Search results for ""Author Brian Christian""

'Vital reading. This is the book on artificial intelligence we need right now.' Mike Krieger, cofounder of InstagramArtificial intelligence is rapidly dominating every aspect of our modern lives influencing the news we consume, whether we get a mortgage, and even which friends wish us happy birthday. But as algorithms make ever more decisions on our behalf, how do we ensure they do what we want? And fairly?This conundrum - dubbed 'The Alignment Problem' by experts - is the subject of this timely and important book. From the AI program which cheats at computer games to the sexist algorithm behind Google Translate, bestselling author Brian Christian explains how, as AI develops, we rapidly approach a collision between artificial intelligence and ethics. If we stand by, we face a future with unregulated algorithms that propagate our biases - and worse - violate our most sacred values. Urgent and fascinating, this is an accessible primer to the most important issue facing AI researchers today.

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A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives. In this dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, acclaimed author Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths show us how the simple, precise algorithms used by computers can also untangle very human questions. Modern life is constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? The authors explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to understanding the workings of human memory, Algorithms To Live By is full of practical takeaways to help you solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind.

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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. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole—and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Readers encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they—and we—succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture—and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.

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A playful, profound book that is not only a testament to one man's efforts to be deemed more human than a computer, but also a rollicking exploration of what it means to be human in the first place.“Terrific. ... Art and science meet an engaged mind and the friction produces real fire.” —The New YorkerEach year, the AI community convenes to administer the famous (and famously controversial) Turing test, pitting sophisticated software programs against humans to determine if a computer can “think.” The machine that most often fools the judges wins the Most Human Computer Award. But there is also a prize, strange and intriguing, for the “Most Human Human.” Brian Christian—a young poet with degrees in computer science and philosophy—was chosen to participate in a recent competition. This 

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The Most Human Human by Brian Christian is a mind-blowing piece of reportage that will appeal to readers of Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, and an inspiring riposte to John Gray's classic Straw Dogs - a book that will change your whole understanding of what being human actually means...AI is on the brink of a new dawn. And so are we. . .Telling the difference between humans and computers used to be easy. But artificial intelligence is now so advanced that it is capable of behaving, and even thinking, in ways that have long been considered exclusive to humankind. The time has come to rethink what being human actually means...In The Most Human Human Brian Christian meets the world's leading artificial intelligences, finds out what they're capable of - and what makes us unique. The result is a funny, shocking, inspiring, deeply humane and intelligent book that reaches into every aspect of our lives.'Tremendously entertaining' ****Metro'Excellent ... a fascinating explanation of what it means to be human'Financial Times'Remarkable. A philosophical joyride. The day that a machine creates work of such wit and originality, we should all be very worried'The Times'An epic tour of philosophical, linguistic and scientific discovery. We stop off in places as far-flung as existential anxiety, predictive text and Gary Kasparov's defeat by Deep Blue' ****Time Out'Lively, thought-stirring, entertaining, invaluable ... compelling insights'John Gray, New StatesmanAt the age of twenty-six, Brian Christian has lectured at the LSE, Royal Academy, Bristol Festival of Ideas, Microsoft and Google, been interviewed on The Daily Show, BBC and in the Paris Review, profiled in the Guardian, featured in The New York Times, the New Yorker and on the front cover of Atlantic, and has made numerous appearances at universities and in online videos speaking on his subject. He holds a dual degree from Brown University in computer science and philosophy, and an MFA in poetry.

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