ABOUT THE AUTHOR. PROLOGUE. 1 The Search for Intelligence. 2 The Shortcut. 3 Finding Order in the World. 4 Lady Lovelace Was Wrong. 5 Unintended Behaviour. 6 Microtargeting and Mass Persuasion. 7 The Feedback Loop. 8 The Glitch. 9 Social Machines. 10 Regulating, Not Unplugging. EPILOGUE. BIBLIOGRAPHY. INDEX.
Nello Cristianini has been an influential researcher in the field of machine learning and AI for over 20 years. He is Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bath, before that he has worked at the University of Bristol, the University of California (Davis), the University of London (Royal Holloway). For his work in machine learning, he has been a past recipient of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, and of the ERC Advanced Grant. Cristianini has been the co-author of influential books in machine learning, as well as dozens of academic articles, published in journals that range from AI to the philosophy of science, from the digital humanities to natural language processing, and from sociology to biology. In 2017, he delivered the annual STOA lecture at the European Parliament on the topic of the social impact of AI, a theme that he is still actively investigating. Cristianini has a degree in Physics from the University of Trieste, an MSc in Computational Intelligence from the University of London, and a PhD from the University of Bristol.
"Nello Cristianini’s brilliant book accessibly explains the
shortcuts computer scientists took in their search for artificial
intelligence, and how the interaction between engineers, companies
and consumers created our online world. The shortcuts enabled
problems to be solved, but using them on a massive scale also had
unintended consequences. One of the most important points of this
book is that the feedback loops between humans and AIs are changing
us. Another is that the form taken by AI and IT could have been
different, and that regulation and scrutiny could make it more
compatible with human flourishing. The book tells key stories in
the history of AI and big data, and introduces many critical ideas
lucidly. The Shortcut is itself an elegant shortcut to
understanding."
-- James Ladyman, Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol,
President-elect of The British Society for the Philosophy of
Science "Nello Cristianini is a prominent AI researcher who has
contributed to the field for more than twenty-five years. In this
exquisitely written book, rich in anecdotes, he traces the history
of AI over that time up to the latest developments. In looking to
the future, he takes an unusual but revealing perspective that the
present form of AI is a social machine which has effects --
intended and unintended -- on us."--Chris Watkins, Professor of
Machine Learning, Royal Holloway, University of London“The writing
style is wonderful. Clear, lucid and unfussy. Very readable and
very accessible. The first four chapters in particular make
accessible the basic difference between rule-based programming and
the pattern-based approach of ML techniques. They provide a clear
and engaging account of the field's development. These chapters
also put forward a persuasive account of the notion of
'intelligence' and distinguish human intelligence from that of
other agents - it is very well done, and convincing. The remaining
chapters tackle many different applications and consequences of
intelligent agents, including unintended harms, social media data
harvesting, recommender systems, addiction, manipulation and
polarisation, social machines and regulation.”--Karen Yeung,
Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and
Informatics, University of Birmingham and Birmingham Law School,
UK"Written in a clear and engaging style, this book does not just
describe how Artificial Intelligence evolved, it also confronts
important questions about the nature of intelligence, our relation
with technology, and how we can be affected by it. I really enjoyed
being taken on the journey form my previously comfortable analogue
world to today’s and tomorrow’s world of living with digital
intelligence."--Stafford Lightman, FMedSci, FRS, Professor of
Medicine, University of Bristol, UK
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