Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths

Book excerpt: Are AI robots and computers really going to take over the world? Longtime artificial intelligence (AI) researcher and investor Steve Shwartz has grown frustrated with the fear-inducing hype around AI in popular culture and media. Yes, today's AI systems are miracles of modern engineering, but no, humans do not have to fear robots seizing control or taking over all our jobs. In this exploration of the fascinating and ever-changing landscape of artificial intelligence, Dr. Shwartz explains how AI works in simple terms. After reading this captivating book, you will understand - the inner workings of today's amazing AI technologies, including facial recognition, self-driving cars, machine translation, chatbots, deepfakes, and many others; - why today's artificial intelligence technology cannot evolve into the AI of science fiction lore; - the crucial areas where we will need to adopt new laws and policies in order to counter threats to our safety and personal freedoms resulting from the use of AI. So although we don't have to worry about evil robots rising to power and turning us into pets-and we probably never will-artificial intelligence is here to stay, and we must learn to separate fact from fiction and embrace how this amazing technology enhances our world.