Talk to Me by James Vlahos

“How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think” is the subtitle of a new non-fiction book, TALK TO ME, by author James Vlahos. He argues that we are entering the era of voice computing and that like previous technological disruptions (e.g., changes with mainframes, desktops, internet search and mobile computing), it will involve a paradigm shift and platform war. Vlahos divides his text into three parts labeled Competition, Innovation and Revolution, with about ten percent allocated to notes and an index. Of course, there’s quite a bit of discussion about Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft, plus chatbots, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language systems. Some of the historical background describes the roughly twenty-five-year development of Siri and “her component technologies” and briefly touches on the choice of Alexa as a wake word. Later, there is an entire chapter devoted to personalities, noting our penchant to personify and to invest more emotionally when a digital assistant is anthropomorphic (if you doubt this, take a moment and think back to Microsoft’s annoying on-screen helper, Clippy). Vlahos also discusses some of the reasons why female voices were chosen and the potential for truly individualized AIs in the future (described in US Patent 8,996,429) whereby “the bot can present the best possible personality to any given user.” Other factors like the impact of virtual companionship on one’s desire to socialize, and downsides such as eavesdropping or privacy concerns are included. Overall, Vlahos succeeds in making the potential advances of voice computing understandable and relevant, thereby captivating student interest with TALK TO ME.

AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee

AI SUPERPOWERS by Kai-Fu Lee is a commentary on the competition between America and China to dominate the field of artificial intelligence. Lee, a former president of Google China, is a well-regarded expert in this area and he argues that four main building blocks are required for creating an AI Superpower in the 21st century: “abundant data, tenacious entrepreneurs, well-trained AI scientists, and a supportive policy environment.”  He begins with references to this competition as the new space race, noting China’s “Sputnik moment” when an Western algorithm beat the world’s best player of Go. Subsequent sections speculate on the economic impact of AI and discuss how “the real action today is with the tinkerers,” i.e., the many scientists and implementers of AI theory.

In his introduction, Lee says, “My hope is that this book sheds some light in how we got here, and also inspires new conversations about where we go from here.” Certainly, I could see many connections for our students, particularly ones researching this topic for Junior Theme and those in business classes.  Lee’s comments about street smart and ruthless entrepreneurs prompted me to think of a number of questions about AI ethics in the future, not unlike some voiced recently in “Internet Hacking is about to get Much Worse” from The New York Times or “Will Governments Turn our Smart Devices into a Massive Surveillance Network?” from Forbes.  Look for a copy of AI SUPERPOWERS on our shelves soon. 

Foundryside

FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett is the start of a fabulous sci-fi series by a master of the genre. Bennett has been recognized with numerous awards (Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, an Edgar Award winner for Best Paperback Original, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence) and many other short-list nominations. FOUNDRYSIDE is intended to be the first in a trilogy involving heroine Sancia Grado who has been sent to steal a powerful artifact in a world that uses coded commands and a revolutionary, magical technology to allow a type of consciousness for everyday items. The mix of sci-fi fantasy and mystery is especially appealing. 

The only potential drawback I see is the length (512 pages) and yet, for fans of sci-fi authors like Brandon Sanderson – who lavishly praises this new book – that is not a barrier at all. Nor is it a surprise that FOUNDRYSIDE received well-deserved starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly; the last summarizes FOUNDRYSIDE as “a crackling, wonderfully weird blend of science fiction, fantasy, heist adventure, and a pointed commentary on what it means to be human in a culture obsessed with technology, money, and power.” Wow! Start reading now!