Full Description
Artificial intelligence will shake up life in the 2020s as dramatically as the internet did in the 2000s. This accessible, up-to-date book charts AI's rise from its origins in Cold War America to its imminent and far-reaching impact on us today.
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 Bard and ChatGPT and reveals the extraordinary plans they have for them.
And he explores the dark side of AI by talking to workers who have lost their jobs to chatbots and engages with futurologists worried that we are creating a dangerous super-intelligence that could threaten humankind.
Along the way, he answers critical questions about the AI revolution, such as what, if anything, humanity is jeopardising; the professions that will win and lose; and whether the existential threat Elon Musk and Sam Altman warn 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 next big tech wave. It's vital reading.
Contents
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
