Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know® Paperback – 3 Oct. 2016

A good synopsis of the possible implications of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is going to change everything in our lives; yet this as a claim seems nothing new, since from the first days of the computer have we been promised a different future when the computer is able to think for itself. Come to think of it, we are still waiting for the true paperless office as well.This book is another that sets out to look at the advantages and possible disadvantages that artificial intelligence will bring, and since many systems today are more capable of independent reasoning and programmatic thinking, we are getting a lot closer to this nirvana. What will happen in the future when the computers are doing the thinking? Who will be responsible when something goes wrong? Whose side will the machine be on when the chips are down?The author takes a hard, focussed and opinionated look at this and more with this book, which comes with a bit of an eye-watering price-tag that could be viewed as unrealistic when you consider what you get. It is far from a being bad book but it does not feel to be so radical or evolutionary either. It raised some interesting points and may have you thinking a bit, yet but is that enough? It could be a solid performer if you borrow it from a library, but you must be particularly dedicated and interested to want to invest in this. Again, it starts to come back to the price since a lot of the concerns or objections may not exist if this was half or one-third of the price.Just like the problems that can still affect artificial intelligence and decision making systems, this reviewer remains on the fence and a firm decision either way about this book cannot be made. It is not bad in itself, yet is it sufficiently good? So-so always feels an unfair description, especially when you do encounter many positive attributes too. If there is doubt, check it out in a bookstore and see if you are sufficiently swayed to make a purchase decision – or hope for deep-discounting online.