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qggbott's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
tobyleblancauthor's review against another edition
4.0
A book about how to maintain humanity amidst algorithms speaks to one of the many anxieties we have to consider in this globalizing, climate changing, pandemicking world. Thankfully, it was not all doom and gloom. Similar to the The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells, Roose lays out what's at stake with a sense of hope. He is quick to point out how we can avoid Skynet with interesting exceptions in form of people who dodge the automation bullet. And, of course, his nine rules are highly digestible and easy to understand, making staving off the Terminators seem easy.
Roose successfully argues that human's uniqueness (some would say messiness) is what is most valuable in the age of automation. The more we hand over the process of creativity and insight to the machines, the more they control us. The most enlightening concept Roose gave me was the machines will not take our humanity, we will just outsource our humanity to the machines. They, in turn, will just replicate themselves in us, making us as predictable and number driven as they are.
The linchpin in our automation is the current societal problems we already experience: sexism, racism... all the isms. Someone is creating the technology, programming the algorithms, and are subject to the same biases we all experience. Roose did a good job of naming his privilege. He gave examples of how automation has hurt oppressed communities (i.e. benefit applications denied on the basis of race by AI), but spent just a few paragraphs here and there exploring how unchecked AI and automation marginalize communities further, widening the ism gaps. He left his observations on this topic broad, encouraging other authors and innovators to continue the work (people who explore "consequences," as he calls them) instead of using his research to pinpoint specific places where our humanity is already at risk. I would have enjoyed an entire chapter devoted to how we currently automate our ability to oppress. Roose missed a chance to give us enough information to start the revolution to take our humanity back, helping us to be proactive instead of cleaning up the consequences.
Where Roose leaves us is to let us stew on the way we think about ourselves. The more we deliberate on how to include (or exclude) machines from our lives, the more they remain the helpers they are supposed to be. Roose includes an appendix of shortcuts to accomplish this. One place he makes sure to highlight is increasing our Media Literacy. This could be a whole other book.
Roose successfully argues that human's uniqueness (some would say messiness) is what is most valuable in the age of automation. The more we hand over the process of creativity and insight to the machines, the more they control us. The most enlightening concept Roose gave me was the machines will not take our humanity, we will just outsource our humanity to the machines. They, in turn, will just replicate themselves in us, making us as predictable and number driven as they are.
The linchpin in our automation is the current societal problems we already experience: sexism, racism... all the isms. Someone is creating the technology, programming the algorithms, and are subject to the same biases we all experience. Roose did a good job of naming his privilege. He gave examples of how automation has hurt oppressed communities (i.e. benefit applications denied on the basis of race by AI), but spent just a few paragraphs here and there exploring how unchecked AI and automation marginalize communities further, widening the ism gaps. He left his observations on this topic broad, encouraging other authors and innovators to continue the work (people who explore "consequences," as he calls them) instead of using his research to pinpoint specific places where our humanity is already at risk. I would have enjoyed an entire chapter devoted to how we currently automate our ability to oppress. Roose missed a chance to give us enough information to start the revolution to take our humanity back, helping us to be proactive instead of cleaning up the consequences.
Where Roose leaves us is to let us stew on the way we think about ourselves. The more we deliberate on how to include (or exclude) machines from our lives, the more they remain the helpers they are supposed to be. Roose includes an appendix of shortcuts to accomplish this. One place he makes sure to highlight is increasing our Media Literacy. This could be a whole other book.
ladyreadinton's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book in a goodreads giveaway. This book is a quick and approachable overview of current automation and algorithmic trends. There are examples of the effects of automation on humans. Empathy, compassion, craftsmanship are uniquely human skills that AI cannot replace. The author suggests ways to embrace our own humanity to futureproof work.
I really liked the author’s personal style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in automation, AI, tech or politics.
I really liked the author’s personal style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in automation, AI, tech or politics.
jaredwill_'s review against another edition
5.0
I've thought for some time that there are two possible futures; the Star Trek future where technology allows us to explore our passions and the universe, and a future where tech has given immense power to a small elite few and the rest of us live in filth scraping by to merely survive.
This book doesn't attempt to decide if one or the other is realistic but, it does give some very specific tools that we can use to make ourselves less susceptible to AI.
Rarely are books of this type actually useful. This is and well worth the read.
This book doesn't attempt to decide if one or the other is realistic but, it does give some very specific tools that we can use to make ourselves less susceptible to AI.
Rarely are books of this type actually useful. This is and well worth the read.
_pickle_'s review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Decent analysis about the upcoming domination (or not) of AI in our lives. While I thought the actual rules weren't so useful, I thought the nuance Roose adds in to a debate that is often presented as AI being all good or all bad was what made this interesting to read.
ninakeller's review against another edition
5.0
Centering humanity amid an increasingly automatized and AI-driven economy.
1- Be surprising, social, and scarce- these are qualities machines don’t do well that humans excel in
2- Resist machine drift- shallow, robotic predictability enabled by algorithmic presence everywhere. Recommendation engines evolved into manipulative control devices ver individual preferences. Solution is to re-add in friction that social media attempts to remove.
3- Demote your devices- don’t let your text messages and social media interrupt real life experiences
4- Leave handprints- Mitsuru Kawai anecdote- making yourself indispensable by being versatile and multitalented
5- Don’t be an endpoint- people whose jobs mainly consist of taking directions from a machine or serving as a bridge between two or more incompatible machines— easily replaceable by AI
6- Treat AI like a chimp army- recognize the potential to be erratic and destructive, and therefore don’t put it in charge! Also recognize the potential for following instructions and being effective, therefore train it to work accordingly
7- build big nets and small webs- Big nets are large-scale policies (think government welfare) Small nets are informal, local networks (think neighborhoods, communities, families) —Blackberry anecdote from Waterloo, CN)
8- Learn machine-age humanities- Attention guarding, Room reading, Resting, Digital Discernment, Analog Ethics, Consequentialism
9- Arm the rebels-support the people fighting for ethics and transparency inside our most powerful tech institutions by giving them ammunition in the form of tools, data, and emotional support
1- Be surprising, social, and scarce- these are qualities machines don’t do well that humans excel in
2- Resist machine drift- shallow, robotic predictability enabled by algorithmic presence everywhere. Recommendation engines evolved into manipulative control devices ver individual preferences. Solution is to re-add in friction that social media attempts to remove.
3- Demote your devices- don’t let your text messages and social media interrupt real life experiences
4- Leave handprints- Mitsuru Kawai anecdote- making yourself indispensable by being versatile and multitalented
5- Don’t be an endpoint- people whose jobs mainly consist of taking directions from a machine or serving as a bridge between two or more incompatible machines— easily replaceable by AI
6- Treat AI like a chimp army- recognize the potential to be erratic and destructive, and therefore don’t put it in charge! Also recognize the potential for following instructions and being effective, therefore train it to work accordingly
7- build big nets and small webs- Big nets are large-scale policies (think government welfare) Small nets are informal, local networks (think neighborhoods, communities, families) —Blackberry anecdote from Waterloo, CN)
8- Learn machine-age humanities- Attention guarding, Room reading, Resting, Digital Discernment, Analog Ethics, Consequentialism
9- Arm the rebels-support the people fighting for ethics and transparency inside our most powerful tech institutions by giving them ammunition in the form of tools, data, and emotional support
nakedsushi's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.0
This was okay, but could have been shorter. It's almost like AI wrote the last quarter of the book. I liked the historical stuff about how earlier versions of technical innovations still didn't really help workers as a whole (yay, capitalism), but I kinda lost trust in the author after he reluctantly walked back his opinion about working in person in an office being crucial after experiencing the pandemic.