marioncromb's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
The writing in this book is very disjointed. Each chapter feels more like notes for a chapter rather than a finished product. Topics change rapidly between paragraphs in an erratic way. This is particularly true of some of the earlier chapters which are more philosophy based. Nevertheless some of the ideas are pretty interesting, if scattershot. The parallels between an artificial general intelligence and religion for example. I like that its a more hopeful look at the future of AI, while pointing out that its mainly humans that are the problem (we need to turn descartes 'i think therefore i am' into 'i love therefore i am' since we can/will build machines that think perfectly well, and what we need to solve our problems is not tech but love and cooperation) . The later chapters arent as bad disjointedness-wise. The chapter on the gendered history of computer science is probably the strongest.
The language is easy to read, avoiding jargon, but sometimes the content is a bit vague/misrepresented/uniniformed - again more like notes/a stream of consciousness than something fully researched.
The language is easy to read, avoiding jargon, but sometimes the content is a bit vague/misrepresented/uniniformed - again more like notes/a stream of consciousness than something fully researched.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
RATING: 3 STARS
2021; Grove Press
My lower rating has more to do with me than Winterson's writing. Some of the essays like with Mary Shelley I loved, but some of the other other ones on technology just went over my head. This collection of essays does make me want to pick up one of Winterson's novels now.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2021; Grove Press
My lower rating has more to do with me than Winterson's writing. Some of the essays like with Mary Shelley I loved, but some of the other other ones on technology just went over my head. This collection of essays does make me want to pick up one of Winterson's novels now.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
beulah_devaney's review against another edition
5.0
A completely fascinating collection of essays about artificial intelligence that I've now brought multiple copies of for everyone in my life. Jeanette Winterson takes a purposeful meander (I know, sounds like an oxymoron but tis what it is) through the history and development of AI.
I've read this and listened to the audiobook, also voiced by Winterson. Listening to this older, working class, Northern woman speak passionately and knowledgeably about AI was ridiculously inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that it was the push I needed to really pursue AI-related projects at work and make sure my voice was added to conversations about the ethics, scope, pitfalls and potential of AI.
norcani's review against another edition
2.0
The chapters focusing on the now are decent but anything future centric is based on the faulty premise that AGI isn't only possible, or even plausible , but inevitable. There is no real justification given for this fantasy but reiterated again and again ("I am sure that.." why?). So more than half of this is the equivalent of being based on the premise of the moon being made of cheese.
In the end a lot of the essays were a real stretch to connect to AI anyway. There also were no less than 3 essays focused on misogyny, besides the one focusing on sex bots I found them out of place.
The last thing is, at some point she calls COVID-19 nature's way of culling humans, that "perhaps should be accepted". I am taking this out of context but there is no context that will make it more acceptable to say perhaps these deaths should be accepted. What a callous thing to say especially considering how overwhelmingly it kills people in risk groups already.
In the end a lot of the essays were a real stretch to connect to AI anyway. There also were no less than 3 essays focused on misogyny, besides the one focusing on sex bots I found them out of place.
The last thing is, at some point she calls COVID-19 nature's way of culling humans, that "perhaps should be accepted". I am taking this out of context but there is no context that will make it more acceptable to say perhaps these deaths should be accepted. What a callous thing to say especially considering how overwhelmingly it kills people in risk groups already.