLAY A GAME? 45 Chapter 6: READY STEADY, GO! 54 Chapter 7: THE BATTLE FOR AI CHIPS 61 Chapter 8: THE BIRTH OF OPENAI 72 Chapter 9: ATTENTION TRANSFORMS FORTUNES 82 Chapter 10: ENTER MICROSOFT 89 PART 2: IMPACTS 100 Chapter 11: MAKING WORK WORK 102 Chapter 12: AI DOOMERS 114 Chapter 13: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MIDJOURNEY 127 Chapter 14: MEET THE PROMPT ENGINEERS 138 Chapter 15: AI’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 143 Chapter 16: AI ART 152 Chapter 17: MISINFORMATION 167 Chapter 18: DISINFORMATION 179 Chapter 19: PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE 197 Chapter 20: CODED BIASES 202 PART 3: ISSUES 214 Chapter 21: THE HUMAN SIDE OF AI 216 Chapter 22: AI MUSIC, MOVIES AND BOOKS 225 Chapter 23: AI AND LONELINESS 236 Chapter 24: MOATS AND DEFENCES 244 Chapter 25: THE AI FIELD EXPANDS (AND CONTRACTS) 249 Chapter 26: TAMING BIG TECH 257 Chapter 27: OPENAI AT WAR 273 Chapter 28: SOVEREIGN AI 282 Chapter 29: WHERE ARE WE GOING? 288

Chris Stokel-Walker is a freelance English journalist, specialising in technology. He regularly contributes to the BBC, Washington Post, New York Times, WIRED, Economist, Guardian, New Scientist and Newsweek, and appears on the BBC, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera, Times Radio and other TV channels and radio stations. Chris is author of YouTubers: How YouTube Shook Up TV and Created a New Generation of Stars (2019, Canbury Press), and TikTok Boom: China’s Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media (2021, Canbury Press) – the first popular book on TikTok. His latest book is The History of the Internet in Byte-Sized Chunks (2023, Michael O’Mara Books).

Reviews for How AI Ate the World: A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence - and Its Long Future

"""From ancient China to Victorian England, How AI Ate The World is the story of the characters, moments, technologies, and relationships that populate the rich history of artificial intelligence. A book about what is gained––and what is lost––amidst the steady march of a technology that now saturates our lives, How AI Ate The World grapples with what the age of automation means for the people living through it."" Harry Law, University of Cambridge 'A witty, engaging book that takes us through AI's bumpy past to help us understand its present, and future, impacts. I highly recommend it to anyone who is impacted by AI tech (which is to say, everyone on the planet).' Sasha Luccioni, Hugging Face ""Whether you are new to AI or have been following the AI hype for years, Chris Stokel-Walker offers an entertaining balance of history, context and insight in How AI Ate the World that has something for everyone. The story of AI’s evolution is a complex one, but Stokel-Walker tackles it in a clear, direct way that will bring you up to speed while helping you grapple with what it all means — for individuals, the workplace, society and the planet."" Sharon Goldman, VentureBeat 'How AI Ate the World prodigiously captures the key issues and concerns around artificial intelligence.' Azeem Azhar, Exponential View 'A comprehensive and compelling look at the technology that's transforming our world. It's an essential guide, full of surprises, to the technology you need to know.' Matt Navarra, Journalist"