OK. I once mentioned that I always prefer books that talk about real life situations, and I'm pretty sure that this book can be classified in that category. I mean, it's sort of like "ROBOTS WILL TAKE OVER THE UNIVERSE" but in a good way.
This book is about the advancements of technology over the years, and the astonishing limits it has broken, whilst overcoming harsh criticism, then and even now. Have you ever thought that Artificial Intelligence would be able to write a convincing novel? Or that it could paint a picture similar to Rembrandt? Heck, there are even programs that can write music. But here's the big question: should we be concerned or not?
I quite like this book. I mean, there's not much depth to go into, and even if there was, I doubt that 99% of us would understand it. What intrigues me is the language used. Sautoy barely scraped the surface of what A.I is currently capable of, but when we read this book, it feels that all of these achievements are huge, or at least certainly worth applause. And, he doesn't just write like a robot (though that would be ironic). He inserts light headed humour. Take this excerpt for example. Sautoy describes a new chatbot nicknamed ELIZA, and was designed as a therapist. One time, an unwitting user came to the lab, opened up the computer, and started communicating with what he thought was the person in charge of the lab, but was really ELIZA:- Visitor: Do you think that I can use the computer this morning?
ELIZA: Why do you ask?
Visitor: I might be able to make some additional Telcom sales. ELIZA: Why aren't you so sure?
Visitor: My perspective [sic] customers have never seen a demonstration of the system.
ELIZA: Does this mean very much to you?
Visitor: Of course it does.
ELIZA: You seem very positive about that.
Visitor: This is ridiculous.
ELIZA: What do you mean 'This is ridiculous'?
Visitor: Is there any reason why I can't use the computer now?
ELIZA: Tell me more about your perspective [sic] customers.
Pretty convincing conversation, right? Just the small problem that ELIZA was never programmed for such situations, so it responded as well as it could. Naturally, the visitor was confused and furious. Such light jokes induce our curiosities, and we automatically absorb everything.
Overall, definitely buy this book. I have nothing more to say. On a leaving note though, do you think this review was written by a robot?