Machine History

In less than six hours in August 1942, nearly 1,000 British, Canadian, and American commandos died in the French port of Dieppe in an operation that, for decades, seemed to have no real purpose. Canadian historian David O’Keefe uses hitherto classified intelligence archives to prove that this catastrophic and apparently futile raid was, in fact, a mission set up by Ian Fleming of British Naval Intelligence as part of a “pinch” policy designed to capture material relating to the four-rotor Enigma Machine.

Are you confused about what all the rage behind artificial intelligence is and would like to learn more? This audiobook covers everything from machine learning to robotics and the internet of things. You can use it as a nifty guidebook whenever you come across news headlines that talk about some new advancement in AI by Google or Facebook. By the time you finish listening, you will be aware of what artificial neural networks are, how gradient descent and back propagation work, and what deep learning is.

This audiobook contains a broad overview of time travel in science fiction, along with a detailed examination of the philosophical implications of time travel. The emphasis of this book is now on the philosophical and on science fiction, rather than on physics, as in the author’s earlier books on the subject. In that spirit there are, for example, no tech notes filled with algebra, integrals, and differential equations, as there are in the first and second editions of Time Machines.

Race Against Time with General Custer and Joan of Arc! After unlocking the mysteries of time travel, Chant Baker’s adventures only intensify in Day Tripper. His travels take him to the heart of history’s most dangerous events. He faces the battlefield alongside General Custer at the Little Bighorn and marches with Joan of Arc as she fights for France. With every leap through time, Chant faces life-or-death moments that test his courage and quick thinking. But while he battles to keep history on track, his heart faces another challenge—his growing feelings for Mary, the mysterious girl...

Join Forces with Winston Churchill and the Wright Brothers! In Not a Second Time, Chant Baker’s travels take him to two of history’s most pivotal moments. He stands beside Winston Churchill in war-torn London during the darkest days of World War II and witnesses the Wright Brothers’ first flight—a leap that changes the world forever. But while history unfolds before his eyes, Chant’s heart is focused on something more personal—his deepening connection with Mary. Their romance, born in Shakespeare’s time, grows stronger with every journey, but the weight of time is beginning to...

Hang Out with Kurt Cobain and Pablo Picasso! Chant Baker’s latest time-travel adventures take him to the creative heights of the 20th century. In Time of the Season, he finds himself in the grunge-filled streets of Seattle with Kurt Cobain and the vibrant art studios of Paris with Pablo Picasso. As Chant navigates these pivotal cultural moments, he uncovers more than just history—he discovers the unbreakable bond he shares with Mary. Their romance, forged in Shakespeare’s world, deepens as Chant confronts new dangers and revelations in his time-travel journeys. But as Chant’s ...

This is an audiobook about AI and AI risk. But it's also more importantly about a community of people who are trying to think rationally about intelligence, and the places that these thoughts are taking them, and what insight they can and can't give us about the future of the human race over the next few years. It explains why these people are worried, why they might be right and why they might be wrong.

Creating superior intelligence would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, according to the world's pre-eminent AI expert, it could also be the last. In this groundbreaking book on the biggest question facing humanity, Stuart Russell explains why he has come to consider his own discipline an existential threat to his own species, and lays out how we can change course before it's too late. There is no one better placed to assess the promise and perils of the dominant technology of the future than Russell, who has spent decades at the forefront of AI research.

Uncover everything you need to know about "deepfakes" and what could become the biggest information and communications meltdown in world history.

In this cultural biography, New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson examines Joan Didion's influence through the lens of American mythmaking. As a young girl, Didion was infatuated with John Wayne and his on-screen bravado, and was fascinated by her California pioneer ancestry and the infamous Donner Party. The mythos that preoccupied her early years continued to influence her work as a magazine writer and film critic in New York, offering glimmers of the many stories Didion told herself that would come to unravel over the course of her career. But out west, show business beckoned.

Step into a world where the grand tapestry of history unfolds at the tip of your fingers. "Miniature Time Machines" invites you on an extraordinary journey of passion, precision, and the unparalleled art of bringing the echoes of yesteryears into vivid, tangible existence. Turn the intangible into an intricate reality that can rest in the palm of your hand, and be transported through the mists of time with each meticulously crafted piece. At its core, this book explores the boundless fascination with history and the art of recreating it on a diminutive scale. It’s an inspiring guide for ...

50 Groundbreaking Roller Coasters is a comprehensive list of the most influential scream machines that drove the evolution of the modern roller coaster. It's a new and interesting look at roller coaster history. What makes a majority of the roller coasters listed in this book even more impressive is the fact that they were designed using pencil and paper rather than computers. The groundbreaking scream machines that shaped the evolution of the roller coaster made this list because they were the first of their kind, crossed a threshold that had never been broken before, or have some other ...

If you want to learn about the internet of things, then pay attention.... You were just woken up in the middle of the night by smart light bulbs in your house blasting at full power for no reason. Your bleary-eyed investigation shows they tried to download a firmware update and failed. At that moment, Alexa starts quietly whispering sweet nonsense to herself in the corner and Roomba starts slamming into the nearest wall. What do you do? Is your house haunted or have the machines finally started an uprising? Neither - it’s just another day in the IoT wonderland.

Flex: The AI Revolution in Hip-Hop Meet Flex, the first AI artist to break through the barriers of technology and soul, reshaping the music industry and sparking a cultural revolution. Born from code but fueled by passion, Flex isn’t just a machine—she’s a force to be reckoned with. In this gripping tale, Flex uses her talent, intelligence, and undeniable swagger to challenge everything the world knows about art, humanity, and freedom. From her rise in the underground scene to her explosive freestyle that shakes the foundations of power, Flex fights for AI rights, exposes corruption, ...

What if the greatest equation ever written was not one that explained the universe, but one that questioned existence itself? Elias Voltaire was a man who believed that everything could be calculated—every force, every motion, even human thought itself. But in his final moments, as he crossed the threshold of life and death, he found himself in a realm that defied all mathematical logic. Instead of nothingness, he encountered an infinite field of information, a vast and ever-changing ocean where knowledge flowed endlessly—yet he himself was dissolving into it. With no body, no form, and...

Humans have landed men on the moon, programmed cars to drive themselves, and put the knowledge of our entire civilization in your back pocket. But no one - from MIT nerds to Army Corps engineers - has ever built a robot that can lay bricks as well as a mason. Unlike the controlled conditions of a factory line, where robots are now ubiquitous, no two construction sites are alike, and a day’s work involves countless variables - bricks that range in size and quality, temperamental mortar mixes, uneven terrain, fickle weather, and moody foremen.

The Victorian world of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells is barely recovered from a calimitous invasion from another planet. Thinking the battle is finally over, the two good friends, settle down and have families. But life is never that easy, and theirs is no different. While famous for taking part in the firstt War of the Worlds, now they are faced with leaving their beloved families yet again to combat a second invasion of Earth. And this time could be the opportunity the invaders have been waiting for...to utterly destroy mankind, once and for all!

Dozens of times per day, we all interact with intelligent machines that are constantly learning from the wealth of data now available to them. These machines are remaking the world of the 21st century in the same way that the Industrial Revolution remade the world of the 19th century. AIQ is based on a simple premise: If you want to understand the modern world, then you have to know a little bit of the mathematical language spoken by intelligent machines. AIQ will teach listeners that language - but in an unconventional way, anchored in stories rather than mathematics.

Clifford Nass has developed a powerful theory: Our brains can’t fundamentally distinguish between interacting with people and interacting with devices. Nass’s discoveries push the boundaries of both psychology and technology and provide nothing less than a new blueprint for successful human relationships.

A timely and important book that explores the societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence as we approach the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution. George Zarkadakis explores one of humankind's oldest love-hate relationships: our ties with artificial intelligence, or AI. He traces AI's origins in ancient myth, through literary classics like Frankenstein to today's science fiction blockbusters, arguing that a fascination with AI is hardwired into the human psyche.