Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard

Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard

A software developer's misadventures in computer programming, machine learning, and artificial intelligence reveal why we should never assume technology always get it right.

In Artificial Unintelligence, Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally-hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners-that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work. Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology. With this book, she offers a guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology-and issues a warning that we should never assume that computers always get things right.

Making a case against technochauvinism-the belief that technology is always the solution-Broussard argues that it's just not true that social problems would inevitably retreat before a digitally enabled Utopia. To prove her point, she undertakes a series of adventures in computer programming. She goes for an alarming ride in a driverless car, concluding "the cyborg future is not coming any time soon"; uses artificial intelligence to investigate why students can't pass standardized tests; deploys machine learning to predict which passengers survived the Titanic disaster; and attempts to repair the U.S. campaign finance system by building AI software.

If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.

Broussard, Meredith: - Meredith Broussard is an Assistant Professor in the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. A former features editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer and software developer at AT&T Bell Labs and the MIT Media Lab, she has written articles and essays for the Atlantic, Harper's, Slate, the Washington Post, and other publications.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780262537018
ISBN 10	026253701X
Title	Artificial Unintelligence
Author	Meredith Broussard
Series	The Mit Press
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	MIT Press Ltd
Year published	2019-01-29
Number of pages	248
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the 2019 Prose Award in the Computing and Information Sciences category. 2019, Winner of 2019 Hacker Prize from the Society for the History of Technology 2019
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.