I’m a big sci-fi fan and I keep looking at this but haven’t read it yet. Sounds like I should give it a go.
Also for sci-fi fans I’d recommend any of the Culture novels by Iain M Banks, or the Expanse series by James S A Corey
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It’s a great book! I read it after Josh recommended it in one of the BtoB modules. I recently found out the author has a YouTube video, in which she demonstrates some techniques. She plays and teaches violin.
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At the moment I’m reading Cured – The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, by Lol Tolhurst (drummer from The Cure). I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time, and recently borrowed a copy from a library. I like reading memoirs and biographies. This book is very interesting and I’m enjoying it. He tells about his and the band’s history, and it is his version and recollection of many things. It would be awesome if every one of them would write their own memoir. I would certainly read all of them.
Sounds interesting. I would like to also read Budgies recent book.
I’m reading a collection of short stories by Philip K Dick at the moment. Always interesting…
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Crystal Crypt?
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I know this doesn’t fall into the hey this is a cool story I’ve read category but it is related.
I’m ready to publish my first novel and I’ve written the sequel. I hope to have the first one published before the end of the month. One of best excuses for not playing as much for the last year.
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This is so cool, congrats and good luck!
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Thanks Howard…when it’s available you can believe I’m not keeping that a secret. The beginning of each chapter has lyrics of a song I’ve written. At the end there is a QR code to a playlist of those songs.
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Variable Man was quite good too
Reading the Library of Amorlin by Kaylin Josephson and it’s pretty good so far. Only about a quarter of the way through it, and I don’t even know what type of book it is yet. Fantasy, check. High fantasy? Romantasy? Fantasy heist? I don’t know yet.
And I don’t even know how the magic works yet. I’m not sure if the protagonist is an anti hero yet.
Books are good when they keep you guessing. I am happy to suspend disbelief in the face of minute logical inconsistencies.
I just finished reading these two books: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow | Goodreads AND If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All by Eliezer Yudkowsky | Goodreads
I don’t know that I’ve loved the style or the pace in either one. I would argue though that everyone should read them, as they shed light on many “background processes” that most people are unaware of. A lot of it I’d argue ties into the discussion in this thread as well: https://forum.bassbuzz.com/t/getting-rid-of-google-microsoft-meta-etc-alternatives
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This makes me want to go back and reread some of his short stories. Always enjoyed them.
Now you made me curious!
Can you give a short summary? Will it change my opinion, which is: AI s#cks, as it will destroy what makes us human(istic) and eventually humanity itself?
I hope that I don’t need to read it, as I am currently reading three books in parallel and have a looooooong list of books I need to read after.
Well, it might not really change your opinion, but not because of the reasons you might think of haha.
The authors themselves are/were experts in AI research. They don’t touch on issues of artistic expression or copyright or anything like that. Rather, they talk about how IF everybody keeps plowing ahead they way they currently are and make some sort of superintelligence, it will soon have no need for humanity and will get rid of us.
A key point, which I admit I had no idea about, is that current AIs are not “made” like other software. An entire chapter early in the book is devoted to that, but basically, if you create some let’s say audio editing software, you know how it works. With AIs, even the most advanced distinguished experts in the field don’t know or understand what’s under the hood. There are some inputs and some controls early in the process but then the AI is practically a black box. They look at the outcome and if it’s not desirable, they can tweak some things and let it have another go, but nothing more.
All that to say, the current state of the field is such that guardrails would be ineffective for a super intelligence. Nobody has a way of making a benevolent one or an evil one or one with any sort of assigned human preferences. Hence, if anyone builds it, everyone dies.
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I tend to not like AI just because of that statement. I’m a big fan of humanity (not so much of individual humans, especially in groups).
My girlfriend on the other hand just read your last sentence and said”: “humankind deserves it!”
She can be dark 
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Ha, either way, worth a read 
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Minor nit, Cory Doctorow is not an expert in AI research; he’s a long-time Science Fiction author. He did found and run OpenCola but it wasn’t related to AI.
Also a really nice guy online.
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Sorry, my bad, I meant the authors of “If anyone builds it, everyone dies”. That one is written by two authors and they’re AI research experts (Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares).
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Yep yep, agreed
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