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Thinking Machines

the Quest for Artificial Intelligence-- and Where It's Taking Us Next
May 07, 2017
This book was given a favorable review in the New York Times by Ray Kurzweil ( https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/books/review/thinking-machines-luke-dormehl.html?_r=0 ) which is why I wanted to read it, because Ray Kurzweil has invested heavily in artificial intelligence research. This book did give a clear easy-to-understand history of the development of artificial intelligence, pointed to new applications of AI which are being developed now, and talked a bit about future directions the technology might take. Where I found the book was a bit skimpy was in the author's acknowledgement of the potential for abuse which is created when governments and private corporations collect and own the massive data sets required to develop these applications. But maybe that wasn't part of the author's purpose in writing the book to discuss these potentials for abuse. In order to get a more rounded-out picture of this problem, I recommend also reading Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier, who is a widely respected writer on internet security and privacy. Here is a link to his blog: https://www.schneier.com/books/