ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A quick overview of the current state and uses of machine intelligence.

Despite Allen’s backloading this brief work with endnotes and outsized resource lists, he doesn’t delve very deeply into his subject. Readers curious about what constitutes “intelligence,” the implications of the upcoming “technological singularity,” or even the future of smart medical implants, for example, should look elsewhere. Still, while presenting recent examples of AI-produced legal and historical documents that were rife with errors, and properly noting that smart homes are eminently hackable, he addresses privacy concerns as well as making good arguments for being cautious about relying on data-mining chatbots and similar aids for either security or (say) school assignments. Also, though he offers reassuring quotes from experts for balance, his observations about current and future uses of AI in homes, businesses, medicine, and the military include more than enough reasons for anxiety about near-future workplace losses and changes. Despite probably having a short shelf life (since it covers such a fast-changing technological field), this survey includes references to events up to mid-2023. The illustrations are largely filler.

Superficial but of some use for background reading and (ideally original) school reports.