It’s hard to think of a more topical book after Chat GPT has broken into the headlines and dominated our imaginations. The title of the book tells you what this book is about; perhaps my first task has to be to persuade you why this book needs to be read. After all, haven’t articles and videos galore been written and posted about this topic? Whether you think AI will transform human potential or doom us all to unemployment or worse has been debated and re-debated and re-debated so much that surely there is nothing left to say about the matter?
I think this book is different. Granted, it was written a little before Chat GPT became a big deal, and so some of the examples it mentions feel a bit clumsy and old-fashioned, but I think the general idea of what it is getting at remains true, and most importantly, this is a fresh perspective. The authors are very knowledgeable about the field of AI, and so are experts and not pundits; yet they are not in one of the two main camps: optimistic and bullish, or pessimistic and waiting for doom. Rather, they believe that AI can be transformative, but that the current focus on deep learning is fundamentally limited and will not deliver the transformation being promised.
The book is written with great humour and effortlessly readable prose, a rarity in the non-fiction space. It explains the history of AI and defines it well, making it clear that our current deep learning AI solutions are but one branch of the broader discipline of machine intelligence. It then articulates its thesis brilliantly with many easy-to-follow examples. This book doesn’t just tell you what the matter with AI is now, it also tells you what on earth it is that AI does, and how it works. It demystifies it, which I think is essential for our understanding of it. If we think it’s some sort of godlike intelligence or a machine with a soul, then we have misunderstood what it is and what it can do. It is a tool, like any other, and is no more a person than a car or a hoover is.
The maturing of deep learning has been truly exciting. I love that we have machines that can beat humans at the game of go now. I love the fact that writing natural sentences and producing art is something a machine can do. This is a paradigm shift. The introduction of AI has also rekindled in me a fascination with the possibilities of technology, everything from supersonic planes and electric cars to nuclear fusion and quantum computing. I think reading this book was a big part of that, and I really encourage everyone else to dive in and learn about the changes that are (and aren’t) coming. You don’t need to watch in fear and awe at this new technology. You can just learn about it and understand it.
Wet Broken Things 