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94
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
91/100Critics
96/100Scholars
Author:
Brian Christian
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Date:
October 6, 2020
Today's "machine-learning" systems, trained by data, are so effective that we've invited them to see and hear for us--and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Researchers call this the alignment problem. The Alignment Problem offers a reckoning with humanity's biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. It takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture--and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.
What The Reviewers Say
Brian Christian, an accomplished technology writer, offers a nuanced and captivating exploration of this white-hot topic, giving us along the way a survey of the state of machine learning and of the challenges it faces.
Christian (The Most Human Human), a writer and lecturer on technology-related issues, delivers a riveting and deeply complex look at artificial intelligence and the significant challenge in creating computer models that 'capture our norms and values.'.
... technically rich but accessible.
