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Science Fact
Artificial Intelligence: Melanie Mitchell ***** 21 October 2019 - Excellent and very readable guide to how AI systems work, what their limitations are, how they can be fooled and how much our current picture of them is dangerous hype. Mitchell is pro-AI, but gives a realistic understanding.
Adventures of a Computational Explorer: Stephen Wolfram *** 18 October 2019 - It would be easy to see this collection of essays and speeches from the man behind Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha as a vanity project, but there is some interesting material, from computing to consulting for movies.
The Science of Being Human: Marty Jopson ***** 17 October 2019 - Really engaging nuggets, easily readable in chunks, that don't so much give the big picture of human science as dive into the nooks and crevices of the surprising bits of human existence. Fun!
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Helene: Karl Drinkwater **** 20 October 2019 - A novella filling in some of the backstory to Drinkwater's Lost Solace novels provides an interesting portrayal of the socialisation of an AI.
World Engines - Destroyer: Stephen Baxter **** 15 October 2019 - Baxter is very much a modern equivalent of Asimov or Clarke, providing SF with lashings of science and really meaty setting that makes for an enjoyable read. Loses one star as the characters are rather Asimovian too.
Total Eclipse: John Brunner **** 11 October 2019 - Although intellectual rather than engaging, Brunner's 1975 book gives us us an unusually good idea of the difficulties of trying to decipher a dead alien culture.
Classic reviews:
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