Machine Politics

Shame is a powerful and sometimes useful tool. When we publicly shame corrupt politicians, abusive celebrities or predatory corporations, we reinforce values of fairness and justice. But as best-selling author Cathy O'Neil argues in this revelatory book, shaming has taken a new and dangerous turn. It is increasingly being weaponised - used as a way to shift responsibility for social problems from institutions to individuals. O'Neil explores the machinery behind all this shame, showing how governments, corporations and the healthcare system capitalise on it.

Meet the Beverly Hills Caviar Automated Boutique: a super fancy mall vending machine that sells caviar, escargot and truffles. Explore the fishy facts on this episode of Now I Know. In the market for a high-end, expensive meal? Here are two rules of thumb: One, don’t even bother looking at vending machines. A Snickers bar or bag of Pirate’s Booty may seem like a grand idea, but – even with the 20 ounce drink of your choosing – it isn’t going to make for a good date night experience. And two, don’t go to the mall.

This is the story behind the saga of Depp v Heard; but far from a forensic rehashing of the trial it is also an exploration of a much more complex and captivating narrative: about celebrity culture and the Hollywood exploitation machine; ‘internet journalism’ and distrust of mainstream media; the limitations of the justice system to find and record the truth; and the shifting winds of MeToo feminism.

James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis and the greatest environmental thinker of our time, has produced an astounding new theory about future of life on Earth. He argues that the anthropocene - the age in which humans acquired planetary-scale technologies - is, after 300 years, coming to an end. A new age - the novacene - has already begun.

The disinformation age is drowning us in a deluge of data, "facts" and opinion. It consumes our attention. The result of this deficit of attention is the rise of fake news, media bias, and a polarised society. Our capacity to reason what is happening in the world and to make better decisions has become incapacitated amid the cacophony. Instead, we outsource our thinking to others without even realising it. Economist Peter Sainsbury unravels the truth about the power of media narratives, the breakdown in trust and why our attention has been diverted from what matters.

Bob Muglia helps us understand how innovation in data and information technology have led us to AI—and how this technology must shape our future. The long-time Microsoft executive, former CEO of Snowflake, and current tech investor maps the evolution of the modern data stack and how it has helped build today's economy and society. And he explains how humanity must create a new social contract for the artificial general intelligence (AGI)—autonomous machines intelligent as people-that he expects to arrive in less than a decade.

Will machines someday replace attorneys, physicians, computer programmers, and world leaders? What about composers, painters, and novelists? Will tomorrow’s supercomputers duplicate and exceed humans? Are we just wetware, natural computers doomed to obsolescence by tomorrow’s ultra-powerful artificial intelligence? In Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will, Robert J. Marks II answers these and other fascinating questions with his trademark blend of whimsy and expertise.

More often than not, a defense attorney's clients are guilty. Gerald Strebendt certainly looked guilty of the January 2014 road rage murder. Marine sniper. Blackwater operative. MMA fighter with a 9-7 win-loss record, including an appearance in UFC 44. Strebendt was a trained killer, in other words, and one who just happened to be known for his hothead tendencies.

As we're compelled to capture, store and share more and more of our personal information, there's something we often forget. All that data doesn't just disappear when our physical bodies shuffle off this mortal coil. If the concept of remaining socially active after you're no longer breathing sounds crazy, you might want to get used to the idea. Digital afterlives are a natural consequence of the information age, a reality that barely anyone has prepared for - and that 'anyone' probably includes you.

In Robotaxi Revolution, Dr. Samuel Xiangming Li explores the transformative impact of autonomous taxis on the future of transportation and society. These self-driving vehicles, powered by cutting-edge AI and advanced sensor technologies, are set to redefine personal mobility, disrupt the auto industry, and reshape urban infrastructure. From ride-hailing services to the decline of car ownership, robotaxis promise to bring greater convenience, reduced emissions, and safer roads.

Xi Jinping es una de las figuras más influyentes y enigmáticas del siglo XXI, moldeando el destino de China y redefiniendo el equilibrio del poder global. Este libro biográfico, desarrollado exclusivamente con inteligencia artificial, explora la trayectoria completa de Xi, desde sus raíces humildes hasta su ascenso al liderazgo del Partido Comunista Chino y su consolidación como líder de una superpotencia mundial.

Artificial intelligence is driving workforce disruption on a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution. In schools and universities, AI technology has forced a re-evaluation of the way students are taught and assessed. Meanwhile ChatGPT has become a cultural phenomenon, reaching 100 million users and attracting a $10 billion dollar investment in its parent company OpenAI. The race to dominate the generative AI market is accelerating at breakneck speed, inspiring breathless headlines and immense public interest.

This audiobook narrated by Teri Schnaubelt explains how to put democracy at the heart of AI governance.

In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles, micro-robots, has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive.

Published in 1990, The Anti-Politics Machine is American anthropologist James Ferguson's first book. It discusses international development projects: how they are conceived, researched, and put into practice. Importantly, it also looks at what these projects actually achieve. Ferguson is critical of the idea of development and argues that the process does not take enough account of the daily realities of the communities it is intended to benefit.

In his blockbuster new book, To Save America, former Speaker of the House and best-selling author Newt Gingrich issues a dire warning for America. Gingrich argues that the big-spending, big-government programs and bureaucracies of the secular socialist Left are the greatest threat to our nation’s survival since the Civil War.

Twelve bytes. Twelve eye-opening, mind-expanding, funny and provocative essays on the implications of artificial intelligence for the way we live and the way we love - from Sunday Times best-selling author Jeanette Winterson. In this original, deeply researched and lively new book, Jeanette Winterson traces the history of the AI revolution. She talks to some of the boldest and most imaginative thinkers in the field and looks to religion, myth and literature to help us understand the radical changes to the way we live and love that are just around the corner.

Solomon Bull is the son of a rebel who died in the '80s fighting for the American Indian Movement. He trains for an Arizona race called Desert Dog, designed to shred a man, while using monkey-wrench tactics to unseat a corrupt senator. Pursued by a smoking-hot agent from the Treasury's Terrorism and Financial Intelligence office, a doe-like prostitute with burn marks on her back and a sick story about a demented senator, and by Cal Barrett - Desert Dog organizer and brain behind Operation Guillotine - Solomon Bull has a difficult choice and no time to make it.

Imagine controlling a machine with your mind. Imagine a communication line direct from your mind to someone else's. Imagine controlling a prosthetic limb with a thought or "seeing" through a camera located miles away. Once the stuff of science fiction, such remarkable feats are now within the grasp of neuroscience. Malcolm Gay tells the fascinating stories of the researchers delving into the intricate workings of the brain to map the neural signals that make up our thoughts.

Virtually Human explores what the not-too-distant future will look like when cyberconsciousness - simulation of the human brain via software and computer technology - becomes part of our daily lives. Meet Bina48, the world's most sentient robot, commissioned by Martine Rothblatt and created by Hanson Robotics.