Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2020 Business Book AwardsWe live in a world increasingly ruled by technology; we seem as governed by technology as we do by laws and regulations. Frighteningly often, the influence of technology in and on our lives goes completely unchallenged by citizens and governments. We comfort ourselves with the soothing refrain that technology has no morals and can display no prejudice, and it''s only the
users of technology who distort certain aspects of it.But is this statement actually true? Dr Robert Smith thinks it is dangerously
untrue in the modern era.Having worked in the field of artificial intelligence for over 30 years, Smith reveals the mounting evidence that the mechanical actors in our lives do indeed have, or at least express, morals: they're just not the morals of the progressive modern society that we imagined we were moving towards. Instead, as we are just beginning to see in the US elections and Brexit to name but a few there are incr
Trade ReviewIn
Rage Inside the Machine, Rob Smith has written a fascinating hybrid text – a compelling memoir, a moving mosaic of history and technology, and, most important, the timeliest of warnings for our increasingly dangerous era of ubiquitous AI and algorithms … Read this book and take its carefully crafted message to heart. -- David Goldberg, author of Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and Machine Learning
In
Rage Inside the Machine, Rob Smith accomplishes what few people could attempt: to humanize the discourse on artificial intelligence. -- Chris Kutarna, co-author of Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of Our Second Renaissance
Rob Smith humanises the dark and confused topic of AI and calls us to action. A beautiful, accessible and truly important book … I loved it. -- Derren Brown, illusionist and author of Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine
In an age when more and more decisions of our lives are made by algorithms, it's vital for anyone, not just techies, to understand how data can change our lives. Rob Smith has a unique ability to express the complicated future of AI in a very simple manner. Read it if you want to stay human. -- Dr Anastasia Dedyukhina, Founder of Consciously Digital and author of Homo Distractus
Rage Inside the Machine is a guide to how we got here, conceptually and historically. Rob Smith appreciates the successes of AI, but also warns that incomprehensibly complex data driven systems are not easily corrected, and can make major mistakes. -- David Leinweber, author of Nerds on Wall Street: Math, Machines and Wired Markets
Rob Smith shines a light on the dangers of accepting a passive role in our relationship with tech. Essential reading for anyone wanting to know how to keep their sanity and humanity in the age of super-tech. -- Helen Bagnall, Founder of Salon London
Robert Smith's new book takes a subject that is intimidating for non-tech folk, and creates an accessible and riveting read. I found it so informative. It's opened my eye to the role algorithms play in the divisiveness of social media. -- Tracy Ann Oberman, actor, writer and activist
A sobering and inspiring read: not merely a puncturing of the tediously overinflated AI hype bubble - it's also a thrilling manifesto for what AI teaches us about real human cognition. -- Cory Doctorow, author of 'Radicalized' and 'Walkaway', and co-founder of the Open Rights Group
