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AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future
In a groundbreaking blend of science and imagination, the former president of Google China and a leading writer of speculative fiction join forces to answer an urgent question: How will artificial intelligence change our world over the next twenty years?
AI will be the defining issue of the twenty-first century, but many people know little about it apart from visions of dystopian robots or flying cars. Though the term has been around for half a century, it is only now, Kai-Fu Lee argues, that AI is poised to upend our society, just as the arrival of technologies like electricity and smart phones did before it. In the past five years, AI has shown it can learn games like chess in mere hours--and beat humans every time. AI has surpassed humans in speech and object recognition, even outperforming radiologists in diagnosing lung cancer. AI is at a tipping point. What comes next?
Within two decades, aspects of daily life may be unrecognizable. Humankind needs to wake up to AI, both its pathways and perils. In this provocative work that juxtaposes speculative storytelling and science, Lee, one of the world's leading AI experts, has teamed up with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to reveal how AI will trickle down into every aspect of our world by 2041. In ten gripping narratives that crisscross the globe, coupled with incisive analysis, Lee and Chen explore AI's challenges and its potential:
- Ubiquitous AI that knows you better than you know yourself
- Genetic fortune-telling that predicts risk of disease or even IQ
- AI sensors that creates a fully contactless society in a future pandemic
- Immersive personalized entertainment to challenge our notion of celebrity
- Quantum computing and other leaps that both eliminate and increase risk
By gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, AI 2041 offers powerful insights and compelling storytelling for everyone interested in our collective future.
AI will be the defining issue of the twenty-first century, but many people know little about it apart from visions of dystopian robots or flying cars. Though the term has been around for half a century, it is only now, Kai-Fu Lee argues, that AI is poised to upend our society, just as the arrival of technologies like electricity and smart phones did before it. In the past five years, AI has shown it can learn games like chess in mere hours--and beat humans every time. AI has surpassed humans in speech and object recognition, even outperforming radiologists in diagnosing lung cancer. AI is at a tipping point. What comes next?
Within two decades, aspects of daily life may be unrecognizable. Humankind needs to wake up to AI, both its pathways and perils. In this provocative work that juxtaposes speculative storytelling and science, Lee, one of the world's leading AI experts, has teamed up with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to reveal how AI will trickle down into every aspect of our world by 2041. In ten gripping narratives that crisscross the globe, coupled with incisive analysis, Lee and Chen explore AI's challenges and its potential:
- Ubiquitous AI that knows you better than you know yourself
- Genetic fortune-telling that predicts risk of disease or even IQ
- AI sensors that creates a fully contactless society in a future pandemic
- Immersive personalized entertainment to challenge our notion of celebrity
- Quantum computing and other leaps that both eliminate and increase risk
By gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, AI 2041 offers powerful insights and compelling storytelling for everyone interested in our collective future.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 495 reviews
December 17, 2021
Such a unique concept for a book!
When I started reading it, I had no idea it's a blend of fiction and nonfiction. The author, who has worked in the field of AI for decades, wanted to make the topic more accessible and so he had someone write short stories to illustrate the technology and lifestyles he predicts for the year 2041.
Anyone else find it weird to realize that's just twenty years away?? God, I feel old!
After each story, Kai-Fu Lee wrote an essay about the technology the stories were based on. He described where we are now and what work and research still needs to be done.
The essays extremely interesting though I wearied of the stories after a while. Short stories aren't my thing. The first couple I was able to enjoy, but then I just wanted the nonfiction and skimmed the rest. Short stories always leave me feeling dissatisfied, as they're only able to touch the surface.
Topics include the following and more:
• Autonomous vehicles
• Deep learning
• Deepfake videos
• Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and X Reality (XR) and their likely applications in the near future
• Job loss as AI takeover becomes more and more common
• Implementation of UBI (Universal Basic Income)
• Synthetic Biology
• Quantum computers
I found all of these to be fascinating though none were entirely new to me. Still, if you enjoy reading about technology and artificial intelligence, especially where it is headed in the near future, the essay sections of this book make for a stimulating and engaging read.
And if you enjoy short stories, you should enjoy these as well. For me, it would have been a five star book had it only been nonfiction, but I appreciate the concept of writing a book like this to draw more readers.
When I started reading it, I had no idea it's a blend of fiction and nonfiction. The author, who has worked in the field of AI for decades, wanted to make the topic more accessible and so he had someone write short stories to illustrate the technology and lifestyles he predicts for the year 2041.
Anyone else find it weird to realize that's just twenty years away?? God, I feel old!
After each story, Kai-Fu Lee wrote an essay about the technology the stories were based on. He described where we are now and what work and research still needs to be done.
The essays extremely interesting though I wearied of the stories after a while. Short stories aren't my thing. The first couple I was able to enjoy, but then I just wanted the nonfiction and skimmed the rest. Short stories always leave me feeling dissatisfied, as they're only able to touch the surface.
Topics include the following and more:
• Autonomous vehicles
• Deep learning
• Deepfake videos
• Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and X Reality (XR) and their likely applications in the near future
• Job loss as AI takeover becomes more and more common
• Implementation of UBI (Universal Basic Income)
• Synthetic Biology
• Quantum computers
I found all of these to be fascinating though none were entirely new to me. Still, if you enjoy reading about technology and artificial intelligence, especially where it is headed in the near future, the essay sections of this book make for a stimulating and engaging read.
And if you enjoy short stories, you should enjoy these as well. For me, it would have been a five star book had it only been nonfiction, but I appreciate the concept of writing a book like this to draw more readers.
March 6, 2022
Excellent combination between fiction and science, and should have been right up my alley; I don't exactly know why it wasn't. I think my problem was with the fiction, which left me cold - I couldn't resonate with any of the characters, nor with their stories. The essays worked much better for me, although I do think that Kai Fu Lee is a bit too optimistic about the AI; maybe all he has predicted will be accomplished in the future, but I don't think it will all happen in the next 20 years. Or maybe it will, but for a very small niche of the population.
There are 10 stories in this volume, each followed by an essay/analysis which explains the AI concepts in the respective story. Below you may find the content, if interested:
Chapter One: The Golden Elephant
Analysis: Deep Learning, Big Data, Internet/Finance Applications, AI Externalities
Chapter Two: Gods Behind the Masks
Analysis: Computer Vision,Convolutional Neural Networks, Deepfakes, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Biometrics, AI Security
Chapter Three: Twin Sparrows
Analysis: Natural Language Processing, Self-Supervised Training, GPT-3, AGI and Consciousness, AI Education
Chapter Four: Contactless Love
Analysis: AI Healthcare, AlphaFold, Robotic Applications, COVID Automation Acceleration
Chapter Five: My Haunting Idol
Analysis: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Ethical and Societal Issues
Chapter Six: The Holy Driver
Analysis: Autonomous Vehicles, Full Autonomy and Smart Cities, Ethical and Social Issues
Chapter Seven: Quantum Genocide
Analysis: Quantum Computers, Bitcoin Security, Autonomous Weapons and Existential Threat
Chapter Eight: The Job Savior
Analysis: AI Job Displacement, Universal Basic Income (UBI), What AI Cannot Do, 3Rs as a Solution to Displacement
Chapter Nine: Isle of Happiness
Analysis: AI and Happiness, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Personal Data, Privacy Computing Using Federated Learning and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)
Chapter Ten: Dreaming of Plenitude
Analysis: Plenitude, New Economic Models, the Future of Money, Singularity
There are 10 stories in this volume, each followed by an essay/analysis which explains the AI concepts in the respective story. Below you may find the content, if interested:
Chapter One: The Golden Elephant
Analysis: Deep Learning, Big Data, Internet/Finance Applications, AI Externalities
Chapter Two: Gods Behind the Masks
Analysis: Computer Vision,Convolutional Neural Networks, Deepfakes, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Biometrics, AI Security
Chapter Three: Twin Sparrows
Analysis: Natural Language Processing, Self-Supervised Training, GPT-3, AGI and Consciousness, AI Education
Chapter Four: Contactless Love
Analysis: AI Healthcare, AlphaFold, Robotic Applications, COVID Automation Acceleration
Chapter Five: My Haunting Idol
Analysis: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Ethical and Societal Issues
Chapter Six: The Holy Driver
Analysis: Autonomous Vehicles, Full Autonomy and Smart Cities, Ethical and Social Issues
Chapter Seven: Quantum Genocide
Analysis: Quantum Computers, Bitcoin Security, Autonomous Weapons and Existential Threat
Chapter Eight: The Job Savior
Analysis: AI Job Displacement, Universal Basic Income (UBI), What AI Cannot Do, 3Rs as a Solution to Displacement
Chapter Nine: Isle of Happiness
Analysis: AI and Happiness, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Personal Data, Privacy Computing Using Federated Learning and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)
Chapter Ten: Dreaming of Plenitude
Analysis: Plenitude, New Economic Models, the Future of Money, Singularity
July 19, 2021
Brilliant book. The dramatized story version in each chapter brings to life complex AI topics and hotly debated points. Much more impactful tham dry theory or lengthy explanations. Some chapters like the isle of happiness and the job savior put forward very interesting perspectives and potential solutions about AI impacts on work, happiness and being human!
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
May 7, 2022
It seemed like a good idea - a book that combines speculative stories about life twenty years in the future when AI has taken a large leap forward interwoven with essays about AI and the issues and technologies that are discussed in the stories. But it didn't work for me. I finished it but was tempted at several points along the way to stop.
The biggest problem is the stories. They are just not well written. The characters are not compelling, and the plots felt manufactured to make points about the particular aspect of technology that was the focus of the story. It reminded me of the problem of a lot of Soviet literature where writers of small talent wrote more for the cause of building socialism than to deliver great storytelling. There, as in this book, the unfortunate result was general mediocrity.
The essay sections were a little better, but they had their problems too. I didn't learn very much that I didn't already know. I wish that they had been just a bit more technical.
In both the stories and the essays there was an overall philosophical point of view that felt wrong to me. The basic idea is that AI will bring us wonderful benefits and that though there are some problems too, plucky humans with compassion, emotion, wit and some sort of magical vital spark that AI as depicted in this book can't have will overcome those problems. I'm not so sure about the limitations on AI, the essential good qualities of humans or our ability to use those good qualities to overcome the problems. And the problems that are described here felt like straw men, selected at least in part because they are the easy ones that we can imagine ways to solve. It's good in a way to have a book like this that can calm some irrational fears and make the good side of AI more accessible to a broad audience, but I felt that it was done here with less than full disclosure of risks and without any sort of meaningful plan for how those risks can be addressed.
The biggest problem is the stories. They are just not well written. The characters are not compelling, and the plots felt manufactured to make points about the particular aspect of technology that was the focus of the story. It reminded me of the problem of a lot of Soviet literature where writers of small talent wrote more for the cause of building socialism than to deliver great storytelling. There, as in this book, the unfortunate result was general mediocrity.
The essay sections were a little better, but they had their problems too. I didn't learn very much that I didn't already know. I wish that they had been just a bit more technical.
In both the stories and the essays there was an overall philosophical point of view that felt wrong to me. The basic idea is that AI will bring us wonderful benefits and that though there are some problems too, plucky humans with compassion, emotion, wit and some sort of magical vital spark that AI as depicted in this book can't have will overcome those problems. I'm not so sure about the limitations on AI, the essential good qualities of humans or our ability to use those good qualities to overcome the problems. And the problems that are described here felt like straw men, selected at least in part because they are the easy ones that we can imagine ways to solve. It's good in a way to have a book like this that can calm some irrational fears and make the good side of AI more accessible to a broad audience, but I felt that it was done here with less than full disclosure of risks and without any sort of meaningful plan for how those risks can be addressed.
November 20, 2021
I am technically a graduate in Information Systems and have worked in the IT field for about 5 years, but it was always a job to be completed in my head and I have never been someone very interested in keeping up with the latest innovations happening around, or trying to learn about up and coming technologies. I’m also not smart enough to understand the intricacies of ever changing intelligent systems.
So, how did I even decide to pick up this book. I frankly have no clue. I remember seeing someone mention it on Twitter and I went looking for it in my library. Other than taking an Artificial Intelligence 101 course in university, I have no other knowledge about this field. So, I found it very intriguing to read more about the kind of advances that are happening in the field currently and what can we expect to happen in the next two decades. I loved the idea of these two authors - both tech guys but one of them also an SFF author - coming together to tell us about these upcoming advances through stories, while also discussing the pros and cons of every development and possible ways to mitigate the issues. While there were quite a few things I disagreed with on with the author about his vision of the future, I think there’s nothing wrong in working towards something better. But if there’s one thing I realized after reading this, it’s that governments across the world have to keep up with the emerging technologies and ensure that they have laws in place to safeguard the privacy of people while also ensuring that the adverse affects of these technologies can be lessened as much as possible. But none of this bright future will be possible if corporations and billionaires continue to maximize only profit and hoard wealth, while pushing millions more into poverty.
Overall, this was a fascinating book and I think I learned a lot. It has me thinking about many things I’ve never given a thought to before and that’s the best thing a book can do for us. I also thought all the sci-fi stories itself were written very well, and the accompanying essays about the technologies was very eye opening and gave more information about the wider implications of the stories. This is definitely a collection which I’m sure readers interested in the field will enjoy, but also feel that readers like me who are more into futuristic stuff in the form of sci-fi will also find this book very accessible.
The Golden Elephant
Firstly, I loved that the first story was set in India. As a slightly cautionary but also hopeful tale about the pros and cons of deep learning AI in the applications that we use daily, this was interesting, while also being a cute story about a possible budding inter caste romance. I also thought it was great to learn a bit more about the deep learning technology and it’s real world implications, as well as possible steps that can be taken to ensure it’s more transparent as well as functioning in the interest of its users rather than just maximizing profits for the businesses using it.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gods Behind the Masks
Deepfakes are a pretty scary phenomenon to be honest and that’s probably one development which has convinced me to reduce the amount of pictures of mine I share on the internet. And considering that fake and manipulated videos have become a very common feature in politics these days across the globe, this story hit too close. Very thought provoking with a hopeful resolution, I enjoyed the story but got totally lost in its highly technological speak. The note on the positive applications that this technology can have other than deepfake stuff was good to know, but I’m not sure if I’m as optimistic as the author that technological solutions will be effective enough to prevent real life catastrophes induced by deepfake and other manipulative technologies.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Twin Sparrows
Another interesting story about personalized AI tutors for children who teach them in ways most suited to them individually. What I liked more was that the AI and the child had a symbiotic relationship, with one learning from the other. I also appreciated the fact that the story made a point that human intervention would still be necessary when it comes to aspects like encouraging creativity, mending interpersonal problems and ensuring healthier emotional development.
I also really loved getting to know more about NLPs and how this technology is already become such an important part of our lives in our day to day use, and it’s future applications only seem more interesting. While the author’s points about the advantages of having AI tutors makes sense theoretically, I don’t know if relegating something as important as a child’s education to an AI will give us desirable results.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Contactless Love
CW: Covid-19
It is scary to imagine a world after two decades where Covid-19 has become a seasonal disease with new variants coming up everytime and new vaccines being developed simultaneously. But that’s where this story is set and I hope to god it doesn’t happen irl. I really empathized with the main character who is nosophobic and hasn’t stepped out of home in 3 years, managing both work and life with the help of technology and robots. While I liked that she was overcome her difficulties, I can’t say I liked how it came out to be.
The author definitely has a lot of hope for advances in AI helping the medical industry as well as robotics changing the face of many fields, but this is another field where I’m unsure. While I can see how AI can revolutionize things like vaccine development and creating new treatments, I’m not sure if diagnosis is something I would want to completely leave to technology.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
My Haunting Idol
As a very recent consumer of Chinese entertainment content but being an international fan, I have been a one step away but still very much aware of the kind of toxicity that exists in fandom, especially surrounding idols, and how companies manipulate fans to achieve their outcomes. So this story with its very hyper realistic game of virtual idols interacting with their fans, in a very personalized way, felt very dubious and an extension of the toxic fan culture. But the aspects of X Reality, and it’s components like AR and VR are interesting to know about even though the kind of advances he talks about seems unreal to me, and more in the realm of sci-fi movies. But who knows, maybe his predictions are right.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Holy Driver
Set in Sri Lanka, this story is very engaging and emotionally driven and definitely gave me goosebumps towards the end. While the story as a sci-fi feels like a good one on paper, imagining something like this in reality makes me very scared. As someone who is petrified of driving and even get anxiety when I’m in the passenger seat, even the idea of an autonomous vehicle is unimaginable. So I’m not sure I want our transportation future to be like how the author imagines. L0 to L3 Autonomous vehicles sound fine with AIs assisting human drivers, but anything above that feels scary to me. Also, while the author is sure that advancements in AV technology will ultimately lead to people buying less cars and thus helping the environment, I’m somehow unsure that will be possible unless AVs are also renewable energy based and not fossil fuel.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Quantum Genocide
Another story where I can’t say I understand all the physics and technology behind it, but this was also the story which clearly presented the perils of advancements if the persons holding the key decide to use it for evil. The author also clearly describes in his note the extreme liabilities with the development of autonomous weapons which could lead to the proliferation of the arms race, while there is no deterrent left like the some semblance of it which we do have for the nuclear arms race. And I’m definitely not surprised that US, Russia and the UK are opposed to enacting any ban on the development of autonomous weapons.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Job Savior
This was the story as well as note about job displacement due to AI innovations across industries and this is definitely one of the things that everyone needs to be prepared for in the future. The author also comes across as being against UBI or atleast a conditional one, which I’m unsure about, because assuming that people’s self worth will get affected if they are given money without a job is unsubstantiated. Also, alongwith giving the gory details about the level of job loss and wealth inequality, the author tries to paint a better picture about new kinds of job that can be created which an AI can’t do as well as people following their passions in creative fields - while it sounds very good, I don’t see how it is feasible enough for the majority population that will be suffering. But it’s all definitely worth pondering.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Isle of Happiness
This is the only story till now where I didn’t understand the complete picture of what it was trying to say, and even if I have misunderstood, I still feel that an AI can never totally figure out how to make a human happy. Also, while I agree with all the privacy issues that the author talks about, I don’t think I agree with his assertion that we would be able to develop a powerful AI that will help us find lasting happiness, with the help of a benevolent monarchy, an open sourced commune or a distributed blockchain system - it just seems too fanciful and a tad bit too optimistic. The author also mentions that most of the people will be living comfortably in an AI empowered future, which I thought contradicted with his thoughts in the previous chapter that AI would displace unprecedented number of jobs leading to worse wealth inequality.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dreaming of Plenitude
Set in an Australia where almost everything is free and all the basic needs of everyone is covered by the government, where the country is carbon neutral completely relying on sustainable technologies, and a new social currency is what the young people aim to accumulate by volunteering their services - this was very heartwarming and I loved the idea of two women from very different generations finding inspiration in each other to take the next step in their lives. And despite however unrealistic the author’s words in this one seem, I want to be hopeful that the kind of utopia that the author is dreaming about is possible sometime in our future. And he is very right when he says that things can change for the better when those in power work with human needs in mind than human greed. But who knows if that is ever possible in our capitalistic money obsessed world. Let’s wait and watch.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So, how did I even decide to pick up this book. I frankly have no clue. I remember seeing someone mention it on Twitter and I went looking for it in my library. Other than taking an Artificial Intelligence 101 course in university, I have no other knowledge about this field. So, I found it very intriguing to read more about the kind of advances that are happening in the field currently and what can we expect to happen in the next two decades. I loved the idea of these two authors - both tech guys but one of them also an SFF author - coming together to tell us about these upcoming advances through stories, while also discussing the pros and cons of every development and possible ways to mitigate the issues. While there were quite a few things I disagreed with on with the author about his vision of the future, I think there’s nothing wrong in working towards something better. But if there’s one thing I realized after reading this, it’s that governments across the world have to keep up with the emerging technologies and ensure that they have laws in place to safeguard the privacy of people while also ensuring that the adverse affects of these technologies can be lessened as much as possible. But none of this bright future will be possible if corporations and billionaires continue to maximize only profit and hoard wealth, while pushing millions more into poverty.
Overall, this was a fascinating book and I think I learned a lot. It has me thinking about many things I’ve never given a thought to before and that’s the best thing a book can do for us. I also thought all the sci-fi stories itself were written very well, and the accompanying essays about the technologies was very eye opening and gave more information about the wider implications of the stories. This is definitely a collection which I’m sure readers interested in the field will enjoy, but also feel that readers like me who are more into futuristic stuff in the form of sci-fi will also find this book very accessible.
The Golden Elephant
Firstly, I loved that the first story was set in India. As a slightly cautionary but also hopeful tale about the pros and cons of deep learning AI in the applications that we use daily, this was interesting, while also being a cute story about a possible budding inter caste romance. I also thought it was great to learn a bit more about the deep learning technology and it’s real world implications, as well as possible steps that can be taken to ensure it’s more transparent as well as functioning in the interest of its users rather than just maximizing profits for the businesses using it.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gods Behind the Masks
Deepfakes are a pretty scary phenomenon to be honest and that’s probably one development which has convinced me to reduce the amount of pictures of mine I share on the internet. And considering that fake and manipulated videos have become a very common feature in politics these days across the globe, this story hit too close. Very thought provoking with a hopeful resolution, I enjoyed the story but got totally lost in its highly technological speak. The note on the positive applications that this technology can have other than deepfake stuff was good to know, but I’m not sure if I’m as optimistic as the author that technological solutions will be effective enough to prevent real life catastrophes induced by deepfake and other manipulative technologies.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Twin Sparrows
Another interesting story about personalized AI tutors for children who teach them in ways most suited to them individually. What I liked more was that the AI and the child had a symbiotic relationship, with one learning from the other. I also appreciated the fact that the story made a point that human intervention would still be necessary when it comes to aspects like encouraging creativity, mending interpersonal problems and ensuring healthier emotional development.
I also really loved getting to know more about NLPs and how this technology is already become such an important part of our lives in our day to day use, and it’s future applications only seem more interesting. While the author’s points about the advantages of having AI tutors makes sense theoretically, I don’t know if relegating something as important as a child’s education to an AI will give us desirable results.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Contactless Love
CW: Covid-19
It is scary to imagine a world after two decades where Covid-19 has become a seasonal disease with new variants coming up everytime and new vaccines being developed simultaneously. But that’s where this story is set and I hope to god it doesn’t happen irl. I really empathized with the main character who is nosophobic and hasn’t stepped out of home in 3 years, managing both work and life with the help of technology and robots. While I liked that she was overcome her difficulties, I can’t say I liked how it came out to be.
The author definitely has a lot of hope for advances in AI helping the medical industry as well as robotics changing the face of many fields, but this is another field where I’m unsure. While I can see how AI can revolutionize things like vaccine development and creating new treatments, I’m not sure if diagnosis is something I would want to completely leave to technology.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
My Haunting Idol
As a very recent consumer of Chinese entertainment content but being an international fan, I have been a one step away but still very much aware of the kind of toxicity that exists in fandom, especially surrounding idols, and how companies manipulate fans to achieve their outcomes. So this story with its very hyper realistic game of virtual idols interacting with their fans, in a very personalized way, felt very dubious and an extension of the toxic fan culture. But the aspects of X Reality, and it’s components like AR and VR are interesting to know about even though the kind of advances he talks about seems unreal to me, and more in the realm of sci-fi movies. But who knows, maybe his predictions are right.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Holy Driver
Set in Sri Lanka, this story is very engaging and emotionally driven and definitely gave me goosebumps towards the end. While the story as a sci-fi feels like a good one on paper, imagining something like this in reality makes me very scared. As someone who is petrified of driving and even get anxiety when I’m in the passenger seat, even the idea of an autonomous vehicle is unimaginable. So I’m not sure I want our transportation future to be like how the author imagines. L0 to L3 Autonomous vehicles sound fine with AIs assisting human drivers, but anything above that feels scary to me. Also, while the author is sure that advancements in AV technology will ultimately lead to people buying less cars and thus helping the environment, I’m somehow unsure that will be possible unless AVs are also renewable energy based and not fossil fuel.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Quantum Genocide
Another story where I can’t say I understand all the physics and technology behind it, but this was also the story which clearly presented the perils of advancements if the persons holding the key decide to use it for evil. The author also clearly describes in his note the extreme liabilities with the development of autonomous weapons which could lead to the proliferation of the arms race, while there is no deterrent left like the some semblance of it which we do have for the nuclear arms race. And I’m definitely not surprised that US, Russia and the UK are opposed to enacting any ban on the development of autonomous weapons.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Job Savior
This was the story as well as note about job displacement due to AI innovations across industries and this is definitely one of the things that everyone needs to be prepared for in the future. The author also comes across as being against UBI or atleast a conditional one, which I’m unsure about, because assuming that people’s self worth will get affected if they are given money without a job is unsubstantiated. Also, alongwith giving the gory details about the level of job loss and wealth inequality, the author tries to paint a better picture about new kinds of job that can be created which an AI can’t do as well as people following their passions in creative fields - while it sounds very good, I don’t see how it is feasible enough for the majority population that will be suffering. But it’s all definitely worth pondering.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Isle of Happiness
This is the only story till now where I didn’t understand the complete picture of what it was trying to say, and even if I have misunderstood, I still feel that an AI can never totally figure out how to make a human happy. Also, while I agree with all the privacy issues that the author talks about, I don’t think I agree with his assertion that we would be able to develop a powerful AI that will help us find lasting happiness, with the help of a benevolent monarchy, an open sourced commune or a distributed blockchain system - it just seems too fanciful and a tad bit too optimistic. The author also mentions that most of the people will be living comfortably in an AI empowered future, which I thought contradicted with his thoughts in the previous chapter that AI would displace unprecedented number of jobs leading to worse wealth inequality.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dreaming of Plenitude
Set in an Australia where almost everything is free and all the basic needs of everyone is covered by the government, where the country is carbon neutral completely relying on sustainable technologies, and a new social currency is what the young people aim to accumulate by volunteering their services - this was very heartwarming and I loved the idea of two women from very different generations finding inspiration in each other to take the next step in their lives. And despite however unrealistic the author’s words in this one seem, I want to be hopeful that the kind of utopia that the author is dreaming about is possible sometime in our future. And he is very right when he says that things can change for the better when those in power work with human needs in mind than human greed. But who knows if that is ever possible in our capitalistic money obsessed world. Let’s wait and watch.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 8, 2023
Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan - Inteligência Artificial 2041
Neste livro publicado em 2021, os autores em dez histórias elaboraram a sua antevisão do que poderá ser a organização da sociedade em 2041 e a sua relação com a I.A. em 2041. Cada um dos capítulos começa com uma história de ficção elaborada por Chen Qiufan, e a conspeção que a mesma encerra é complementada com um comentário de Kai-Fu Lee sobre os avanços tecnológicos e alterações na sociedade antevistas em cada ficção. Pretende ser e consegue-o, uma antevisão de um futuro próximo, o futuro de 2041.
Tendo sido escrito durante o período da pandemia, era inevitável que este tema e as suas consequências aqui estivessem refletidas, e a escolha de um futuro distante a vinte anos foi a opção por os autores acharem que tempos mais distantes não poderiam ser previstos com segurança, o que os responsabiliza ao acharem que o mundo que descrevem, não é apenas uma possibilidade, mas uma realidade que anteveem. Ficou o repto. A escolha de 2041 foi uma opção ainda por pretenderem os autores fugirem à antevisão mais ou menos catastrofista de Ray Kurzweil - 2045.
Trata-se de um texto bem escrito, de leitura fácil. Uma boa ideia e bem executada, pelo menos na forma. Já quanto ao conteúdo fico dividido. Se por um lado lhe reconheço uma visão panfletária do mundo “idílico” que anunciam, por outro lado encontro, e muito em particular no capítulo onde são abordadas, implicações da I.A. no mundo do trabalho aterradoras e que nao podem deixar de ser consideradas.
Os autores anteveem um mundo em 2041, um mundo centrado na I.A., mas um mundo que parece quase exclusivamente composto por I.A., em que tudo parece um jogo. Acham mesmo que vai ser assim? Em 2041 o planeta terá mais de nove biliões, e estima-se que antes do final do século os 10 biliões devem ser ultrapassados. Como vai viver esta população? Como vão ser supridas os vários patamares de hierarquia da escala de Maslow. O que se vai passar com as necessidades básicas de comida, água, abrigo, ou as de segurança, como proteção, emprego, saúde e propriedade. Se quanto a estas tenho muitas dúvidas do que anteveem os autores, já quanto às necessidade eudemónicas de amor, pertença, estima e auto-realização me parece que aquilo que é antevisto pelos autores é mais claro, é distópico e recuso.
Apesar de chamarem a esse mundo de 2041, um mundo de plenitude, tal como o descrevem na última história “Sonhar com a plenitude”, trata-se de um mundo distópico, não muito diferente do Admirável Mundo Novo de Aldous Huxley, onde o oráculo, a estimulação química e as castas, são substituídos pela I.A. Um mundo onde jovens substituem o contacto físico por simulacros de amor (espiritual e físico) em contexto cibernético (durante 3 anos), parece-me uma aberração. Claro que o descrito na história 4 (Amor sem contacto) poderia apenas ser um caso patológico, mas o contexto em que o mesmo é descrito parece-me mais ser uma paranoia na sociedade que estamos a construir. Uma sociedade unida por múltiplos “devices” e “gadgets”, mas em que as pessoas nunca estiveram tão afastadas umas das outras. Aliás, já hoje podemos antever esse mundo quando entramos num restaurante e a maioria dos “convivas�� está “agarrado” ao ecrã do seu smartphone. Ver um grupo de três ou quatro a interagirem dessa forma é confrangedor. A realidade é essa, mas o que parece condenável é que os autores a vejam como inevitável e boa.
Quando o par de namorados Chen Nan e Garcia decidem ter um encontro físico, o primeiro encontro físico ao fim de 3 anos de “namoro” virtual, o que é escrito pelo autor é que o par de namorados decide ter um encontro “offline”. Offline! Francamente! Quem assim se exprime é porque acha que “offline” é estranho e será o extraordinário!
Mas se a sociedade anunciada vai ser uma sociedade de membros isolados, deprimidos, sem pertença e sem capacidade de se sentirem úteis (exceção para aqueles que trabalharam na sua construção e manutenção da sociedade de I.A., e que será exclusiva por nunca abarcar dez biliões), mas que curiosamente podem ter uma monitorização persecutória do seu estado de saúde. Através de múltiplos sensores é possível monitorizar num indivíduo todos os seus aportes e emissões e com essa informação efectuar um relatório. Até aqui nada de extraordinário, agora partilhar esse relatório com não médicos é que ma parece um absurdo. Para que diabo Chen Nan queria saber pormenores das fezes e de outros líquido biológicos do seu namorado (virtual até à data)?
Bom, talvez seja esse o mundo que estamos a contruir com a I.A., um mundo que nos controla até nos mais íntimos pormenores, um mundo que relega para as calendas a liberdade individual e os valores democráticos. É um mundo que por exemplo para calcular o risco de um seguro monitoriza e interfere de forma intrusiva com a nossa liberdade. Deixa de ser um seguro e passa a ser um certificado garantido, em que os que estão do lado dos bons augúrios em nada se solidarizam com os menos afortunados.
Os autores descrevem para 2041 um mundo de plenitude onde todos são felizes e realizados. Não me parece que esse seja o que o futuro nos reserva. Antevejo antes um mundo de elites, um mundo onde uma minoria tem acesso á plenitude anunciada, e uma maioria não se desviará muito do mundo dos subúrbios de 1984, descrito por Orwell, ou do mundo de "Elysium" passado para os écrans em 2013 por Neill Blomkamp.
Mas este mundo, autocrático e hipervigilante já é uma realidade nos regimes autocratas. Um mundo que a troco de uma pertença segurança tem os seus cidadãos a abdicarem das sua liberdades e opções. Gostaria muito que assim não fosse, mas seja pelo desequilíbrio entre recursos e pressão do crescimento, seja pela intrusão da I.A., lamentavelmente será o mundo que vamos deixar para as gerações vindouras.
Quanto às várias opções técnicas descritas ao longo dos seus dez capítulos, não tenho qualquer opinião sobre as mesmas. E dentro da minha ignorância sobre essas matérias, não pude deixar de ficar deslumbrado com os “encantamentos” aqui anunciados, todos eles pomposamente apresentados com uma elegância avassaladora e uma vantagem inquestionável. Tanta maravilha só poderia ter rótulos num léxico anglo-saxónico. Uma terminologia que à primeira tentativa soa estranha, mas que como um vírus rapidamente se dissemina e adere ao nosso discurso diário.
Se às características técnicas da I.A. não tenho habilitações para me pronunciar, já quanto ao que se passou com o período pandémico da COVID-19, acho que os autores andaram muito mal. Apresentam na história 4 (Amor sem contacto) a realidade de dois países durante uma pandemia por coronavírus. Um coronavírus com variantes recorrentes, uma delas a ter origem no ártico em resultado do degelo e libertação de material orgânico. É claro que esta história é inspirada nos acontecimentos que ocorreram entre 2019 e 2021, e os países citados pelo autor ficcionista foram a China e o Brasil. Só que que a China aqui apresentada é a de Xangai, cuja realidade é apresentada como o exemplo perfeito da eficácia de controlo sanitário. Um mundo com uma articulação perfeita entre a segurança dos cidadãos, a monitorização do seu estado de saúde e o controlo epidemiológico de tal forma perfeito e eficaz que deixaria “de água na boca” um qualquer Joseph ou um não menos notável “Big Brother”. Do outro lado apresenta-nos um Brasil, cheio de carências, um Brasil de gangues, um Brasil onde se morria “como tordos”.
Como referi, este cenário está ficcionado para uma pandemia em 2041, mas as circunstâncias em que é descrita, bem como os países escolhidos parece-me corresponde à lavagem de um deles e a uma ultrajante difamação do outro. Nem na China a eficácia se aproximou do que os autores referem, nem no Brasil os casos tiveram o impacto propagado. Para além desta pandemia ter tido origem na China, algo pelo qual ainda não ouvi as autoridades chinesas darem qualquer explicação ou pedido de arrependimento, os seus serviços de saúde estiveram longe da eficácia propalada. Tiveram uma política publica de COVID zero, como se isso alguma vez fosse possível, ou até útil, e a única eficácia que demonstraram foi a de levantarem hospitais de campanha em tempo record e tudo fecharem, colocando as populações encerradas num estado marcial. Esta foi a realidade que se viveu, e se apenas em finais de 2022 as restrições foram levantadas, não foi porque a política de COVID zero tivesse sido desconsiderada, foi antes porque a pressão das populações ameaçava a autoridade. Branquear esta realidade e dar-nos um cenário em que tudo foi idílico é reforçar a limitação das liberdades individuais. É atraiçoar a democracia e tudo em que acredito.
A política de COVID zero para além de reforçar a autocracia e minar os princípios democráticos, estava ainda errada nos seus princípios. Os vírus sem hospedeiro intermédio tem mutações que por mecanismos de seleção natural evoluem sempre no sentido das variantes de menor morbilidade e mais infeciosas terem vantagem e por isso serem predominantes. Na pandemia pelo SARS-Cov-2 as vacinas nunca acompanharam as estirpes predominantes e a eficácia propalada pelas farmacêuticas (quase todas ligeiramente abaixo dos 100%), foi no mínimo enganosa para não dizer dolosa. As estirpes do coronavírus foram sendo progressivamente menos agressivas (mesmo nos países que como em África tiveram baixos níveis de vacinação), porque o vírus ao circular ia favorecer o aparecimento de estirpes cada vez menos agressivas. A política COVID zero estava errada. Os Suecos foram os únicos que estiveram acertados.
Quanto á descrição que os autores fazem do Brasil em relação ao COVID-19, é no mínimo fruto de uma difamação que é propalada pelo mundo ocidental que com isso pretendia condenar as políticas, ou a falta delas de Jair Bolsonaro, e demonstrarem junto das respectivas populações que eram governos interventivos, audazes (favoráveis ao Lockdown), e por isso merecedores da confiança das suas populações. Uma verdade é o que podemos fazer com uma mentira. O Brasil apareceu assim no mundo ocidental com aquelas imagens de caos e mortandade sem controlo. Foi assim que os média ocidentais apresentaram o Brasil, mas quando comparamos os números de prevalência ou de mortalidade, estes não diferem muito da média, estando bem melhores que nações como Portugal que assumiram uma política restritiva muito mais agressiva. Neste capítulo os autores deviam sido muito mais cuidadosos e menos alinhados com o mainstream e o politicamente correto do ocidente.
Um outro aspecto em que o livro me chamou a atenção, foi a disrupção que a I.A. vai implicar no mundo do trabalho.
É habitual ouvirmos os “devotos” da I.A. sugerirem que esta nos vai trazer um mundo de oportunidades e que o engenho humano rapidamente vai encontrar o caminho do equilíbrio. Dizem estes evangelizadores que o mesmo se passou durante a revolução industrial do século XIX e mais tarde durante a utilização da eletricidade e combustíveis fósseis. Esquecem-se contudo estes arautos que este processo demorou quase dois séculos a disseminar-se pelo planeta. Quando introduziu a disrupção nos postos de trabalho, esta atingiu menos de 5% da população mundial, levou a uma disponibilização bens e permitiu que a população mundial crescesse 30% em cinquenta anos. Ninguém tem dúvidas que no final do século XIX se viva melhor que no final do século anterior.
A revolução da I.A. não tem nada de semelhante. Esta vai ser rápida, global, disruptiva e vai atingir mais de 80% da população trabalhadora. Vai criar uma sociedade fraturada numa classe de plutocratas e nos restantes. Muitos dos “devotos” veem nesta nova sociedade um mundo muito à semelhança do “Admirável Mundo Novo de Aldous Huxley”, mas temo que o que se anuncia não difira muito do mundo do filme “Elysium" de 2013 e realizado por Neill Blomkamp. Neste mundo, a humanidade vai estar separada, numa “casta” de dirigentes e plutocratas e no grosso da população mundial que não vai diferir do lumpemproletariado dos subúrbios do século XIX.
Será que é este o mundo que estamos a construir? Numa fase inicial não tenho muitas dúvidas, que pelo menos em alguns países, é para aí que se encaminham. Aí chegados, as convulsões sociais vão ser tremendas e seguramente o que irá sucumbir será a própria democracia. Persistindo ou não, as pessoas vão-se manifestar e exigir que as necessidades mínimas de acesso a água, alimento e segurança sejam fornecidas. Aqui chegados as democracias não vão resistir, e as sociedades que ainda não dominadas por autocracias vão rapidamente passar a está-lo.
Num mundo de 9 biliões de humanos, que são as estimativas para o futuro aqui previsto, não é possível introduzir-se uma convulsão da magnitude da que a I.A. anuncia sem por em causa a democracia. E sobre isto os autores foram omissos. Não deixa de ser curioso que sendo ambos os autores de origem e residentes em território chinês, tenham condenado liminarmente o rendimento básico universal (RBU) como uma forma de minimizar assimetrias e dar a todos uma possibilidade de sobrevivência. De sobrevivência, não de dignidade. Contra este RBU sugerem vagamente que a sua implementação vai induzir crispação na sociedade, não introduz incentivos para que as pessoas melhorem a sua situação, e vai formar uma sociedade de deprimidos, com vida destruturada e sem objectivos. Por anteverem estas consequências nefastas, os autores acham que rapidamente vai ser abandonada. E após o abandono do RBU, apontam para dois caminhos que não parecem, são ridículos!
No primeiro destes apontam para a criação de trabalho virtual, como um jogo, onde os participantes são remunerados, gratificados, promovidos, conforme atingem objectivos que lhes são colocados pela I.A., o seu empregador! Sinceramente!
No outro caminho, sugerem que através de reaprendizagem, recalibragem e renascimento, se possam encontrar novos empregos para os que os vão perder. Para os 9 biliões de seres humanos? Onde estão esses empregos? A esta questão os autores sugerem que se deve procurar empregos em que tenham como atributos a inovação, a criatividade, o contacto humano e a empatia. Tudo áreas em que humano não virtual (curiosa esta expressão. Diz tudo o que vai no espírito dos autores) tem vantagem sobre o virtual! Esta posição para além de ridícula, são apenas adjectivos isolados, não vejo como possa satisfazer 9 biliões de candidatos. E se isto não bastasse, igualmente não vejo como autocracias vão subsidiar inovação, criatividade ou empatia aos seus cidadãos. Não bate certo.
Igualmente não bate certo a introdução maciça da I.A. no mercado de trabalho. A ruptura vai levar ao desemprego de biliões com que fundamento? Para redução dos custos? Não é verdade que os custos com o trabalho seja a principal parcela do preço final. Antes dos custos com a mão de obra vêm os impostos, o custo das matérias primas e energia, o lucro do investidor. Só depois de satisfeitas todas as parcelas prioritárias é que a última é encarada. Mas mesmo que este não seja um motivo válido para o decisor, a possibilidade de laboração em continuum e sem preocupações com condições de trabalho, greves, revindicações e absentismo, etc, podem torná-la uma opção e uma escolha que rapidamente passará a tendência. Daí para regra é só um pequeno passo. Chegados aqui, as empresas vão aumentar a produção, vão produzir mais com menores custos, vão ter produtos inovadores, competitivos e muito atrativos. Mas para quem? A I.A. não consome. Os potencias consumidores quem são. Os plutocratas? Seguramente que o lumpemproletariado não vai ser. Os que sobrevivem com RBU também não me parece que tenham oportunidade para consumo. Os entregues ao trabalho virtual, para além de terem o RBU como rendimento, vão estar ocupados no “vício” e nas suas gratificações virtuais. Não é possível descrever uma sociedade onde humanos se arriscam a ser redundantes sem se encarar de frente esse problema, e isso é algo que os autores não fazem ao longo desta sua antevisão de 2041.
Neste livro publicado em 2021, os autores em dez histórias elaboraram a sua antevisão do que poderá ser a organização da sociedade em 2041 e a sua relação com a I.A. em 2041. Cada um dos capítulos começa com uma história de ficção elaborada por Chen Qiufan, e a conspeção que a mesma encerra é complementada com um comentário de Kai-Fu Lee sobre os avanços tecnológicos e alterações na sociedade antevistas em cada ficção. Pretende ser e consegue-o, uma antevisão de um futuro próximo, o futuro de 2041.
Tendo sido escrito durante o período da pandemia, era inevitável que este tema e as suas consequências aqui estivessem refletidas, e a escolha de um futuro distante a vinte anos foi a opção por os autores acharem que tempos mais distantes não poderiam ser previstos com segurança, o que os responsabiliza ao acharem que o mundo que descrevem, não é apenas uma possibilidade, mas uma realidade que anteveem. Ficou o repto. A escolha de 2041 foi uma opção ainda por pretenderem os autores fugirem à antevisão mais ou menos catastrofista de Ray Kurzweil - 2045.
Trata-se de um texto bem escrito, de leitura fácil. Uma boa ideia e bem executada, pelo menos na forma. Já quanto ao conteúdo fico dividido. Se por um lado lhe reconheço uma visão panfletária do mundo “idílico” que anunciam, por outro lado encontro, e muito em particular no capítulo onde são abordadas, implicações da I.A. no mundo do trabalho aterradoras e que nao podem deixar de ser consideradas.
Os autores anteveem um mundo em 2041, um mundo centrado na I.A., mas um mundo que parece quase exclusivamente composto por I.A., em que tudo parece um jogo. Acham mesmo que vai ser assim? Em 2041 o planeta terá mais de nove biliões, e estima-se que antes do final do século os 10 biliões devem ser ultrapassados. Como vai viver esta população? Como vão ser supridas os vários patamares de hierarquia da escala de Maslow. O que se vai passar com as necessidades básicas de comida, água, abrigo, ou as de segurança, como proteção, emprego, saúde e propriedade. Se quanto a estas tenho muitas dúvidas do que anteveem os autores, já quanto às necessidade eudemónicas de amor, pertença, estima e auto-realização me parece que aquilo que é antevisto pelos autores é mais claro, é distópico e recuso.
Apesar de chamarem a esse mundo de 2041, um mundo de plenitude, tal como o descrevem na última história “Sonhar com a plenitude”, trata-se de um mundo distópico, não muito diferente do Admirável Mundo Novo de Aldous Huxley, onde o oráculo, a estimulação química e as castas, são substituídos pela I.A. Um mundo onde jovens substituem o contacto físico por simulacros de amor (espiritual e físico) em contexto cibernético (durante 3 anos), parece-me uma aberração. Claro que o descrito na história 4 (Amor sem contacto) poderia apenas ser um caso patológico, mas o contexto em que o mesmo é descrito parece-me mais ser uma paranoia na sociedade que estamos a construir. Uma sociedade unida por múltiplos “devices” e “gadgets”, mas em que as pessoas nunca estiveram tão afastadas umas das outras. Aliás, já hoje podemos antever esse mundo quando entramos num restaurante e a maioria dos “convivas�� está “agarrado” ao ecrã do seu smartphone. Ver um grupo de três ou quatro a interagirem dessa forma é confrangedor. A realidade é essa, mas o que parece condenável é que os autores a vejam como inevitável e boa.
Quando o par de namorados Chen Nan e Garcia decidem ter um encontro físico, o primeiro encontro físico ao fim de 3 anos de “namoro” virtual, o que é escrito pelo autor é que o par de namorados decide ter um encontro “offline”. Offline! Francamente! Quem assim se exprime é porque acha que “offline” é estranho e será o extraordinário!
Mas se a sociedade anunciada vai ser uma sociedade de membros isolados, deprimidos, sem pertença e sem capacidade de se sentirem úteis (exceção para aqueles que trabalharam na sua construção e manutenção da sociedade de I.A., e que será exclusiva por nunca abarcar dez biliões), mas que curiosamente podem ter uma monitorização persecutória do seu estado de saúde. Através de múltiplos sensores é possível monitorizar num indivíduo todos os seus aportes e emissões e com essa informação efectuar um relatório. Até aqui nada de extraordinário, agora partilhar esse relatório com não médicos é que ma parece um absurdo. Para que diabo Chen Nan queria saber pormenores das fezes e de outros líquido biológicos do seu namorado (virtual até à data)?
Bom, talvez seja esse o mundo que estamos a contruir com a I.A., um mundo que nos controla até nos mais íntimos pormenores, um mundo que relega para as calendas a liberdade individual e os valores democráticos. É um mundo que por exemplo para calcular o risco de um seguro monitoriza e interfere de forma intrusiva com a nossa liberdade. Deixa de ser um seguro e passa a ser um certificado garantido, em que os que estão do lado dos bons augúrios em nada se solidarizam com os menos afortunados.
Os autores descrevem para 2041 um mundo de plenitude onde todos são felizes e realizados. Não me parece que esse seja o que o futuro nos reserva. Antevejo antes um mundo de elites, um mundo onde uma minoria tem acesso á plenitude anunciada, e uma maioria não se desviará muito do mundo dos subúrbios de 1984, descrito por Orwell, ou do mundo de "Elysium" passado para os écrans em 2013 por Neill Blomkamp.
Mas este mundo, autocrático e hipervigilante já é uma realidade nos regimes autocratas. Um mundo que a troco de uma pertença segurança tem os seus cidadãos a abdicarem das sua liberdades e opções. Gostaria muito que assim não fosse, mas seja pelo desequilíbrio entre recursos e pressão do crescimento, seja pela intrusão da I.A., lamentavelmente será o mundo que vamos deixar para as gerações vindouras.
Quanto às várias opções técnicas descritas ao longo dos seus dez capítulos, não tenho qualquer opinião sobre as mesmas. E dentro da minha ignorância sobre essas matérias, não pude deixar de ficar deslumbrado com os “encantamentos” aqui anunciados, todos eles pomposamente apresentados com uma elegância avassaladora e uma vantagem inquestionável. Tanta maravilha só poderia ter rótulos num léxico anglo-saxónico. Uma terminologia que à primeira tentativa soa estranha, mas que como um vírus rapidamente se dissemina e adere ao nosso discurso diário.
Se às características técnicas da I.A. não tenho habilitações para me pronunciar, já quanto ao que se passou com o período pandémico da COVID-19, acho que os autores andaram muito mal. Apresentam na história 4 (Amor sem contacto) a realidade de dois países durante uma pandemia por coronavírus. Um coronavírus com variantes recorrentes, uma delas a ter origem no ártico em resultado do degelo e libertação de material orgânico. É claro que esta história é inspirada nos acontecimentos que ocorreram entre 2019 e 2021, e os países citados pelo autor ficcionista foram a China e o Brasil. Só que que a China aqui apresentada é a de Xangai, cuja realidade é apresentada como o exemplo perfeito da eficácia de controlo sanitário. Um mundo com uma articulação perfeita entre a segurança dos cidadãos, a monitorização do seu estado de saúde e o controlo epidemiológico de tal forma perfeito e eficaz que deixaria “de água na boca” um qualquer Joseph ou um não menos notável “Big Brother”. Do outro lado apresenta-nos um Brasil, cheio de carências, um Brasil de gangues, um Brasil onde se morria “como tordos”.
Como referi, este cenário está ficcionado para uma pandemia em 2041, mas as circunstâncias em que é descrita, bem como os países escolhidos parece-me corresponde à lavagem de um deles e a uma ultrajante difamação do outro. Nem na China a eficácia se aproximou do que os autores referem, nem no Brasil os casos tiveram o impacto propagado. Para além desta pandemia ter tido origem na China, algo pelo qual ainda não ouvi as autoridades chinesas darem qualquer explicação ou pedido de arrependimento, os seus serviços de saúde estiveram longe da eficácia propalada. Tiveram uma política publica de COVID zero, como se isso alguma vez fosse possível, ou até útil, e a única eficácia que demonstraram foi a de levantarem hospitais de campanha em tempo record e tudo fecharem, colocando as populações encerradas num estado marcial. Esta foi a realidade que se viveu, e se apenas em finais de 2022 as restrições foram levantadas, não foi porque a política de COVID zero tivesse sido desconsiderada, foi antes porque a pressão das populações ameaçava a autoridade. Branquear esta realidade e dar-nos um cenário em que tudo foi idílico é reforçar a limitação das liberdades individuais. É atraiçoar a democracia e tudo em que acredito.
A política de COVID zero para além de reforçar a autocracia e minar os princípios democráticos, estava ainda errada nos seus princípios. Os vírus sem hospedeiro intermédio tem mutações que por mecanismos de seleção natural evoluem sempre no sentido das variantes de menor morbilidade e mais infeciosas terem vantagem e por isso serem predominantes. Na pandemia pelo SARS-Cov-2 as vacinas nunca acompanharam as estirpes predominantes e a eficácia propalada pelas farmacêuticas (quase todas ligeiramente abaixo dos 100%), foi no mínimo enganosa para não dizer dolosa. As estirpes do coronavírus foram sendo progressivamente menos agressivas (mesmo nos países que como em África tiveram baixos níveis de vacinação), porque o vírus ao circular ia favorecer o aparecimento de estirpes cada vez menos agressivas. A política COVID zero estava errada. Os Suecos foram os únicos que estiveram acertados.
Quanto á descrição que os autores fazem do Brasil em relação ao COVID-19, é no mínimo fruto de uma difamação que é propalada pelo mundo ocidental que com isso pretendia condenar as políticas, ou a falta delas de Jair Bolsonaro, e demonstrarem junto das respectivas populações que eram governos interventivos, audazes (favoráveis ao Lockdown), e por isso merecedores da confiança das suas populações. Uma verdade é o que podemos fazer com uma mentira. O Brasil apareceu assim no mundo ocidental com aquelas imagens de caos e mortandade sem controlo. Foi assim que os média ocidentais apresentaram o Brasil, mas quando comparamos os números de prevalência ou de mortalidade, estes não diferem muito da média, estando bem melhores que nações como Portugal que assumiram uma política restritiva muito mais agressiva. Neste capítulo os autores deviam sido muito mais cuidadosos e menos alinhados com o mainstream e o politicamente correto do ocidente.
Um outro aspecto em que o livro me chamou a atenção, foi a disrupção que a I.A. vai implicar no mundo do trabalho.
É habitual ouvirmos os “devotos” da I.A. sugerirem que esta nos vai trazer um mundo de oportunidades e que o engenho humano rapidamente vai encontrar o caminho do equilíbrio. Dizem estes evangelizadores que o mesmo se passou durante a revolução industrial do século XIX e mais tarde durante a utilização da eletricidade e combustíveis fósseis. Esquecem-se contudo estes arautos que este processo demorou quase dois séculos a disseminar-se pelo planeta. Quando introduziu a disrupção nos postos de trabalho, esta atingiu menos de 5% da população mundial, levou a uma disponibilização bens e permitiu que a população mundial crescesse 30% em cinquenta anos. Ninguém tem dúvidas que no final do século XIX se viva melhor que no final do século anterior.
A revolução da I.A. não tem nada de semelhante. Esta vai ser rápida, global, disruptiva e vai atingir mais de 80% da população trabalhadora. Vai criar uma sociedade fraturada numa classe de plutocratas e nos restantes. Muitos dos “devotos” veem nesta nova sociedade um mundo muito à semelhança do “Admirável Mundo Novo de Aldous Huxley”, mas temo que o que se anuncia não difira muito do mundo do filme “Elysium" de 2013 e realizado por Neill Blomkamp. Neste mundo, a humanidade vai estar separada, numa “casta” de dirigentes e plutocratas e no grosso da população mundial que não vai diferir do lumpemproletariado dos subúrbios do século XIX.
Será que é este o mundo que estamos a construir? Numa fase inicial não tenho muitas dúvidas, que pelo menos em alguns países, é para aí que se encaminham. Aí chegados, as convulsões sociais vão ser tremendas e seguramente o que irá sucumbir será a própria democracia. Persistindo ou não, as pessoas vão-se manifestar e exigir que as necessidades mínimas de acesso a água, alimento e segurança sejam fornecidas. Aqui chegados as democracias não vão resistir, e as sociedades que ainda não dominadas por autocracias vão rapidamente passar a está-lo.
Num mundo de 9 biliões de humanos, que são as estimativas para o futuro aqui previsto, não é possível introduzir-se uma convulsão da magnitude da que a I.A. anuncia sem por em causa a democracia. E sobre isto os autores foram omissos. Não deixa de ser curioso que sendo ambos os autores de origem e residentes em território chinês, tenham condenado liminarmente o rendimento básico universal (RBU) como uma forma de minimizar assimetrias e dar a todos uma possibilidade de sobrevivência. De sobrevivência, não de dignidade. Contra este RBU sugerem vagamente que a sua implementação vai induzir crispação na sociedade, não introduz incentivos para que as pessoas melhorem a sua situação, e vai formar uma sociedade de deprimidos, com vida destruturada e sem objectivos. Por anteverem estas consequências nefastas, os autores acham que rapidamente vai ser abandonada. E após o abandono do RBU, apontam para dois caminhos que não parecem, são ridículos!
No primeiro destes apontam para a criação de trabalho virtual, como um jogo, onde os participantes são remunerados, gratificados, promovidos, conforme atingem objectivos que lhes são colocados pela I.A., o seu empregador! Sinceramente!
No outro caminho, sugerem que através de reaprendizagem, recalibragem e renascimento, se possam encontrar novos empregos para os que os vão perder. Para os 9 biliões de seres humanos? Onde estão esses empregos? A esta questão os autores sugerem que se deve procurar empregos em que tenham como atributos a inovação, a criatividade, o contacto humano e a empatia. Tudo áreas em que humano não virtual (curiosa esta expressão. Diz tudo o que vai no espírito dos autores) tem vantagem sobre o virtual! Esta posição para além de ridícula, são apenas adjectivos isolados, não vejo como possa satisfazer 9 biliões de candidatos. E se isto não bastasse, igualmente não vejo como autocracias vão subsidiar inovação, criatividade ou empatia aos seus cidadãos. Não bate certo.
Igualmente não bate certo a introdução maciça da I.A. no mercado de trabalho. A ruptura vai levar ao desemprego de biliões com que fundamento? Para redução dos custos? Não é verdade que os custos com o trabalho seja a principal parcela do preço final. Antes dos custos com a mão de obra vêm os impostos, o custo das matérias primas e energia, o lucro do investidor. Só depois de satisfeitas todas as parcelas prioritárias é que a última é encarada. Mas mesmo que este não seja um motivo válido para o decisor, a possibilidade de laboração em continuum e sem preocupações com condições de trabalho, greves, revindicações e absentismo, etc, podem torná-la uma opção e uma escolha que rapidamente passará a tendência. Daí para regra é só um pequeno passo. Chegados aqui, as empresas vão aumentar a produção, vão produzir mais com menores custos, vão ter produtos inovadores, competitivos e muito atrativos. Mas para quem? A I.A. não consome. Os potencias consumidores quem são. Os plutocratas? Seguramente que o lumpemproletariado não vai ser. Os que sobrevivem com RBU também não me parece que tenham oportunidade para consumo. Os entregues ao trabalho virtual, para além de terem o RBU como rendimento, vão estar ocupados no “vício” e nas suas gratificações virtuais. Não é possível descrever uma sociedade onde humanos se arriscam a ser redundantes sem se encarar de frente esse problema, e isso é algo que os autores não fazem ao longo desta sua antevisão de 2041.
September 4, 2021
*A big thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc for free in exchange for an honest review*
Even though the execution of the stories as well as the writing style weren’t always my favorite I do think this book delivered really well on how AI is going to be influencing our daily lives all over the world.
I really liked the formatting of reading a story and then a sort of technical analysis of the type of AI that was discussed in that story at the end of the chapter.
And don’t be scared of anything being too science heavy or complicated, it was a really accessible read!
Even though the execution of the stories as well as the writing style weren’t always my favorite I do think this book delivered really well on how AI is going to be influencing our daily lives all over the world.
I really liked the formatting of reading a story and then a sort of technical analysis of the type of AI that was discussed in that story at the end of the chapter.
And don’t be scared of anything being too science heavy or complicated, it was a really accessible read!
October 3, 2021
I found this book engaging and a unique piece of work. I did not mind the fiction pieces in this book since they were followed by non-fiction reviews of A.I. concepts embedded in the short stories. The stories give one a real emotional understanding of the technology in use, and the analysis objectively describes how the technology works. The book does an excellent job of illustrating how the technology of the near future will change the lives of common everyday people. Strongly recommended!
January 17, 2022
Interesting concept where fiction and non-fiction were mixed. One of the authors wrote short stories about what the implications of AI and other emerging technologies could be in 20 years, while the other (Kai Fu Lee) wrote expositions about where the technologies in question are at today, and where they might go in the future
Half the stories (particularly those set in developing countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria) were shallowly written, and the issues discussed were very much geared towards problems that might be caused outside of China (instead of issues like state surveillance, a social credit score, and more). The book was not bad, but did smell a little bit of Chinese propaganda
Half the stories (particularly those set in developing countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria) were shallowly written, and the issues discussed were very much geared towards problems that might be caused outside of China (instead of issues like state surveillance, a social credit score, and more). The book was not bad, but did smell a little bit of Chinese propaganda
September 14, 2021
(This is my first Goodreads commentary. I am writing this because I received an advanced reader’s copy. Finally finished reading it last night.)
I don’t read much sci-fi, so I didn’t know what to expect. However, when I finally dug in, I couldn’t put the book down. I have to say, if anyone out there is looking for the best sci-fi of 2021, this is exactly the kind of book you should be considering. (In fact I am not sure if you can even call this book sci-fi. Something more like a futurist approach to technorealism? Or an intriguingly fictionalized speculation of AI technology?)
I have a background in artificial intelligence research (I majored in CS and philosophy back in college, and I currently work for a tech thinktank), and I am an avid lover of stories that take place in urban settings. This book pretty much encompasses all I want to read about the way AI interacts with our human society, and the writers did a GREAT job.
The book comes in ten stories. Each story, happening exactly 20 years from now, takes place in a different city in the world (aka ten versions of the future in the year 2041). AI technology is at the heart of every story: deep learning, image recognition, GAN, deepfake…each story is paired with an essay explaining the central technology. My favorite stories are the one set in Africa and the one set in Korea. Though I would have liked to read about what becomes of globalization in 2041 and see more country-to-country interactions (climate change is one of the big topics the book tackles, what is the UN doing, for example?), but the writer Chen generally maintains a one-place-per-story approach, trying to include as many aspects of everyday life as possible. The themes include job seeking, COVID, data privacy, bitcoin—even virtual idols, can you believe it?
Throughout the read, I am repeatedly reminded of The Age of Em by Robin Hanson — another work that imagines a historicized version of the future where robots roam the Earth that I picked up a few years ago. Hanson attempts to describe what a society would look like after “emulated minds” take over Earth, tackling the topic mostly through economics and psychology. However, I have to say, though AI2041 depicts a similar futuristic/robotcentric setting, it is flat-out better. Better in every aspect. And I think what made the crucial difference is the writing itself. The writer Chen Qiufan’s storytelling skills are superb. Although it says in the cover page that the book is a translation, I honestly don’t think any of the nuances had been lost in translation (the praise should also go to the translators). The stories read as fresh as new. The narrative flows smoothly. Chen seamlessly weaves together the technology and the stories and characters, and it does not seem forced at all. He gracefully engages his readers in each of the little “versions of the futures” taking place in different cities in the world. In love with Chen’s writing style, I looked up his name and found out that he has written another long form sci-fi, Waste Tide. Just ordered a copy, too!
Then, the essays. To be honest, I was more excited about what it has to offer about AI, but the technology depicted in the book does not deviate so much from mainstream research and predictions. However, I can imagine that someone who wants to educate themselves on AI and its implications getting a lot out of their read. Lee’s essays are well-written and cuts straight to the point. He achieves clarity and precision without relying too much on the regular jargon, and I think this is another point of strength. I can even imagine this book being used in college as a kind of interdisciplinary, introductory textbook to artificial intelligence or science & literature.
In general, I highly recommend this book. If you are someone like me, read it for the sake of the stories, at least!
I don’t read much sci-fi, so I didn’t know what to expect. However, when I finally dug in, I couldn’t put the book down. I have to say, if anyone out there is looking for the best sci-fi of 2021, this is exactly the kind of book you should be considering. (In fact I am not sure if you can even call this book sci-fi. Something more like a futurist approach to technorealism? Or an intriguingly fictionalized speculation of AI technology?)
I have a background in artificial intelligence research (I majored in CS and philosophy back in college, and I currently work for a tech thinktank), and I am an avid lover of stories that take place in urban settings. This book pretty much encompasses all I want to read about the way AI interacts with our human society, and the writers did a GREAT job.
The book comes in ten stories. Each story, happening exactly 20 years from now, takes place in a different city in the world (aka ten versions of the future in the year 2041). AI technology is at the heart of every story: deep learning, image recognition, GAN, deepfake…each story is paired with an essay explaining the central technology. My favorite stories are the one set in Africa and the one set in Korea. Though I would have liked to read about what becomes of globalization in 2041 and see more country-to-country interactions (climate change is one of the big topics the book tackles, what is the UN doing, for example?), but the writer Chen generally maintains a one-place-per-story approach, trying to include as many aspects of everyday life as possible. The themes include job seeking, COVID, data privacy, bitcoin—even virtual idols, can you believe it?
Throughout the read, I am repeatedly reminded of The Age of Em by Robin Hanson — another work that imagines a historicized version of the future where robots roam the Earth that I picked up a few years ago. Hanson attempts to describe what a society would look like after “emulated minds” take over Earth, tackling the topic mostly through economics and psychology. However, I have to say, though AI2041 depicts a similar futuristic/robotcentric setting, it is flat-out better. Better in every aspect. And I think what made the crucial difference is the writing itself. The writer Chen Qiufan’s storytelling skills are superb. Although it says in the cover page that the book is a translation, I honestly don’t think any of the nuances had been lost in translation (the praise should also go to the translators). The stories read as fresh as new. The narrative flows smoothly. Chen seamlessly weaves together the technology and the stories and characters, and it does not seem forced at all. He gracefully engages his readers in each of the little “versions of the futures” taking place in different cities in the world. In love with Chen’s writing style, I looked up his name and found out that he has written another long form sci-fi, Waste Tide. Just ordered a copy, too!
Then, the essays. To be honest, I was more excited about what it has to offer about AI, but the technology depicted in the book does not deviate so much from mainstream research and predictions. However, I can imagine that someone who wants to educate themselves on AI and its implications getting a lot out of their read. Lee’s essays are well-written and cuts straight to the point. He achieves clarity and precision without relying too much on the regular jargon, and I think this is another point of strength. I can even imagine this book being used in college as a kind of interdisciplinary, introductory textbook to artificial intelligence or science & literature.
In general, I highly recommend this book. If you are someone like me, read it for the sake of the stories, at least!
May 11, 2022
The quality of the short stories is poor. They are written to show future in foreign countries full of comical national stereotypes. Not really offensive, just cringe-worthy. They are didactic to the point of being patronising. Each story has an "analysis" at the end which is run off the mill AI boosterism you've heard before. Nothing new, nothing cutting edge, the book could've been written 10 years ago and make the same predictions (or as the author admits: extrapolations).
February 5, 2023
“AI 2041” (2021) apresenta uma estrutura deliciosa. Sendo um livro de não-ficção sobre IA, usa pequenos contos de ficção para ajudar o leitor a compreender, por via de situações reais e concretas, o alcance de conceitos e tecnologias de carácter abstrato. Kai-Fu Lee é uma referência na Ásia, por ter sido presidente da Google China, mas antes disso trabalhou nos EUA para a Apple, a SGI, e a Microsoft. Na academia formou-se na Columbia, e doutorou-se na Carnegie Mellon, em 1988, com uma tese em IA. Para este livro, convidou Chen Qiufan, autor chinês, premiado e reconhecido por um estilo de ficção científica realista. Juntos criaram um livro que junta o melhor da ficção com a não-ficção. Cada um dos 10 capítulos aborda um impacto futuro da IA, sendo cada tópico primeiro ilustrado por um conto, situado em 2041, de Chen Qiufan, depois seguido por uma análise académica de Kai-Fu Lee, que dá conta da tecnologia atual e da expetativa de desenvolvimento até 2041. Deste modo, Lee e Qiufan criaram uma nova e poderosa abordagem que deveria ser vista como um modelo a seguir pela comunicação de ciência.
continua... https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
continua... https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
January 10, 2022
Really loved the concept behind this (series of short stories, followed by a non-fic essay on the technologies central to each), but it really fell short in execution.
The stories were pretty unimaginative re-hashes of the usual discussion around tech. Deep fakes & the media; AI parenting our kids; all very... typical.
The fiction was also haphazardly written. Rather than subtly setting up a device or conceit, the author would just add "Luckily, Bob remembered that...." before throwing in the needed element. However, my biggest complaint is that the fiction just like it was written without any passion or vision. Just "what's a story I could wrap around this tech concept". It felt like reading a student's essay they were forced to write but really didn't want to.
The stories were pretty unimaginative re-hashes of the usual discussion around tech. Deep fakes & the media; AI parenting our kids; all very... typical.
The fiction was also haphazardly written. Rather than subtly setting up a device or conceit, the author would just add "Luckily, Bob remembered that...." before throwing in the needed element. However, my biggest complaint is that the fiction just like it was written without any passion or vision. Just "what's a story I could wrap around this tech concept". It felt like reading a student's essay they were forced to write but really didn't want to.
January 5, 2022
Pretentious trash. The authors attempt to combine science fiction and science by pairing short stories with supposed explanations of the stories. The stories aren't good and then the explanations can get too technical for a beginner who might be interested in the stories.
Also note, the authors live in China. In some dystopias, they mention other nations. Due to politics and caring for their lives, they don't do the same in China. There's no mention of the current use of AI to control the population there. For instance, the early story, set in Nigeria, about the use of visual AI to identify and track people is something that's already happening in China.
Also note, the authors live in China. In some dystopias, they mention other nations. Due to politics and caring for their lives, they don't do the same in China. There's no mention of the current use of AI to control the population there. For instance, the early story, set in Nigeria, about the use of visual AI to identify and track people is something that's already happening in China.
February 19, 2023
Polecam wszystkim, którzy lubią czytać o możliwych ścieżkach rozwoju technologicznego w najbliższych latach (dzięki fabularnym częściom historie są przystępne dla każdego) :)
Ode mnie 3 gwiazdki, bo w większości opowiadań mi czegoś zabrakło, w kilku nie dostałam dostatecznych wyjaśnień, a dodatkowo kompletnie nie potrafiłam się zaangażować w niektóre historie.
Żaden koncept mnie mocno nie zaskoczył, chociaż uważam, że autor jest trochę zbyt optymistyczny i za niecałe 20 lat nie uda nam się zrealizować połowy opisywanych tu rozwiązań (chociaż to nie ja tu jestem ekspertem :D). Teraz zostało mi czekać do 2041, żeby się o tym przekonać ;)
Ode mnie 3 gwiazdki, bo w większości opowiadań mi czegoś zabrakło, w kilku nie dostałam dostatecznych wyjaśnień, a dodatkowo kompletnie nie potrafiłam się zaangażować w niektóre historie.
Żaden koncept mnie mocno nie zaskoczył, chociaż uważam, że autor jest trochę zbyt optymistyczny i za niecałe 20 lat nie uda nam się zrealizować połowy opisywanych tu rozwiązań (chociaż to nie ja tu jestem ekspertem :D). Teraz zostało mi czekać do 2041, żeby się o tym przekonać ;)
December 20, 2021
AI 2041 is a collection of 10 stories about AI in the realm of deep learning, quantum technology, Virtual Reality (VR), self-driving vehicles, and more, accompanied by commentary after each story by AI expert Kai-Fu Lee on the specific topic.
I was really excited to stumble across this because I love Chinese science fiction and there has been a growth in the number of translated texts or stories written in English from China. Additionally I was intrigued by the accompanying commentary, which sounded like a good learning experience - applying information about AI directly after reading a story that will allow you to contextualise the information. I was also hoping to immerse myself in the two voices of the authors.
This remains a super cool concept that I hope other writers will take on. However, I found that this collection fell a bit flat. The stories aims to address a pre-decided point by the two authors and it doesn't carry its own as a story we can be invested in. They are very mechanical and quite monotonous.
The analysis accompanying each story is unfortunately uninteresting to me. Besides listing current information about the issue, it doesn’t provide a critical perspective or deeper understanding of the issue. While it may be intentionally short or on the surface to keep the analyses as soundbites, I found it hard to contextualise what Lee was saying.
A personal gripe - in the job displacement story, the pandemic led to a surge in technology, displacing the need for a lot of manual work, leading to high levels of unemployment. A state solution was a UBI (universal basic income) - however, it led to 'unintended consequences' which in the story was basically people wasting away and being useless. This is a popular capitalist view and rather reflects the anxieties of people in power not being able to control the population to be productive, I think. However, in reality, UBI pilots around the world has shown many benefits such as increased school attendance, mental health, relationships, and increased incentive to find work.
I have to imagine that the two writers discussed what viewpoints to showcase for each story so while this is Chen's story, I think it reflects Lee's understanding of the matter as well, which I found strange. AI would have brought up a lot of discussion on this matter and it perplexes me that an expert would not have a more nuanced view of job displacement.
Overall, interesting if you can slog through the monotonous bits.
I was really excited to stumble across this because I love Chinese science fiction and there has been a growth in the number of translated texts or stories written in English from China. Additionally I was intrigued by the accompanying commentary, which sounded like a good learning experience - applying information about AI directly after reading a story that will allow you to contextualise the information. I was also hoping to immerse myself in the two voices of the authors.
This remains a super cool concept that I hope other writers will take on. However, I found that this collection fell a bit flat. The stories aims to address a pre-decided point by the two authors and it doesn't carry its own as a story we can be invested in. They are very mechanical and quite monotonous.
The analysis accompanying each story is unfortunately uninteresting to me. Besides listing current information about the issue, it doesn’t provide a critical perspective or deeper understanding of the issue. While it may be intentionally short or on the surface to keep the analyses as soundbites, I found it hard to contextualise what Lee was saying.
A personal gripe - in the job displacement story, the pandemic led to a surge in technology, displacing the need for a lot of manual work, leading to high levels of unemployment. A state solution was a UBI (universal basic income) - however, it led to 'unintended consequences' which in the story was basically people wasting away and being useless. This is a popular capitalist view and rather reflects the anxieties of people in power not being able to control the population to be productive, I think. However, in reality, UBI pilots around the world has shown many benefits such as increased school attendance, mental health, relationships, and increased incentive to find work.
I have to imagine that the two writers discussed what viewpoints to showcase for each story so while this is Chen's story, I think it reflects Lee's understanding of the matter as well, which I found strange. AI would have brought up a lot of discussion on this matter and it perplexes me that an expert would not have a more nuanced view of job displacement.
Overall, interesting if you can slog through the monotonous bits.
January 16, 2022
Extremely ambitious. If I was reviewing strictly the nonfiction explainers that accompany each "vision", I'd give this five stars. Lee provides an engaging tour of all the ways in which AI is transforming our lives, and I learned a ton. It's worth reading for that half of the book alone.
That being said....the other half of the book is made up of short stories, and many of them just didn't work for me.
It's mainly because the vitamins are only partially crushed up in the food here. Characters throughout all ten stories talk in incredibly unrealistic ways in service of teaching the reader more about AI. That unnatural dialog was at times an absolute slog and took me out of the story. I wish it had just been saved for the explainers.
My rankings of all ten visions from most engaging to least:
1. Holy Driver - autonomous vehicles, smart cities, ethics
2. The Job Savior - AI job displacement, UBI
3. Quantum Genocide - quantum computers, bitcoin, existential threat
4. Dreaming of Plenitude - post-scarcity economics
5. Twin Sparrows - natural language processing, GPT-3
6. Gods Behind the Masks - deepfakes, computer vision
7. Contactless Love - AI in healthcare, covid accelerating automation
8. My Haunting Idol - AR/VR/MR, brain-computer interfaces
9. Isle of Happiness - AI and quantifying human happiness
10. The Golden Elephant - deep learning, big data
That being said....the other half of the book is made up of short stories, and many of them just didn't work for me.
It's mainly because the vitamins are only partially crushed up in the food here. Characters throughout all ten stories talk in incredibly unrealistic ways in service of teaching the reader more about AI. That unnatural dialog was at times an absolute slog and took me out of the story. I wish it had just been saved for the explainers.
My rankings of all ten visions from most engaging to least:
1. Holy Driver - autonomous vehicles, smart cities, ethics
2. The Job Savior - AI job displacement, UBI
3. Quantum Genocide - quantum computers, bitcoin, existential threat
4. Dreaming of Plenitude - post-scarcity economics
5. Twin Sparrows - natural language processing, GPT-3
6. Gods Behind the Masks - deepfakes, computer vision
7. Contactless Love - AI in healthcare, covid accelerating automation
8. My Haunting Idol - AR/VR/MR, brain-computer interfaces
9. Isle of Happiness - AI and quantifying human happiness
10. The Golden Elephant - deep learning, big data
September 22, 2021
Government bureaucrats who want to be prophetic as well. It would be funny, till you get these leeches are living the good life off the working people's wages.
January 18, 2022
This book is just...sick. I would recommend it to any student who is generally enthusiastic about AI but wants to discover specific applications (and potential societal implications of those applications) that excite them, as this book is essentially an encyclopedia of important and emerging AI subtopics.
Some things I love about this book:
1. It is level-headed and avoids being hyperbolic with regards to certain topics within the broader AI discussion (*cough cough* perils of singularity *cough cough*).
2. As with Kai-Fu Lee's AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, this book has an interesting discussion on UBI....and even an Andrew Yang shoutout!
3. Mind was blown by the idea that every economic theory is based on the assumption of scarcity and that if we enter an age of plentitude (AI drives cost of lots of things -> $0) we will essentially need an overhaul and reboot on economic policy, free market ideas for self-correcting suddenly no worky, etc.
4. I found the fictional stories--and their incredible ability to shamelessly stuff AI into every dialogue/description nook and cranny--to be charming, and thought they did a good job of adding to the richness of the discussion.
// Favorite story: "The Holy Driver"
// Most highlighted subtopics: AGI, robotics, A-EVs, quantum computing, and post-scarcity economix.
Some things I love about this book:
1. It is level-headed and avoids being hyperbolic with regards to certain topics within the broader AI discussion (*cough cough* perils of singularity *cough cough*).
2. As with Kai-Fu Lee's AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, this book has an interesting discussion on UBI....and even an Andrew Yang shoutout!
3. Mind was blown by the idea that every economic theory is based on the assumption of scarcity and that if we enter an age of plentitude (AI drives cost of lots of things -> $0) we will essentially need an overhaul and reboot on economic policy, free market ideas for self-correcting suddenly no worky, etc.
4. I found the fictional stories--and their incredible ability to shamelessly stuff AI into every dialogue/description nook and cranny--to be charming, and thought they did a good job of adding to the richness of the discussion.
// Favorite story: "The Holy Driver"
// Most highlighted subtopics: AGI, robotics, A-EVs, quantum computing, and post-scarcity economix.
September 26, 2021
Simply breathtaking and astonishing. The author presents 10 different stories that are taking place in 2041 and at the end of each chapter the analysis is provided. While reading this book, one can dwell into this futuristic setup and imagine the possibilities that could potentially be unlocked. Truly recommend this book! A total must-read.
July 23, 2022
I returned this book. I don’t normally write reviews but wow. The writing is incompetent and the scenarios are banal; I wondered if I was being punk’d and they were going to reveal that it was written by an AI. Nope.
March 9, 2024
Le livre est composé de 10 nouvelles, qui présentent chacune un domaine différent dans lequel l’IA joue désormais un rôle prépondérant (assurances, médecine, éducation, emploi…) et sont proposées par l’auteur Chen Qiufan. Chaque nouvelle est suivie d’une analyse proposée par l’informaticien et ancien directeur de Google China Kai Fu Lee, qui ajoute une énorme plus value à la lecture.
J’ai apprécié la diversité des nouvelles et des sujets abordés, et aussi le fait que chacune se déroule dans un pays différent. Comme souvent avec les recueils de nouvelles, certaines sont meilleures que d’autres, mais globalement c’était une bonne lecture. Je retiens surtout l’Elephant doré, Les Jumeaux, Amour sans contact et Horizon plénitude.
Les analyses seront peut être un peu complexes à suivre pour ceux qui découvrent la technologie de l’IA d’aujourd’hui. Pour avoir suivi des cours sur ce sujet pendant mes études, j’ai les bases, et ça m’a suffit à suivre les explications. J’ai redécouvert certaines choses et j’en ai appris de nouvelles.
Les scénarios proposés se veulent réalistes, Kai Fu Lee estimant les évolutions possibles de l’IA entre 2021 et 2042 (d’ailleurs notons que le titre VO indique 2041, et pas 2042. Les aléas de la traduction des chiffres, apparemment).
Une lecture que je recommande aux personnes intéressées par l’IA et ses applications dans notre société.
J’ai apprécié la diversité des nouvelles et des sujets abordés, et aussi le fait que chacune se déroule dans un pays différent. Comme souvent avec les recueils de nouvelles, certaines sont meilleures que d’autres, mais globalement c’était une bonne lecture. Je retiens surtout l’Elephant doré, Les Jumeaux, Amour sans contact et Horizon plénitude.
Les analyses seront peut être un peu complexes à suivre pour ceux qui découvrent la technologie de l’IA d’aujourd’hui. Pour avoir suivi des cours sur ce sujet pendant mes études, j’ai les bases, et ça m’a suffit à suivre les explications. J’ai redécouvert certaines choses et j’en ai appris de nouvelles.
Les scénarios proposés se veulent réalistes, Kai Fu Lee estimant les évolutions possibles de l’IA entre 2021 et 2042 (d’ailleurs notons que le titre VO indique 2041, et pas 2042. Les aléas de la traduction des chiffres, apparemment).
Une lecture que je recommande aux personnes intéressées par l’IA et ses applications dans notre société.
May 9, 2023
Will AI make the world a better place or a worse place? The answer, I think, is yes.
I appreciated the fact that the author is neither a strict optimist or pessimist but a realist. AI can be (and already is being) implemented in healthcare, education, economics, etc. to personalize and optimize an individual’s experience. Example: an AI tutor for every student that’s catered to their particular learning method and pace.
3 stars because, while the idea to alternate chapters between sci-fi visions of AI in 2041 and essays analyzing the stories was a great one, the fictional chapters were a little too long. They fell flat. I wasn’t as attached to them as I was interested in their analysis.
One of the major goals of AI / human integration is plentitude, or the *virtual* elimination of economic scarcity. The author admits that this can only happen when corporations and nations forgo greed and choose to prioritize the good of humanity. Fat chance!
Unless…… Christ continues to build his kingdom and the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Then and only then can I imagine a world in which AI is perfectly integrated with humanity. The prospect is exciting.
I appreciated the fact that the author is neither a strict optimist or pessimist but a realist. AI can be (and already is being) implemented in healthcare, education, economics, etc. to personalize and optimize an individual’s experience. Example: an AI tutor for every student that’s catered to their particular learning method and pace.
3 stars because, while the idea to alternate chapters between sci-fi visions of AI in 2041 and essays analyzing the stories was a great one, the fictional chapters were a little too long. They fell flat. I wasn’t as attached to them as I was interested in their analysis.
One of the major goals of AI / human integration is plentitude, or the *virtual* elimination of economic scarcity. The author admits that this can only happen when corporations and nations forgo greed and choose to prioritize the good of humanity. Fat chance!
Unless…… Christ continues to build his kingdom and the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Then and only then can I imagine a world in which AI is perfectly integrated with humanity. The prospect is exciting.
November 30, 2021
An interesting collection of stories and essays about the potential of AI systems in 2041. Each story is about an aspect of AI that is now in development or being deployed (for better or worse) in the world and how it impacts the people in the story. An essay follows each story, explaining how the AI systems in the story work at present and the potential of it to affect how we will live in the near future.
- The Golden Elephant: in India, a girl is interested in her classmate. But her family's AI insurance company's app continually makes recommendations to keep her away from him, showing the limitations of a deep learning system that optimizes insurance policies by keeping people away from undesirable actions.
- Gods Behind the Masks: in Nigeria, a young man, whose fake video catches the interest of a group who want to discredit a masked political group with another fake video. The solution he uses would involve a 'deep fake' that would provoke a political scandal. But he has second thoughts about the job and needs to find a way out.
- Twin Sparrows: an interesting look at a future where custom AIs help to educate children and to direct their growth. The story concerns a pair of twins, each adopted by two families. Each twin has different personalities (one outgoing and competitive, the other withdrawn but artistic). But despite their different lives, they would be drawn back together in their time of need.
- Contactless Love: in this future, new variations of COVID-19 continue to appear. One woman isolates herself in her home to keep safe, and finds companionship online. But when her virtual partner tries to surprise her by turning up, but ends up falling ill, she has to fight her instincts to keep safe to be by his side before it is too late.
- My Haunting Idol: a detective story set in a virtual world where a dead singing idol appears as a ghost to a fan who wants to solve the murder mystery.
- The Holy Driver: in Sri Lanka, a boy who is good at VR racing is given the chance to drive a VR car that feels almost real. Later, he will discover the purpose of the reality simulation and, in a crisis, having to take life or death decisions.
- Quantum Genocide: a techno-thriller involving the stealing of Bitcoins that is the trigger for a series of global terrorist events started by one person who wants to get his revenge of humanity. It would take the efforts of an intelligence officer and a hacker to try to stop him.
- The Job Savior: in a future where most work has been taken over by AI, a company is tasked with find new avenues of employment for those whose jobs have now gone. But what happens when the company's own business is threaten by AI?
- Isle of Happiness: a Russian tycoon who got rich on gaming and other activities finds happiness hard to achieve. So he jumps at the chance of an isle in the Middle East which claims to use AI to offer happiness. But appearance can be deceiving and happiness can be hard to find.
- Dreaming of Plenitude: in a future without scarcity, a young helper attempts to get along with an elderly patient to get a reputational boost. But it is only after the patient goes missing with her 3D VR goggles and sees the world in a new light do they discover their common interest in helping the people community to work together.
- The Golden Elephant: in India, a girl is interested in her classmate. But her family's AI insurance company's app continually makes recommendations to keep her away from him, showing the limitations of a deep learning system that optimizes insurance policies by keeping people away from undesirable actions.
- Gods Behind the Masks: in Nigeria, a young man, whose fake video catches the interest of a group who want to discredit a masked political group with another fake video. The solution he uses would involve a 'deep fake' that would provoke a political scandal. But he has second thoughts about the job and needs to find a way out.
- Twin Sparrows: an interesting look at a future where custom AIs help to educate children and to direct their growth. The story concerns a pair of twins, each adopted by two families. Each twin has different personalities (one outgoing and competitive, the other withdrawn but artistic). But despite their different lives, they would be drawn back together in their time of need.
- Contactless Love: in this future, new variations of COVID-19 continue to appear. One woman isolates herself in her home to keep safe, and finds companionship online. But when her virtual partner tries to surprise her by turning up, but ends up falling ill, she has to fight her instincts to keep safe to be by his side before it is too late.
- My Haunting Idol: a detective story set in a virtual world where a dead singing idol appears as a ghost to a fan who wants to solve the murder mystery.
- The Holy Driver: in Sri Lanka, a boy who is good at VR racing is given the chance to drive a VR car that feels almost real. Later, he will discover the purpose of the reality simulation and, in a crisis, having to take life or death decisions.
- Quantum Genocide: a techno-thriller involving the stealing of Bitcoins that is the trigger for a series of global terrorist events started by one person who wants to get his revenge of humanity. It would take the efforts of an intelligence officer and a hacker to try to stop him.
- The Job Savior: in a future where most work has been taken over by AI, a company is tasked with find new avenues of employment for those whose jobs have now gone. But what happens when the company's own business is threaten by AI?
- Isle of Happiness: a Russian tycoon who got rich on gaming and other activities finds happiness hard to achieve. So he jumps at the chance of an isle in the Middle East which claims to use AI to offer happiness. But appearance can be deceiving and happiness can be hard to find.
- Dreaming of Plenitude: in a future without scarcity, a young helper attempts to get along with an elderly patient to get a reputational boost. But it is only after the patient goes missing with her 3D VR goggles and sees the world in a new light do they discover their common interest in helping the people community to work together.
August 27, 2023
A idéia do livro é muito boa e a realizaçao idem. Trata-se de um livro de contos que supostamente mostram como será o mundo em 2041, com os avanços da inteligencia artificial. Cada conto aborda um tópico diferente de como serao afetadas nossas vidas e, ao final de cada conto, existe uma análise técnica, explicando quais as implicacoes, questoes éticas e de implementacao para cada assunto abordado. Alguns contos sao um pouco "forçados", mas a clareza da maioria deles mostra que o futuro vai ser algo muito perto do que foi vislumbrado pelos dois escritores, para o bem e para o mau. Leitura "obrigatoria", pra quem ,como eu, nao é especialista do assunro e quer entender melhor como serao nossas vidas em um futuro nao tao distante.
September 10, 2021
To say that AI 2041 is enlightening and valuable, is to understate its significance. It’s organized around ten short stories - vignettes of future life transformed by advances in AI and data science that cover how we will learn, amuse ourselves, live in cities, deal with pandemics and more. Each story is sandwiched between a non-fiction introduction and an epilogue that enable the reader to relate the likely trajectory of technology’s evolution to its impact on our social fabric. In so doing, the authors have created a new genre of “scientific fiction” that is sure to enlighten anyone who wonders where the heck this is all heading.
Underneath its stories, AI2041 poses a more fundamental question that can be summed up as “so what for the humans?” Specific ponder-worthy topics include: “What is a career?” “How is our sense of what it means to be human likely to evolve?” “What will being ‘educated’ mean in the future?” “How will humans and machines come together in new forms of hybrid intelligence and what will be the new rules of engagement?”
Much has been made of how AI will encroach on the “trade space” for human labor. As AI devours jobs involving routine thinking and pattern recognition, we will begin to bid farewell to countless professional activities such as reading x-rays, legal research and basic accounting. We can be certain that the pace of innovation will continue to accelerate as capital continues to pour into “AI everywhere” business models and their associated ventures. It is also inevitable that we will need to continuously ‘negotiate’ our relationship with AI as it becomes ever more capable. It’s worth noting that back in the 1990’s, author Dan Simmons described a future in which AI would not only coexist with humans but would eventually declare its independence and develop multiple competing embodiments and relationships with humanity while it pursued its own creative project of developing an “ultimate intelligence.” So stay tuned.
One of the key contributions of AI2041 is to show us how to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by technology. In a recent interview with me, Lee Kai-fu referred to the secret sauce of humans in the AI era as “warm skills.” I think this is a fundamental insight that calls out for more clarity about which proficiencies are inherently human and can never be replaced by technology. These include empathy, compassion, collaboration, a growth mindset, agility, trust building, and creativity among others – what some refer to as “21st century skills.”
In the vintage short story Virtuoso by Herbert Goldstone, a robot asks an eminent pianist for permission to learn the piano. By day’s end, it plays Beethoven's Appassionata sonata with such feeling that it brings tears to the maestro’s eyes. The story concludes with the robot refusing further involvement music, saying that “some things were not meant for machines.” The point here is that while a robot may be able to perform music perfectly, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. Music is an inherently human activity, requiring human empathy and aesthetic sense to make a meaningful connection between performer and listener. What does matter is when humans create the work, perform it, appreciate it and are moved by it. And when we pay attention to the humanity in a performance – including its imperfections and idiosyncrasies – we express the kind of warm skills that will forever define our human ‘trade space.’
Science fiction has historically opened our eyes to far horizons. AI2041’s scientific fiction gives us a way to open our eyes to what is actually going on all around us and where things are heading.
Underneath its stories, AI2041 poses a more fundamental question that can be summed up as “so what for the humans?” Specific ponder-worthy topics include: “What is a career?” “How is our sense of what it means to be human likely to evolve?” “What will being ‘educated’ mean in the future?” “How will humans and machines come together in new forms of hybrid intelligence and what will be the new rules of engagement?”
Much has been made of how AI will encroach on the “trade space” for human labor. As AI devours jobs involving routine thinking and pattern recognition, we will begin to bid farewell to countless professional activities such as reading x-rays, legal research and basic accounting. We can be certain that the pace of innovation will continue to accelerate as capital continues to pour into “AI everywhere” business models and their associated ventures. It is also inevitable that we will need to continuously ‘negotiate’ our relationship with AI as it becomes ever more capable. It’s worth noting that back in the 1990’s, author Dan Simmons described a future in which AI would not only coexist with humans but would eventually declare its independence and develop multiple competing embodiments and relationships with humanity while it pursued its own creative project of developing an “ultimate intelligence.” So stay tuned.
One of the key contributions of AI2041 is to show us how to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by technology. In a recent interview with me, Lee Kai-fu referred to the secret sauce of humans in the AI era as “warm skills.” I think this is a fundamental insight that calls out for more clarity about which proficiencies are inherently human and can never be replaced by technology. These include empathy, compassion, collaboration, a growth mindset, agility, trust building, and creativity among others – what some refer to as “21st century skills.”
In the vintage short story Virtuoso by Herbert Goldstone, a robot asks an eminent pianist for permission to learn the piano. By day’s end, it plays Beethoven's Appassionata sonata with such feeling that it brings tears to the maestro’s eyes. The story concludes with the robot refusing further involvement music, saying that “some things were not meant for machines.” The point here is that while a robot may be able to perform music perfectly, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. Music is an inherently human activity, requiring human empathy and aesthetic sense to make a meaningful connection between performer and listener. What does matter is when humans create the work, perform it, appreciate it and are moved by it. And when we pay attention to the humanity in a performance – including its imperfections and idiosyncrasies – we express the kind of warm skills that will forever define our human ‘trade space.’
Science fiction has historically opened our eyes to far horizons. AI2041’s scientific fiction gives us a way to open our eyes to what is actually going on all around us and where things are heading.
September 25, 2021
As both a huge fan of Kai-Fu Lee, and an artificial intelligence researcher for a brief period of time at UC Berkeley, I was very interested in picking up this book. After reading AI Superpowers, I was very excited to see what Kai-Fu's predictions for the future of AI looked like.
I was honestly a bit skeptical about the short story dramatization format at first, especially after the first story, a thin love store about discrimination and bias in data, a story which parallels some of the existing stories about AI discriminating against marginalized groups in America's own caste system. However, after that the book was much more imaginative with its ideas. I also actually loved how each story took place in a different culture. It allowed to tell different stories unique to each culture, hidden discrimination in data based on caste, job automation, political instability in developing worlds, the defense and AI, etc.
I think the stories did a great job keeping me engaged throughout the novel and illustrating the real effects the future of AI will have on people. My one complaint is the explanations at the end of the chapters is so interesting, I sometimes wish the book had shorter stories and longer discourse on AI.
Honestly Kai-Fu Lee is the only person, in my opinion, who's opinion on artificial intelligence is worth hearing. If you want to truly educate yourself on artificial intelligence and what it means for the future, ignore all other science fiction, read AI Superpowers first and if you are interested in hearing more, pick up this book. 7/10.
I was honestly a bit skeptical about the short story dramatization format at first, especially after the first story, a thin love store about discrimination and bias in data, a story which parallels some of the existing stories about AI discriminating against marginalized groups in America's own caste system. However, after that the book was much more imaginative with its ideas. I also actually loved how each story took place in a different culture. It allowed to tell different stories unique to each culture, hidden discrimination in data based on caste, job automation, political instability in developing worlds, the defense and AI, etc.
I think the stories did a great job keeping me engaged throughout the novel and illustrating the real effects the future of AI will have on people. My one complaint is the explanations at the end of the chapters is so interesting, I sometimes wish the book had shorter stories and longer discourse on AI.
Honestly Kai-Fu Lee is the only person, in my opinion, who's opinion on artificial intelligence is worth hearing. If you want to truly educate yourself on artificial intelligence and what it means for the future, ignore all other science fiction, read AI Superpowers first and if you are interested in hearing more, pick up this book. 7/10.
July 1, 2022
Alternate chapters - fiction then a technical explanation. At best this is boring at worst it's downright creepy.
This is techno utopianism worthy of Wired magazine in the 90s. There's nothing that can't be solved by technology. As for the problems tech creates the answer is more tech. Low points for me included a non-fiction chapter where the author suggests the answer to misuse of personal data by corporations could be the introduction of business ethics ... Seriously. Another is a short story where a character concludes that "AI knows children better than parents ever could."
The world envisioned is like something a bunch of tech workers came up with over a long lunch. Robotic street cleaners, AI teachers, feedback loops and machine learning one step ahead of the real world. It also seems to assume that the whole world will have the same experience - so the magical AI assistant available to an autistic child in Korea would be available to a child in Africa? I doesn't say but there are no pesky questions about what humans think.
To be fair every now and then the book sets up a straw man where a character questions AI - How can we live in a world where machines make decisions for us? etc Then the concerns are brushed away with some technical solution - in the future AI systems will monitor other AI solutions making [insert concern] impossible.
One comical section looks at how AI can help the world by predicting pandemics (that worked out well). I'm reminded of an article in Wired in the 90s about the utopian world that tech was going to deliver in 20 years. It was a word salad of tech buzz words and unexplained outcomes. A side bar explained the things that could potentially go wrong including: a viral pandemic, environmental collapse, tech failing to deliver the promised benefits, social polarisation, cultural backlash. 20 years later guess what? Almost nothing in the main article came true and almost everything flagged as going wrong has gone wrong.
If you love the idea of AI and want to bask in the what if vision of all the great things it could achieve then this is for you. Personally, I only made it a third of the way through before giving up.
This is techno utopianism worthy of Wired magazine in the 90s. There's nothing that can't be solved by technology. As for the problems tech creates the answer is more tech. Low points for me included a non-fiction chapter where the author suggests the answer to misuse of personal data by corporations could be the introduction of business ethics ... Seriously. Another is a short story where a character concludes that "AI knows children better than parents ever could."
The world envisioned is like something a bunch of tech workers came up with over a long lunch. Robotic street cleaners, AI teachers, feedback loops and machine learning one step ahead of the real world. It also seems to assume that the whole world will have the same experience - so the magical AI assistant available to an autistic child in Korea would be available to a child in Africa? I doesn't say but there are no pesky questions about what humans think.
To be fair every now and then the book sets up a straw man where a character questions AI - How can we live in a world where machines make decisions for us? etc Then the concerns are brushed away with some technical solution - in the future AI systems will monitor other AI solutions making [insert concern] impossible.
One comical section looks at how AI can help the world by predicting pandemics (that worked out well). I'm reminded of an article in Wired in the 90s about the utopian world that tech was going to deliver in 20 years. It was a word salad of tech buzz words and unexplained outcomes. A side bar explained the things that could potentially go wrong including: a viral pandemic, environmental collapse, tech failing to deliver the promised benefits, social polarisation, cultural backlash. 20 years later guess what? Almost nothing in the main article came true and almost everything flagged as going wrong has gone wrong.
If you love the idea of AI and want to bask in the what if vision of all the great things it could achieve then this is for you. Personally, I only made it a third of the way through before giving up.
September 29, 2021
Great food for thought. The ten short stories cover a lot of bases on the future of AI and brings these back to practical examples of where the technology is today. What was missing for me was ignoring some technologies like TerraPower (building next-generation nuclear power) and providing climate change/ interplanetary exploration only a passing glance.
Although CRISPR was covered in (Contactless Love) I feel it will have a much greater impact on the future by 2041 than what was portrayed in this story - I would like to see more about the path to prolong human life (aging as a disease) - genetically enhanced humans (beyond the human brain interface) - Daisy Drives and our role in sculpting evolution.
Although CRISPR was covered in (Contactless Love) I feel it will have a much greater impact on the future by 2041 than what was portrayed in this story - I would like to see more about the path to prolong human life (aging as a disease) - genetically enhanced humans (beyond the human brain interface) - Daisy Drives and our role in sculpting evolution.
October 28, 2021
I really wanted to love this book. After getting captivated by Kai-Fu Lee’s “AI superpowers”, I was very much looking forward to this vision of the future.
The book consists of 10 chapters that each have 3 segments: An introduction segment by Kai-Fu Lee where he outlines what the central themes and technologies are of the chapter, a short fiction story where peoples’ lives are impacted by some technology (natural language processing, quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, etc.), and a third part which consists of a more detailed explainer text about the current state of the technologies and why they might be operating in the particular way in 2041 as described in the short story segment.
The outlined format really holds the book back for two reasons. Having an intro, story, tech review segment leads to quite a bot of repetition, which hinders the reading enjoyment. Having 10 different stories means only a relatively small number of pages can be dedicated to each. This led to more protagonists than I cared about, and no technology being explored in all that much detail. The knowledge about the technologies is there, but the delivery leaves much to be desired. Imho, the book would have worked much better if it focused on just 2-3 aspects of machine learning (e.g. natural language processing, image pattern recognition, etc.) and leave out some other technologies/proposals (crypto, universal basic income) and then weaved them into one large and interesting story.
So, even though I gave Kai-Fu Lee’s “AI superpowers” 5 stars and thereby recommend it to everyone who asks, I can’t give this book more than 2 stars (it’s ok).
The book consists of 10 chapters that each have 3 segments: An introduction segment by Kai-Fu Lee where he outlines what the central themes and technologies are of the chapter, a short fiction story where peoples’ lives are impacted by some technology (natural language processing, quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, etc.), and a third part which consists of a more detailed explainer text about the current state of the technologies and why they might be operating in the particular way in 2041 as described in the short story segment.
The outlined format really holds the book back for two reasons. Having an intro, story, tech review segment leads to quite a bot of repetition, which hinders the reading enjoyment. Having 10 different stories means only a relatively small number of pages can be dedicated to each. This led to more protagonists than I cared about, and no technology being explored in all that much detail. The knowledge about the technologies is there, but the delivery leaves much to be desired. Imho, the book would have worked much better if it focused on just 2-3 aspects of machine learning (e.g. natural language processing, image pattern recognition, etc.) and leave out some other technologies/proposals (crypto, universal basic income) and then weaved them into one large and interesting story.
So, even though I gave Kai-Fu Lee’s “AI superpowers” 5 stars and thereby recommend it to everyone who asks, I can’t give this book more than 2 stars (it’s ok).
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