Author:Michael Wooldridge
'I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?' Alan Turing (1950)
Part of the ALL-NEW Ladybird Expert series.
This book is for everyone living in the age of Artificial Intelligence. And this is an accessible and authoritative introduction to one of the most important conversations of our time . . .
Written by computer scientist Michael Wooldridge, Artificial Intelligence chronicles the development of intelligent machines, from Turing's dream of machines that think, to today's digital assistants like Siri and Alexa.
AI is not something that awaits us in the future. Inside you'll learn how we have come to rely on embedded AI software and what a world of ubiquitous AI might look like.
What's inside?
- The British mathematician Alan Turing
- Can machines 'understand'?
- Logical and Behavioural AI
- The reality of AI today
- AI tomorrow
- And much more . . .
For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.
The artwork is gloriously retro, echoing the original Ladybird house style but containing completely up to date information.
—— Shiny New BooksA wonderfully entangled, intertwined, and erudite series of strategies, philosophies, disciplines, and techniques to sharpen your focus and dive deep into your work
—— 800-CEO-READ on Deep WorkAs a presence on the page, Newport is exceptional in the realm of self-help authors
—— New York Times Book ReviewCal Newport speaks human truth to digital power. He calls out our enslavement to modern devices and calmly presents a better way to live and work
—— Julia Hobsbawm , author of Fully ConnectedThis book is an urgent call to action for anyone serious about being in command of their own life
—— Ryan Holiday , author of The Obstacle is the WayCal Newport has discovered a cure for the techno-exhaustion that plagues our always-on, digitally caffeinated culture
—— Joshua Fields Millburn , The MinimalistsCal Newport's Digital Minimalism is the best book I've read in some time about our fraught relationship with technology. If you're looking for a blueprint to guide you as you liberate yourself from the shackles of email, social networks, smartphones, and screens, let this book be your guide
—— Adam Alter , author of IrresistibleYou're not the user, you're the product. Hang up, log off, and tune in to a different way to be in the world. Bravo, Cal, smart advice for good people
—— Seth Godin , author of This is MarketingI hope that everyone who owns a mobile phone and has been wondering where their time goes gets a chance to absorb the ideas in this book. It's amazing how the same strategy can work for both financial success and mental well-being: Put more energy into what makes you happy, and ruthlessly strip away the things that don't
—— Pete Adeney , aka Mr. Money MustacheI challenge you not to devour this wonderful book in one sitting. I certainly did and I started applying Cal's ideas to my own life immediately
—— Greg McKeown , author of EssentialismCal Newport's book is a refreshing antidote to the poisonous cycle of what's new? - what's new? that this digital, hyperconnected decade has seduced us into. Building on the economics of Henry David Thoreau, Cal's call for calmer waters, for meaningful and engaged interactions, is just what the world needs right now
—— Daniel J. Levitin , author of The Organised MindDigital Minimalism is the Marie Kondo of mobile phones
—— Evening StandardWillpower, tips, and vague resolutions are not sufficient by themselves to tame the ability of new technologies to invade your cognitive landscape
—— The New YorkerWhat a timely and useful book! It's neither hysterical nor complacent - a workable guide to being thoughtful about digital media. It's already made me rethink some of my media use in a considered way
—— Naomi Alderman, author of The Power'An eloquent, powerful and enjoyably practical guide to cutting back on screen time'
—— The TimesWadman does a superb job of making the technical comprehensible to the lay reader and, more importantly, makes the science come to life by honing in on the brilliant men and women who were driven to create new, life-saving vaccines... While the science is fascinating, the foibles of the main characters are what keep the reader gripped
—— Globe and MailThis is a story about the war against disease - a war without end - and the development of enormously important vaccines, but in telling that story, in showing how science works, Meredith Wadman reveals much more. Like all wars, that story includes heroism, risk-taking, persistence and fighting against the odds, and, like all wars, that story also includes politics, obtuseness, bureaucracy, and fights over money. It's very well-written and does not oversimplify yet explains clearly even the purely scientific parts of the story. In short, I loved this book.
—— John M. Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Great InfluenzaReads like a good detective novel... Wadman’s great strength, in the end, is her uncanny ability to weave the multiple strands of a complicated story into a coherent narrative.
—— David Oshinsky, author of the Pulizer-prize-winning Polio - An American StoryRivalries and shenanigans abound in Wadman’s complex story... An important story well told
—— Kirkus ReviewsWadman tells the inspiring, and sometimes murky, story of the battle to protect the world from viral disease.
—— Daily MailDazzling... There is nothing about Gene that is less than nuanced.
—— Sathnam Sanghera , The TimesA magnificent synthesis of the science of life, and forces all to confront the essence of that science as well as the ethical and philosophical challenges to our conception of what constitutes being human
—— Paul Berg, winner of the Nobel Prize in ChemistryWise and lucid...excellent
—— Andrew Marr , BBC Radio 4 Start the WeekA tourist guide to the new Africa, the human genome… Mukherjee gives an exhaustive account of the development of the modern science of inheritance… Mukherjee does a good job of cutting away the web of ambiguity and complexity’
—— Steve Jones , New StatesmanWritten with the rollicking enthusiasm of sports journalism… Mukherjee has an ear for his subject’s rhetorical brilliance.
—— Andrew Solomon , Guardian WeeklyMeticulous… Carefully constructed, deliberate prose.
—— Sumit Paul-Choudary , Literary ReviewMakes a compelling case that our ability to harness the medical benefits of genomic science while avoiding its hazards promises to be among the defining challenges of the 21st century.
—— Andrew Ward , Financial TimesMukherjee has done readers an admirable service, by turning one of the most important scientific sagas – arguably the most important – in history into a tale that is too good not to know
—— Globe and MailRather wonderful book… All-encompassing and eye-opening and moving and amusing, at times, and endlessly fascinating and truly brilliant… As long as intelligent, empathetic, thoughtful people like himself are to the forefront, it should turn out alright.
—— Darragh McManus , Irish IndependnetAn accessible and beautifully written overview of the complex field of genetics by the Indian-born doctor. It’s compellingly personal and provocative, too.
—— TelegraphMukherjee views his subject panoptically from a great and clarifying height, yet also intimately.
—— James Gleick , Scotland on SundayDr Mukherjee uses personal experience to particularly good effect… He writes tenderly.
—— The Economist[A] Magisterial historical survey.
—— Philip Ball , Chemistry WorldMukherjee has a gift for making gripping, vivid narrative out of the cataclysmic but largely invisible drama of molecular biology.
—— Lev Grossman , Time MagazineCompelling
—— Stuart Ritchie , SpectatorFascinating, complex and accessible.
—— Anna Carey , Irish TimesIntimate, insider’s account of the role that genetics.
—— Nilanjana Roy , Financial TimesA tourist guide to the twenty-first century’s uncharted continent, the human genome... Gives a full and lively account of the development of the subject... He has talked to many of the main players and gives deep insights into their moments of discovery... Mukherjee does a good job of cutting away the web of ambiguity and complexity that scientists have woven.
—— Steve Jones , New StatesmanA daring and highly personal voyage into the future of genetic research
—— VogueThe Gene’s dominant traits are historical breadth, clinical compassion, and Mukherjee’s characteristic graceful style… Mukherjee writes eloquently
—— Nathaniel Comfort , AtlanticA fine read, with many fine stories.
—— David McConnell , Irish Times[It is] accessible and beautifully written… It’s compellingly personal and provocative, too.
—— Daily TelegraphThe Gene is a staggeringly impressive piece of writing… [It] takes us on a fascinating journey through the world of genetics… Written with a clarity that brings the most complex concepts to life… An accessible, gripping and thought-provoking read. In short, this book is a masterpiece and you should read it.
—— Jamie Durrani , Chemistry WorldAn essential read.
—— Mail on SundayInspiring and tremendously evocative
—— San Francisco ChronicleA fascinating read
—— Hugh JackmanYou may think this book is not for you. Thing again… My only caution would be not to recommend it to too many people… So whether you’re a teacher or parent attempting to inspire…or you simply want an erudite anecdote, this book is for you. It’s a dazzling example of scientific story-telling and definitely my book of the year.
—— Cath Murray , School's WeekAn epic 150-year, 500-plus page journey of genetic discovery… [An] excellent and authoritative account.
—— Charalambos Kyriacou , Times Higher EducationThis is a brilliantly readable celebration of the science and scientists who have transformed out understanding of what it means to be human.
—— Nick Rennison , Daily MailThe Gene is a truly impressive achievement… Mukherjee has created a masterwork of the history of the gene and its study. In this popular science book, scientist and non-scientist readers alike will feel they have a true understanding of the history, biology and ethics of genetics.
—— Bio NewsHe deftly lays out a history of the gene… One of the great science books of the decade with an engagingly enthusiastic personality at its heart.
—— Saga Magazine[A]superbly written tale.
—— Stephen Meyler , RTE GuideMukherjee writes with clarity and passion… This should prove a fascinating read for anyone interested in understanding how far the study of the gene has taken us, particularly with respect to medicine, and where the future may lie.
—— Emma McConnell , Pharmaceutical JournalAmbitious and honest, The Gene sheds light on both our past and future.
—— Kitty Knowles , MemoMukherjee’s text brims with potential… Surely The Gene has to be the new bible for a new generation of aspiring biologists, biochemists and, frankly, thinking people? So whether you’re a teacher or parent attempting to inspire a reluctant teen to get excited about science, or you simply want an erudite anecdote, this book is for you. It’s a dazzling example of scientific story-telling, and definitely my book of the year.
—— School's WeekIf you want a good overview of the history of the gene, you can’t go wrong starting here.
—— Paul Cheney , NudgeA provocative and engaging [read].
—— Independent NurseMukherjee’s prose tends to be lavish, but this befits the weighty topic, and his explanatory style is clear yet enveloping… Compelling scientific and medical storytelling… A spectacular effort from an author I hopes has plenty more tales to tell.
—— Euan Ashley , LancetAn essential guide to biology.
—— Gentleman's Journal, Book of the YearA brilliant, chunky, study of genes.
—— William Leith , Evening StandardThis book captures the progression from that intuitive sense of genetics to its birth as a veritable science and, for better or for worse, its evolution into a powerful tool… The book ends not with a conclusion, but with a feeling of anticipation… In many ways, The Gene is a call for caution and for a thoughtful consideration of the possibilities that progress may bring… When genes become tools, what will those tools be used for? As we try to answer that question, Mukherjee’s book asks us to carefully look back before we continue to move forward
—— Claire McDaniel & Daniel Marchalik , British Medical JournalA comprehensive – and gripping – history of the gene
—— Emma Finamore , Memo