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The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back
This eye-opening narrative journey into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence reveals the dangerous ways AI is exploiting the unconscious habits of our minds, and the real threat it poses to "The best book I have ever read about AI" (New York Times bestselling author Roger McNamee). Artificial intelligence is going to change the world as we know it. But the real danger isn't some robot that's going to enslave It's our own brain. Our brains are constantly making decisions using shortcuts, biases, and hidden processes—and we're using those same techniques to create technology that makes choices for us. In The Loop, award-winning science journalist Jacob Ward reveals how we are poised to build all of our worst instincts into our AIs, creating a narrow loop where each generation has fewer, predetermined, and even dangerous choices. Taking us on a world tour of the ongoing, real-world experiment of artificial intelligence, The Loop illuminates the dangers of writing dangerous human habits into our machines. From a biometric surveillance state in India that tracks the movements of over a billion people, to a social media control system in China that punishes deviant friendships, to the risky multiple-choice simplicity of automated military action, Ward travels the world speaking with top experts confronting the perils of their research. Each stop reveals how the most obvious patterns in our behavior—patterns an algorithm will use to make decisions about what's best for us—are not the ones we want to perpetuate. Just as politics, marketing, and finance have all exploited the weaknesses of our human programming, artificial intelligence is poised to use the patterns of our lives to manipulate us. The Loop is call to look at ourselves more clearly—our most creative ideas, our most destructive impulses, the ways we help and hurt one another-so we can put only the best parts of ourselves into the thinking machines we create.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2022
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October 7, 2021
The Loop is a broad cautionary tale about data science technology, mainly deep learning, but it has an unfortunate tendency to oversimplify (and occasionally misinterpret) the state of ML industry and research.
I imagine that this book would benefit from a narrower scope. It tries to address everything from high-tech surveillance to the dangers of AGI and a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, and ends up somewhat disjointed and patchy. Ward brings up a lot of genuine questions and concerns in present-day scenarios, but mitigation is another thing entirely and there aren't really any concrete action items. It's mostly some lofty ideals with a healthy does of pessimism:
Most of the overall points are highly worthwhile to think about. A brief sampling of such ideas follows:
- A good objective function for business may not necessarily be a desirable objective function for society.
- There are dangers in fine-tuning models originally trained for a different objective.
- People shouldn't blindly trust and follow algorithms out of convenience, or because they don't want to make a hard decision.
- There's an urgent need for accountability as applications outstrip regulation.
- It's important to distinguish between correlation vs. causation in data, especially in predictive models determining housing, credit scores, crime, etc.
- There are things we should do the hard way to force more deliberate thought.
However, attempts at technical explanations and extrapolation often don't make much sense, and reveal a lack of understanding of the techniques being used, as well as why and how decisions are being made in the field.
This is most visible in ch.7, where the book tries to give a crash course in ML terminology. There seems to be some confusion about what, exactly, an objective function is ("the objective function for you may be very different from the objective function for me", "setting objective functions for humans"), an example of reinforcement learning is just standard supervised learning, and there's some misunderstanding about fine-tuning and shared model architectures.
Later, in ch.9, Ward seems to misinterpret the point of algorithms designed to measure audience reactions: from the interviews he quotes, it's clear that they're picking up engagement patterns, not specific emotional reactions. Companies like WattPadd are not trying to promote things that elicit the exact same viewer reaction every time based on simple emotional response, they just want to see if they're driving community excitement. There's also a curious lack of exploration into alternative explanations for some of the points raised--I'd posit that art/music/writing becoming trite comes from the fact that things often need to be inoffensive and bland to have mass appeal (see: Marvel), not because algorithms only create things that are "matched to a few of our most basic emotions."
Other passages here and there make it obvious that Ward is not terribly familiar with the industry itself. He mentions:
As a side note, I do have to question the weird vendetta against Google Maps and assisted navigation that briefly comes up as an example of limiting human choice (because you are given only a few options as a default). I don't know about you, but I really do not miss the MapQuest and AAA folding map days. There are a few other examples that come up about machines limiting choice where it just seems like the algorithms are just mitigating human error (flight paths, etc.), so I don't really buy them as supporting evidence.
The book also tends to be quite melodramatic:
With some straight-up fear-mongering:
(I already have a hard enough time with transfer-learning within the same domain...)
Finally, there's a strong narrative of complacent people who get used to offloading thinking/choice to machines, leading to nothing truly new.
I would be interested in seeing studies of whether or not this is true, rather than speculation: percentages of people who search for specifics vs. autoplay on YouTube, for example, or how many people blindly take recommended food choices on delivery systems, and so on. One could also argue that recommender systems help people with niche tastes discover new artists who match those tastes (I know several people for whom this is true), even if they're not mainstream, rather than constraining choice. Just because an algorithm recommends something doesn't mean that your tastes change, and that's an idea that wasn't explored at all.
All in all, The Loop utilizes some alarmist language and iffy technical explanations that damage the credibility and believability of its argument, but it does still bring up a lotof interesting ideas. Where it excels is in the fascinating current examples that Ward has dug up and the informative interviews with various people in the industry, and these examples and thought-provoking questions earn it three stars and are well worth your while. At the very least, it's a jumping-off point for further discussion, and is useful as a general survey of issues (current and upcoming) in the field.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **
I imagine that this book would benefit from a narrower scope. It tries to address everything from high-tech surveillance to the dangers of AGI and a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, and ends up somewhat disjointed and patchy. Ward brings up a lot of genuine questions and concerns in present-day scenarios, but mitigation is another thing entirely and there aren't really any concrete action items. It's mostly some lofty ideals with a healthy does of pessimism:
It's not even clear that if we clearly articulate the problem and outline a solution, people in a position of power will be willing to act on any of it.
Most of the overall points are highly worthwhile to think about. A brief sampling of such ideas follows:
- A good objective function for business may not necessarily be a desirable objective function for society.
- There are dangers in fine-tuning models originally trained for a different objective.
- People shouldn't blindly trust and follow algorithms out of convenience, or because they don't want to make a hard decision.
- There's an urgent need for accountability as applications outstrip regulation.
- It's important to distinguish between correlation vs. causation in data, especially in predictive models determining housing, credit scores, crime, etc.
- There are things we should do the hard way to force more deliberate thought.
However, attempts at technical explanations and extrapolation often don't make much sense, and reveal a lack of understanding of the techniques being used, as well as why and how decisions are being made in the field.
This is most visible in ch.7, where the book tries to give a crash course in ML terminology. There seems to be some confusion about what, exactly, an objective function is ("the objective function for you may be very different from the objective function for me", "setting objective functions for humans"), an example of reinforcement learning is just standard supervised learning, and there's some misunderstanding about fine-tuning and shared model architectures.
Later, in ch.9, Ward seems to misinterpret the point of algorithms designed to measure audience reactions: from the interviews he quotes, it's clear that they're picking up engagement patterns, not specific emotional reactions. Companies like WattPadd are not trying to promote things that elicit the exact same viewer reaction every time based on simple emotional response, they just want to see if they're driving community excitement. There's also a curious lack of exploration into alternative explanations for some of the points raised--I'd posit that art/music/writing becoming trite comes from the fact that things often need to be inoffensive and bland to have mass appeal (see: Marvel), not because algorithms only create things that are "matched to a few of our most basic emotions."
Other passages here and there make it obvious that Ward is not terribly familiar with the industry itself. He mentions:
... today, AI is being refined entirely inside for-profit companies.This is strictly untrue, and in fact his next example is of a GTech research project funded by DARPA. It's also a little odd that he goes on so much about how secretive and closed-off the industry is, when most companies seem to be falling over themselves to publish their work. In the course of my job (DL engineer), I see papers from many different companies, large and small, and most famous models have multiple open-source implementations and downloadable checkpoints, with a large community of people writing blog posts about how they work.
As a side note, I do have to question the weird vendetta against Google Maps and assisted navigation that briefly comes up as an example of limiting human choice (because you are given only a few options as a default). I don't know about you, but I really do not miss the MapQuest and AAA folding map days. There are a few other examples that come up about machines limiting choice where it just seems like the algorithms are just mitigating human error (flight paths, etc.), so I don't really buy them as supporting evidence.
The book also tends to be quite melodramatic:
I worry that as we become caught in a cycle of sampled behavioral data and recommendation, we will be instead caught in a collapsing spiral of choice, at the bottom of which we no longer know what we like or how to make choices or how to speak to one another.
With some straight-up fear-mongering:
And while the examples I'm about to describe may feel disconnected, remember that the interoperability of machine learning means a set of algorithms built to do one thing can also do many others well enough that you'll never know its various roles, so anything AI can do in one part of your life will inevitably metastasize into others.
(I already have a hard enough time with transfer-learning within the same domain...)
Finally, there's a strong narrative of complacent people who get used to offloading thinking/choice to machines, leading to nothing truly new.
I would be interested in seeing studies of whether or not this is true, rather than speculation: percentages of people who search for specifics vs. autoplay on YouTube, for example, or how many people blindly take recommended food choices on delivery systems, and so on. One could also argue that recommender systems help people with niche tastes discover new artists who match those tastes (I know several people for whom this is true), even if they're not mainstream, rather than constraining choice. Just because an algorithm recommends something doesn't mean that your tastes change, and that's an idea that wasn't explored at all.
All in all, The Loop utilizes some alarmist language and iffy technical explanations that damage the credibility and believability of its argument, but it does still bring up a lotof interesting ideas. Where it excels is in the fascinating current examples that Ward has dug up and the informative interviews with various people in the industry, and these examples and thought-provoking questions earn it three stars and are well worth your while. At the very least, it's a jumping-off point for further discussion, and is useful as a general survey of issues (current and upcoming) in the field.
** Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **
May 8, 2022
I am often disappointed when I read books by journalists on topics that go beyond journalism, but though I didn't agree with all of it, this one was pretty good.
Mr. Ward starts with a discussion of our irrational tendencies and the work of Kahneman & Tversky et al. Then he analyzes how some of these qualities are consciously exploited by technology companies for profit, but even worse, they are exploited by deep learning programs designed to mine big data and discover ways to use our irrationality for profit. So far it's a pretty standard analysis. He's right that this is a problem. He's right that the problem is compounded by the black box nature of deep learning programs whose workings are not fully understood even by their makers. But then he goes a couple of steps further beyond the standard analysis in ways that show the extent of the problem: 1. The rational part of our minds, known as system two, which kicks in when the simple rules of thumb known as system one break down, turns out to not be so smart after all; often system two gives us inaccurate post hoc rationalizations that just reinforce system one errors, and 2. many AI reformers have suggested that we just need to imbue our AI with humanity -- give it our moral code and then it will behave like a good person instead of like a heartless machine, but Mr. Ward points out that we may not have an underlying universal morality that actually guides us so that when AI digs down to human fundamentals we may be horrified by what it finds; the values that we want to have are not necessarily the ones that we actually have. One of the many issues tied to the first problem is that our rational minds tend to reinforce a belief that AI is actually better than it is. It's based on math and huge amounts of data and created by some really smart people so it must do a great job at making decisions and guiding our behavior. Right? It feels plausible, so system two tells us that it is true, even if it fails. This stuff is scary.
But Mr. Ward doesn't want us to abandon AI, and he's probably right that that would be impossible anyway. His program is to try to limit some of its worst impacts that come from its for profit uses and try to apply it in different areas, such as research and combatting inequality where it would be more likely to do good than harm. Maybe, but I suspect that even there, there will be unintended consequences that we may not like. For example, Mr. Ward discusses how AI generated risk assessment scores used by judges in bail determinations and AI generated scores for insurance premiums or mortgage eligibility sometimes have a tendency to reinforce prejudices even though they may have been adopted at least in part to replace human decision making that was filled with obvious bias. And it isn't clear that the solution is to reintroduce more of a human component into the process, since the human component was part of the problem that caused us to look for an AI solution to begin with. I tend to think that the answer here is better AI that is designed to take into account the bias risk and reweight its decisions with that risk in mind.
Mr. Ward also spends a lot of time talking about how AI has a tendency to channel us down a pathway of lowest common denominator choices and behaviors. This is has definitely been a problem with recommendation engines and with the way that AI channels decisions in areas like ad buying, and Mr. Ward suggests that the problem will get worse with AI-created art that will just be some soulless popular mish mash of stuff that has gone before, but so far I think that much of the impact has been more positive than negative. I have found that book and music recommendation engines have often made suggestions to me that I would not have otherwise considered and that that is particularly true when I make a choice that is outside of my usual comfort zone and then follow the branching tree down pathways that open up from there. And AI created art and music may be at a point where it isn't yet Picasso or Beethoven, but some of it is damned good. Part of the solution may be to add an element of randomness to the AI algorithms or as Mr. Ward suggests, "jam a fist into the pudding and scramble it a little bit." Isn't that what human artists do? Isn't that the pathway of genetic mutation and evolution? Innovation has always come from a grounding in historical forms that are given a new and surprising twist by a choice that is random or, if it had any intent at all behind it, was intended for something other than what came out the end of the innovation tunnel.
Mr. Ward starts with a discussion of our irrational tendencies and the work of Kahneman & Tversky et al. Then he analyzes how some of these qualities are consciously exploited by technology companies for profit, but even worse, they are exploited by deep learning programs designed to mine big data and discover ways to use our irrationality for profit. So far it's a pretty standard analysis. He's right that this is a problem. He's right that the problem is compounded by the black box nature of deep learning programs whose workings are not fully understood even by their makers. But then he goes a couple of steps further beyond the standard analysis in ways that show the extent of the problem: 1. The rational part of our minds, known as system two, which kicks in when the simple rules of thumb known as system one break down, turns out to not be so smart after all; often system two gives us inaccurate post hoc rationalizations that just reinforce system one errors, and 2. many AI reformers have suggested that we just need to imbue our AI with humanity -- give it our moral code and then it will behave like a good person instead of like a heartless machine, but Mr. Ward points out that we may not have an underlying universal morality that actually guides us so that when AI digs down to human fundamentals we may be horrified by what it finds; the values that we want to have are not necessarily the ones that we actually have. One of the many issues tied to the first problem is that our rational minds tend to reinforce a belief that AI is actually better than it is. It's based on math and huge amounts of data and created by some really smart people so it must do a great job at making decisions and guiding our behavior. Right? It feels plausible, so system two tells us that it is true, even if it fails. This stuff is scary.
But Mr. Ward doesn't want us to abandon AI, and he's probably right that that would be impossible anyway. His program is to try to limit some of its worst impacts that come from its for profit uses and try to apply it in different areas, such as research and combatting inequality where it would be more likely to do good than harm. Maybe, but I suspect that even there, there will be unintended consequences that we may not like. For example, Mr. Ward discusses how AI generated risk assessment scores used by judges in bail determinations and AI generated scores for insurance premiums or mortgage eligibility sometimes have a tendency to reinforce prejudices even though they may have been adopted at least in part to replace human decision making that was filled with obvious bias. And it isn't clear that the solution is to reintroduce more of a human component into the process, since the human component was part of the problem that caused us to look for an AI solution to begin with. I tend to think that the answer here is better AI that is designed to take into account the bias risk and reweight its decisions with that risk in mind.
Mr. Ward also spends a lot of time talking about how AI has a tendency to channel us down a pathway of lowest common denominator choices and behaviors. This is has definitely been a problem with recommendation engines and with the way that AI channels decisions in areas like ad buying, and Mr. Ward suggests that the problem will get worse with AI-created art that will just be some soulless popular mish mash of stuff that has gone before, but so far I think that much of the impact has been more positive than negative. I have found that book and music recommendation engines have often made suggestions to me that I would not have otherwise considered and that that is particularly true when I make a choice that is outside of my usual comfort zone and then follow the branching tree down pathways that open up from there. And AI created art and music may be at a point where it isn't yet Picasso or Beethoven, but some of it is damned good. Part of the solution may be to add an element of randomness to the AI algorithms or as Mr. Ward suggests, "jam a fist into the pudding and scramble it a little bit." Isn't that what human artists do? Isn't that the pathway of genetic mutation and evolution? Innovation has always come from a grounding in historical forms that are given a new and surprising twist by a choice that is random or, if it had any intent at all behind it, was intended for something other than what came out the end of the innovation tunnel.
May 9, 2022
I read this in an effort to understand our AI driven ads that pop up on our phones like it is reading our minds. This book was difficult for me to follow as a tech novice, but a good starting point to try and understand how the AI selection rhythms work. Before reading this I would have said I am mostly unaffected by what my devices try to tell me I like, but now see it has probably (hate to admit) influenced decisions I have made on purchases. It is a good wake up call to be aware of what is shaping our choices and to stay more alert to it. I would read more from Jacob Ward, he knows his niche.
April 13, 2022
This book falls into the "Wake Up, Sheeple!" strain of anti-tech books. Society, it argues, has been lulled into obsequiousness by capitalistic AI systems that prey on our unconscious instincts. And we need to do something! Before in one or two generations, we're all sheep! Ward is a fine storyteller, but "The Loop" is filled with anti-tech tropes that feel at best, uninteresting and at worst, dogmatic.
May 12, 2022
Very readable, interesting and compelling. I think everyone should pick this up as a great intro into some of the ways that AI is used already, and how we can be better stewards of this technology going forward.
December 16, 2021
Jacob Ward is an experienced science and technology journalist, and he's worried about where we humans are headed in our pursuit of, and relationship to Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this thought-provoking book Ward lays out his concerns and demonstrates how some of them are already playing out.
Artificial Intelligence as a concept has been around since at least the 1950s. Over the years funding for AI has waxed and waned as has the enthusiasm for, and perception of, its usefulness.
Roughly defined, AI is the ability of computers to reason, plan, and learn as a human would. Today a form of AI known as machine learning is predominant, and is an often used tool of tech companies trying to influence us as we use the internet.
Machine learning software is based on pattern recognition. The software is shown numerous examples of things and over time begins to recognize patterns and to be able to act on those patterns. An easy to understand example might be the Netflix software that monitors your viewing habits and recommends movies and shows it thinks you might like. It does this based on its observations of the viewing choices of others who've watched the shows you've watched.
That pattern recognition is at the heart of Ward's concerns. He argues that humans are not as rational as we might like to think we are. We tend to make decisions based on instinct, gut feel and compulsions rather than on any logical reasoning of risk and probability. As any Star Trek fan knows, we humans are much more the instinctual Captain Kirk than the logical Mr. Spock. Now with AI we are coupling our instincts and compulsions to computer systems designed to generate profits by feeding us what those instincts and compulsions will respond to.
In the first part of the book the author lays out the research into how we humans make decisions and how much of our decision making is done from a subconscious level. In the second part of the book he demonstrates how AI is finding patterns in our subconscious decision making and reinforcing them, and showing us how much of that reinforcement is for the profit of others, leaving us in a restricting loop of smaller and smaller individual choice.
These AI deployments designed "not just [to] spot patterns in human behavior, but also to shape them" include finding ways to make online "for fun casino" gaming software more addictive and to entice players to move on to real gambling. It can also include automating the placement of ads as we move around the internet to optimize sales. Notice that the primary aim in both these examples is not to benefit us, the people who are subject to this software, but rather the companies deploying the software for profit.
The book is, as I said, thought provoking, and Ward's metaphor of loops within loops constricting our choices is helpful. But he does a better job in his discussion of our human decision-making mechanisms than in describing the ways in which AI is already harming us. There is no discussion at all, for example, of how social media algorithms reinforce tribal responses to online (and real world) political discussion, at least a portion of which I suspect is the product of the deployment of AI.
Even so, if you are interested in a better understanding of the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence as it's being deployed right now you will find this book well worth the read. Despite the topic it is not overly technical but rather is highly readable. I give The Loop Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
NOTE: I received an advanced reviewer's copy of this book through NetGalley and Hachette Books in exchange for a fair and honest review. The book is generally available Saturday, January 25, 2022.
Artificial Intelligence as a concept has been around since at least the 1950s. Over the years funding for AI has waxed and waned as has the enthusiasm for, and perception of, its usefulness.
Roughly defined, AI is the ability of computers to reason, plan, and learn as a human would. Today a form of AI known as machine learning is predominant, and is an often used tool of tech companies trying to influence us as we use the internet.
Machine learning software is based on pattern recognition. The software is shown numerous examples of things and over time begins to recognize patterns and to be able to act on those patterns. An easy to understand example might be the Netflix software that monitors your viewing habits and recommends movies and shows it thinks you might like. It does this based on its observations of the viewing choices of others who've watched the shows you've watched.
That pattern recognition is at the heart of Ward's concerns. He argues that humans are not as rational as we might like to think we are. We tend to make decisions based on instinct, gut feel and compulsions rather than on any logical reasoning of risk and probability. As any Star Trek fan knows, we humans are much more the instinctual Captain Kirk than the logical Mr. Spock. Now with AI we are coupling our instincts and compulsions to computer systems designed to generate profits by feeding us what those instincts and compulsions will respond to.
In the first part of the book the author lays out the research into how we humans make decisions and how much of our decision making is done from a subconscious level. In the second part of the book he demonstrates how AI is finding patterns in our subconscious decision making and reinforcing them, and showing us how much of that reinforcement is for the profit of others, leaving us in a restricting loop of smaller and smaller individual choice.
These AI deployments designed "not just [to] spot patterns in human behavior, but also to shape them" include finding ways to make online "for fun casino" gaming software more addictive and to entice players to move on to real gambling. It can also include automating the placement of ads as we move around the internet to optimize sales. Notice that the primary aim in both these examples is not to benefit us, the people who are subject to this software, but rather the companies deploying the software for profit.
The book is, as I said, thought provoking, and Ward's metaphor of loops within loops constricting our choices is helpful. But he does a better job in his discussion of our human decision-making mechanisms than in describing the ways in which AI is already harming us. There is no discussion at all, for example, of how social media algorithms reinforce tribal responses to online (and real world) political discussion, at least a portion of which I suspect is the product of the deployment of AI.
Even so, if you are interested in a better understanding of the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence as it's being deployed right now you will find this book well worth the read. Despite the topic it is not overly technical but rather is highly readable. I give The Loop Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
NOTE: I received an advanced reviewer's copy of this book through NetGalley and Hachette Books in exchange for a fair and honest review. The book is generally available Saturday, January 25, 2022.
March 12, 2022
There are valid concerns here but perhaps a bit of fear mongering. One of the larger subjects talked about is children using devices. Now that I have two children of my own, I take the warnings of others that devices (aka iPhones) can be terribly addictive and damaging to children far more seriously than I did before I was a parent. Ward argues that educational devices and apps have little to no educational value to children. That these apps are said to be educational is just an excuse on our part to let our kids spend hours on these devices. Ward unfortunately has it in for capitalism and has this leftist idea that profit is a bad thing. His mantra through the book is that capitalism is bad and marked by companies that don't care about their products or customers. The short of the book is that if companies use A.I. in any profitable manner we're going to lose all choice and endless bad unknown things will result. While A.I. is terrible and dangerous it is possible society may be able to benefit from it. As long as it is developed and controlled by the state.
For myself, I'm of the opinion that public and private entities have their place. A.I. can be hugely powerful in improving our lives. This will be true because GoogleMaps will more easily get us around thick traffic and because the DMV will more easily help us renew our driver's licenses without us waiting in long lines. That being said, there are real risks and deep ethical questions. Ward enumerates just a few of them.
For myself, I'm of the opinion that public and private entities have their place. A.I. can be hugely powerful in improving our lives. This will be true because GoogleMaps will more easily get us around thick traffic and because the DMV will more easily help us renew our driver's licenses without us waiting in long lines. That being said, there are real risks and deep ethical questions. Ward enumerates just a few of them.
December 23, 2022
Easy book to read about where we are currently at and going with AI at large.
There were some great points that I think the author did a great job in explaining:
1) We are all susceptible in being nudged or getting trapped in an echo chamber
2) We take answers from machines as being correct - mostly because we do not understand how it came to that conclusion
3) much of AI is taking past records when learning which can reinforce social constructs we no longer want in are current society
4) How AI is used to take advantage of our built in biases and navigate around or critical decision making for profit.
I wish it had more depth on what AI is doing well and what we should do with this technology.
Building and running good AI is incredibly expensive. Of course those with deep pockets and a profit motivation will be driving this technology thus far.
I wonder how many in the future would directly pay a monthly fee for services from AI that is truly a good assistant than getting free but constant adds. I would! Right now Google maps and search is complete funded by adds targeted at me. I hope future AI can be funded in other ways.
There were some great points that I think the author did a great job in explaining:
1) We are all susceptible in being nudged or getting trapped in an echo chamber
2) We take answers from machines as being correct - mostly because we do not understand how it came to that conclusion
3) much of AI is taking past records when learning which can reinforce social constructs we no longer want in are current society
4) How AI is used to take advantage of our built in biases and navigate around or critical decision making for profit.
I wish it had more depth on what AI is doing well and what we should do with this technology.
Building and running good AI is incredibly expensive. Of course those with deep pockets and a profit motivation will be driving this technology thus far.
I wonder how many in the future would directly pay a monthly fee for services from AI that is truly a good assistant than getting free but constant adds. I would! Right now Google maps and search is complete funded by adds targeted at me. I hope future AI can be funded in other ways.
May 8, 2022
I needed to read this book about the damaging consequences of predictive analytics and machine learning. The focus is the author’s, “worry (about what) is coming, a future in which our ancient and modern tendencies have been studied, sampled, fed into automated pattern-recognition systems, and sold back to us in servings we will be doubly conditioned to consume without a second thought.” The depth at which the journalist and author describes the manipulation of our unconscious mind to direct our actions is scary. Whether in policing, access to housing, or influencing our opinions, the book flags the concern about “using robots to amplify the wrong part of our instincts, such that we wind up enslaved to those.” Without dismissing the value of machine learning, he makes clear what they should and should not be used for. “Computers are good at optimizing a system, but it takes humans to sort out what we actually want from that system.”
March 31, 2022
Really fantastic book. Firstly, it’s a great companion piece to “Thinking Fast and Slow” with lots of great applications of Kahneman and Tversky’s work. But secondly, and more importantly, I really thought this book did a great job of centering the galvanizing stories about weaknesses in human judgment and absurd advances in tech around ethics. I’ve read many things that dazzle with what the technical future might look like and many thinks that similarly dazzle with the ways human judgement is fallible and vulnerable. But oftentimes what I read is morally neutral or, much worse, in favor of using these two realities for business gain. I really liked the ethical questions and perspectives of this book.
April 15, 2022
Author is inconsistent in his thinking and confuses AI with big data (apparently everything is AI). He discusses interesting projects and studies, but doesn't draw things together in cogent sort of way. I listened to the audio version so may have missed out on graphics, but he also never actually explains why he calls it "The Loop" (it's actually three "loops", but the "looping" mechanisms are unclear). Ward puts up a lot of straw man arguments to make his points and jumps to conclusions without addressing obvious flaws in studies or questions that any good researcher would consider. Overall, i'ts a moderately interesting survey of concepts but mediocre in execution.
March 14, 2022
Just like fundamentalist preachers blaming earthquakes on homosexuality, Ward, a preacher with no qualifications himself, blames technology for the ”lack of choice”.
And while the earthquakes are real, the ”lack of choice” is only compared with the Nirvana in Ward's mind. Or think of the European kings only a few centuries ago: they would have the choice to die from a large number of diseases, or which one of their children would survive enough for them to pass the land and the crown.
And while the earthquakes are real, the ”lack of choice” is only compared with the Nirvana in Ward's mind. Or think of the European kings only a few centuries ago: they would have the choice to die from a large number of diseases, or which one of their children would survive enough for them to pass the land and the crown.
June 4, 2022
Heavy on research. I found it a hard read even though there were many relevant cases used as examples. Social media and racial biases fill in the bullseye for current content relevancy. All parents should read this book because it explains the effects of social media on children and society generally through artificial intelligence products now being applied for power and profit. Jacob Ward is a highly experienced journalist on the subject.
September 17, 2022
Interesting topic and presentation. I found myself enjoying the real-world examples more than the explanations and wished that there had been more detail in those examples. AI certainly has the potential for bad outcomes and misuses, which this book clearly points out. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.
3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5 stars
December 30, 2022
The history of humanity simply isn't long enough to know whether it's an arc, or which way it bends, as Parker originally admitted. We're not on a preordained flight path toward a better life. It's not a given that what we build will improve our world. We are living an improvisation, carefully balancing our institutions, our partnerships, our social codes on the tip of a collective finger we only just figured out how to use. What is universal? What is human? What are values?
It was a thought-provoking read about a topic I've always been wary about (read: seeing I, Robot and picking up quickly the benefits are not inherently worth the cost as a child), and (rightly) assumed was becoming intertwined with day-to-day society. While I think Ward could have spent more time talking about solutions at structural levels and really consider how to hold these systems accountable, he did do a nice job of outlining his key themes. AI is often useful and convenient, but is that enough to use it without considering the impacts of it making major (e.g., justice) and minor (which song to listen to) decisions for us? I'm sure there are particulars he missed and there were times when it felt like he was going broad when he could've really focused on the nuances of a topic. That being said, I was interested by it and will keep thinking about it into the new year.
It was a thought-provoking read about a topic I've always been wary about (read: seeing I, Robot and picking up quickly the benefits are not inherently worth the cost as a child), and (rightly) assumed was becoming intertwined with day-to-day society. While I think Ward could have spent more time talking about solutions at structural levels and really consider how to hold these systems accountable, he did do a nice job of outlining his key themes. AI is often useful and convenient, but is that enough to use it without considering the impacts of it making major (e.g., justice) and minor (which song to listen to) decisions for us? I'm sure there are particulars he missed and there were times when it felt like he was going broad when he could've really focused on the nuances of a topic. That being said, I was interested by it and will keep thinking about it into the new year.
September 28, 2023
It was ok. His writing style is entertaining. He had a liberal bias which is briefly mentioned sometimes and he takes for granted that the liberal position is the correct one. Just another book that talks about the problems but is short on solutions. He just briefly makes an argument that addictive companies should be sued. I guess that would work but if the courts refuse to rule that way and the politicians don’t pass laws making it so, I guess we’re just screwed? At least it was pithy and didn’t bloviate.
April 24, 2022
I liked listening to the book. I want to reread this book. Sticked to the topic and theme and kept the topic interesting.
July 15, 2024
I have just plowed through two chapters of this book and will do a full scale and complete evaluation after reading.
Presently I am ready to trash it, but there have been some (very few limited and far between) insights and positive research. What is wrong at this point?
The saving grace is that the author at least understands the danger of the misuse and abuse of AI, and how this technology not only threatens our social fabric but is also a near-existential threat over time if left unfettered.
Much of the book thus far is little more than a recompilation of the research of other authors. The voice of the author is singularly absent. Also, there is an obvious bend to the writing, despite being (logically) critical of the dangers represented by AI.
The author is an obvious CRT proponent (p. 9) which displays clear anchoring bias, which he warns against. Furthermore, on p.38 he rants about face-diapers saving lives during the Covid event, exaggerating the risks involved as life threatening, despite concrete and verifiable scientific evidence to the contrary. Again, stuck in a liberal fantasy world of delusion and anchoring bias as he touts the unholy doctrines of the diabolic reprobate Fauci. Now, I confess a linguistic association and intellectual bias the way Fauci and Faust are semantic kin. Thought this appears that it may be well-founded. Copyrighted in 2022 there is no excuse for such blind ignorance.
Seriously, on p. 38, the author writes "...otherwise careful people chose to forego masks during a pandemic and dying on a ventilator just to visit loved ones at a party,” *just to visit loved ones, * just, just??? Loved one’s are insignificant? Perhaps Jacob Ward has no loved ones in his life, but is there anything in this world more precious or important? Many loved ones also *just* passed away without ever having an opportunity to say their final farewells, because of these perverse and needless rules dished out by an incompetent and overpaid bureaucrat! Jacob Ward is clearly on the wrong side of history. Yeah, I was incensed reading this and that is affective bias for certain.
More to follow...
29/06/2024
Okay, I really made an effort and wanted to give this book a chance but...Chapter four is like a descent into proverbial Equity Hell. A full force implicit DEI lesson in implicit bias, from the rabid left side of the spectrum. All the expected condemnation of anything that remotely resembles conservative values, is shrouded in the chest banging dogma of leftist value judgments. Telling others how to live and leave their lives, while preaching and postulating on freedom of thought and action. The agenda became sufficiently clear when the author dragged up the ESG, WEF, CRT, DEI driven specter of Banaji from Harvard. This is what is rotting higher education from the inside. My suspicions were also confirmed by the authors references in glowing terms to the left side of the political spectrum including Kamala Harris, and obama. Again, on pages This was as close as it comes for me to -trashing a title. I will nevertheless masochistically push on and remain more open-minded than the drivel I am currently forcing myself to Endure. He is relentless as, on pp 71-72, he openly adopts the conspiracy theory agendas and demonizes pizza-gate, QAnon, (Oops overlooked Frazzledrip) and the uprising on January 6th.through. I am not arrogant enough to affirm these were not conspiracy theories, though there must be come truth for them to exist in the first place. As a true social-justice warrior he blindly condemns the actions of those of January 6th with a vociferous tongue lashing like a good sock-puppet, while forgetting the origins of his own nation and how it came about. I had actually been expecting something of this sort. Following the evolution of the authors rants, I was awaiting for either a 6 Jan meltdown, or his Trump Derangement Syndrome TDS to kick in. I don't doubt there will be more to come, now that he has vented his spleen.
Hang tight, more to follow. There is a great difference between having biases, recognizing them for what they are, accepting them as part of your unique personality, and pretending they do not exist as is the liberal ideology.
A long and bleak 220-page dreary trudge to follow...
Okay so here we are a bit further on and I am pleased to say that there was a lull in the SJW 101 lesson. Chapter 7 contains some noteworthy, interesting, and important insights; however, these get washed over by a host of irrelevant historical anecdotes with only mild to moderate relevance to the topic being explored. Later around page 149, the author once again, wanders off into lala land and returns to his proselytizing.
Progress update - The reason I am conducting updates rather than a straight-up review is that the reading is academic and at times difficult to digest. July 7, 2024. Got to as far as chapter 8 at this point, and things started to look much better, with the author sticking to the facts and presenting plausible concepts, Then boom. Wouldn’t you know it? He just could not resist subtly advancing the leftist tendencies deep within his psyche. At this point his full-blown anti-Trump TDs kicked into gear, He splashed his venom concerning the January 6th uprising across the pages, underscored support for Black lives matters activists (BLM) and also included some far leftist rhetoric from those he interviewed, thus, indirectly pushing their agenda. The author, steadfastly, insists on presenting only a single side of an argument, the liberal side. Thus, illegal aliens are called undocumented immigrants. There is no cure apparently for biased social justice warriors (SJWs). Onward and forward we trudge. At this point I am now actually counting the number of pages of suffering left. (114). Chapter 8 proved to be the most enlightening so far and really was a saving grace as I prepared to toss this adventure into the oubliette.
Update July 9. 2024...Things are going from bad to worse. The author has become unhinged. Ward now insists on conflating lifestyle choices such as sexual orientation with things individuals have no control over such as race or gender. He further goes on to spout the dribble about systematic racism and institutional discrimination. Hello. I thought obama was black as were many other high-ranking officials, politicians and members of the military But hey facts, right? He unsurprisingly and repulsively pushes for CRT and affirmative action, using loaded language, rather than meritocracy, which itself debases other racial ethnicities. And this is why America is currently where it is today.
Guys, I am so, so close to jettisoning this into the nearest trash can...He paints bias in AI as some sort of dark conspiracy aimed at disenfranchising people of color. Starting to seriously count the remaining pages. Have you ever found yourself at this point? I'm a bit of an obsessive compulsive when it comes to reading. I loathe abandoning even unscientific and jaded writing such as this... will take a short break to recenter.
Okay back at it and... yes, it is worse than ever. There is not a single leftist social justice warrior issue that has not been raised, everything from feminism to black lives matter, and from the denial of incarceration strategies to negative views on policing. Much of this would not be a problem in and of itself, however, Ward uses biased and selective research in order to try and advance his viewpoints and convince his readership of his poorly formulated theories. The book was ostensibly meant to measure the negative impact of AI; however, the evaluation of effective AI has taken a back seat to the nonsense that Ward pushes. George Floyd is there, as is the so-called covid pandemic, as are police shootings, but no mention of the riots, In Chapter 11 onward he becomes a cheerleader of political correctness using exclusively female pronouns. He does so in such a way that his motives are obvious. The alphabet gang has not yet made an appearance (at least not directly), nor has climate change, or censorship, but there still remain 2 chapters and I have no doubt that agenda will also be thrown at the reader. He projects himself as a pilot in chapter 10, however, rest assured, this specimen would never risk his skin for his nation. This guy is a cheerleader for Gruesome Newsom. I am just waiting for him to pronounce on the profound wisdom and alacrity of Joe biden. 50 pages left and it is one of the worst drudges I have ever endured.
You may have noticed I have now lowered my rating from the generous 3-wtars to a single dull celestial body. I undertook this book as part of preparation for an international conference on AI and its use in crime and policing in the Asian context. If anything, it has led me to question my own convictions concerning the negative influences of AI. I required serious literature; this is little more than popular socialism masquerading as scientific investigation. He discounts more conservative viewpoints and advances those which favor his liberal agenda. Definitely not a resource for the serious scholar by any means.
...50 pages and counting (July 12, 2024)
And the story continues... Today is July 14, 2024, and things have not improved. The sign of a truly good book, be it fact or fiction or is that you are sad when it ends. The sign of a poor book is that you find it an increasingly painful drudge each time you pick it up and increasingly count the remaining (40) pages left. Really it is as simple as that. So, in the last few pages we endured Advance Trump Derangement Syndrome *TDS), DEI policy support and pro-affirmative action programs, police bashing, as the social justice warrior dons his liberal armor. He is a criminal apologist who adopts “cool” surfer speak...I guess it is telling he hails from California. He vaunts the “progressive" (actually corrupt and grossly incompetent) judicial systems of Seattle and NYC. How daft can a human being be? He blames stimulus payment problems on former president Trump despite the fact that it was during the biden administration that the errors occurred. I will not be surprised to come across a full liberal meltdown before I finally turn that last excruciating page. and bid a fond farewell to this burden.
Page 255 the author presents if not supports the convoluted, misguided and factually incorrect theories of sociologist Donald Black. Black surmises that there has never been a capital case against a man who murdered his wife. There have been actually, yet it is worth bearing in mind a large majority of men kill their entire families, whereas females often murdered their spouses in isolation as well as other family members. Black's theories would be interesting if they were not tainted by liberal feminist apologetics. In actual fact according to the bureaus of justice statistics (BJS) "In spouse murder cases, wife defendants were less likely to be convicted and to receive severe sentences than husband defendant"
(link: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/S...). Here is yet another case (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/i...), So, simply pushing incorrect personal narratives is not a strong point of scholarship'
Never before have I been so overjoyed to have gotten through a book. This was an excruciating struggle. I will leave the readers with a few excerpts which characterize the extreme bias displayed between these pages.On e of the worst titles I've had to slog through. There are a few very limited redeeming features, though they are few and far between.
Quotes:
P. 262 "...fires are becoming more frequent and destructive." Fires cannot be more destructive they simply either are or are not controlled.
P.262: "There is currently so little regulation as to where one can build a home in the United States [so much for his professions of free choice], and there is so much climate-fueled catastrophe coming towards us." [the new Nostradamus of our day and age].
P.266 "...and there are enormous dangers in the United States-- firearms, industrial pollution, alcohol-- that public -health experts have argued for generations are woefully under-regulated." [there is that regulation mania again, looking to big brother for the cure].
Pp.265 General anti-capitalist rant
P. 269 "...AI cannot be trusted to absorb our *values* in any reliable way,..." Whose values? Here the author automatically assumes everyone is onboard with his twisted world view.
P. 270 This one was a clinker - "I want to be up front . [as if he hasn't been until now] that I think are the greatest life-invention in human history. This isn't just because they're saving lives from COVID-19 all over the world as I wrote this." [false and misleading, at best, outright sponsored misinformation at worst].
P.270 "When a vaccine passes trials and makes it to market get the shot." [Yes Sir, right away sir...reminder the EUA injections never followed this protocol].
P.275 General anti-gun rant. anti -2nd amendment superhero. Again screeching in the deafening liberal tone for greater regulation. It is a miracle if this guy can go to the toilet without supervision.
P.268 "Green river AI is one of the very few firms that restricts its deployment of machine learning to public health and social justice." [how very woke of them].
P.292 Hailing whistleblowers for revealing company trade secrets. How ethical
P.293 "I'm deeply grateful to Heather Allan, who gave me my first opportunity in television news and taught me from the first day to treat the technology beat as being about the inequities of capitalism rather than about the shiny doodads of the future." [Marxist doctrine right there despite their raking in the moola hand over fist].
After having dragged myself through this ordeal I had a rethink on my anti-AI position. If this liberal knucklehead is so vehemently opposed to AI, then perhaps I need to seriously question my own perspectives. His entire argument has convinced me that there may be more positive features to AI than meets the eye. Nevertheless, unlike Jacob Ward, I remain open to further research and better understanding of the topic, and this in a more objective and unbiased manner.
Recommendation: Give this to your mother-in-law for Christmas [assuming you really don't like her]
If you are suffering from a severe case of masochism get out there and order it right away.
For any other sane individual avoid it like the plague - or his so -called pandemic.
Presently I am ready to trash it, but there have been some (very few limited and far between) insights and positive research. What is wrong at this point?
The saving grace is that the author at least understands the danger of the misuse and abuse of AI, and how this technology not only threatens our social fabric but is also a near-existential threat over time if left unfettered.
Much of the book thus far is little more than a recompilation of the research of other authors. The voice of the author is singularly absent. Also, there is an obvious bend to the writing, despite being (logically) critical of the dangers represented by AI.
The author is an obvious CRT proponent (p. 9) which displays clear anchoring bias, which he warns against. Furthermore, on p.38 he rants about face-diapers saving lives during the Covid event, exaggerating the risks involved as life threatening, despite concrete and verifiable scientific evidence to the contrary. Again, stuck in a liberal fantasy world of delusion and anchoring bias as he touts the unholy doctrines of the diabolic reprobate Fauci. Now, I confess a linguistic association and intellectual bias the way Fauci and Faust are semantic kin. Thought this appears that it may be well-founded. Copyrighted in 2022 there is no excuse for such blind ignorance.
Seriously, on p. 38, the author writes "...otherwise careful people chose to forego masks during a pandemic and dying on a ventilator just to visit loved ones at a party,” *just to visit loved ones, * just, just??? Loved one’s are insignificant? Perhaps Jacob Ward has no loved ones in his life, but is there anything in this world more precious or important? Many loved ones also *just* passed away without ever having an opportunity to say their final farewells, because of these perverse and needless rules dished out by an incompetent and overpaid bureaucrat! Jacob Ward is clearly on the wrong side of history. Yeah, I was incensed reading this and that is affective bias for certain.
More to follow...
29/06/2024
Okay, I really made an effort and wanted to give this book a chance but...Chapter four is like a descent into proverbial Equity Hell. A full force implicit DEI lesson in implicit bias, from the rabid left side of the spectrum. All the expected condemnation of anything that remotely resembles conservative values, is shrouded in the chest banging dogma of leftist value judgments. Telling others how to live and leave their lives, while preaching and postulating on freedom of thought and action. The agenda became sufficiently clear when the author dragged up the ESG, WEF, CRT, DEI driven specter of Banaji from Harvard. This is what is rotting higher education from the inside. My suspicions were also confirmed by the authors references in glowing terms to the left side of the political spectrum including Kamala Harris, and obama. Again, on pages This was as close as it comes for me to -trashing a title. I will nevertheless masochistically push on and remain more open-minded than the drivel I am currently forcing myself to Endure. He is relentless as, on pp 71-72, he openly adopts the conspiracy theory agendas and demonizes pizza-gate, QAnon, (Oops overlooked Frazzledrip) and the uprising on January 6th.through. I am not arrogant enough to affirm these were not conspiracy theories, though there must be come truth for them to exist in the first place. As a true social-justice warrior he blindly condemns the actions of those of January 6th with a vociferous tongue lashing like a good sock-puppet, while forgetting the origins of his own nation and how it came about. I had actually been expecting something of this sort. Following the evolution of the authors rants, I was awaiting for either a 6 Jan meltdown, or his Trump Derangement Syndrome TDS to kick in. I don't doubt there will be more to come, now that he has vented his spleen.
Hang tight, more to follow. There is a great difference between having biases, recognizing them for what they are, accepting them as part of your unique personality, and pretending they do not exist as is the liberal ideology.
A long and bleak 220-page dreary trudge to follow...
Okay so here we are a bit further on and I am pleased to say that there was a lull in the SJW 101 lesson. Chapter 7 contains some noteworthy, interesting, and important insights; however, these get washed over by a host of irrelevant historical anecdotes with only mild to moderate relevance to the topic being explored. Later around page 149, the author once again, wanders off into lala land and returns to his proselytizing.
Progress update - The reason I am conducting updates rather than a straight-up review is that the reading is academic and at times difficult to digest. July 7, 2024. Got to as far as chapter 8 at this point, and things started to look much better, with the author sticking to the facts and presenting plausible concepts, Then boom. Wouldn’t you know it? He just could not resist subtly advancing the leftist tendencies deep within his psyche. At this point his full-blown anti-Trump TDs kicked into gear, He splashed his venom concerning the January 6th uprising across the pages, underscored support for Black lives matters activists (BLM) and also included some far leftist rhetoric from those he interviewed, thus, indirectly pushing their agenda. The author, steadfastly, insists on presenting only a single side of an argument, the liberal side. Thus, illegal aliens are called undocumented immigrants. There is no cure apparently for biased social justice warriors (SJWs). Onward and forward we trudge. At this point I am now actually counting the number of pages of suffering left. (114). Chapter 8 proved to be the most enlightening so far and really was a saving grace as I prepared to toss this adventure into the oubliette.
Update July 9. 2024...Things are going from bad to worse. The author has become unhinged. Ward now insists on conflating lifestyle choices such as sexual orientation with things individuals have no control over such as race or gender. He further goes on to spout the dribble about systematic racism and institutional discrimination. Hello. I thought obama was black as were many other high-ranking officials, politicians and members of the military But hey facts, right? He unsurprisingly and repulsively pushes for CRT and affirmative action, using loaded language, rather than meritocracy, which itself debases other racial ethnicities. And this is why America is currently where it is today.
Guys, I am so, so close to jettisoning this into the nearest trash can...He paints bias in AI as some sort of dark conspiracy aimed at disenfranchising people of color. Starting to seriously count the remaining pages. Have you ever found yourself at this point? I'm a bit of an obsessive compulsive when it comes to reading. I loathe abandoning even unscientific and jaded writing such as this... will take a short break to recenter.
Okay back at it and... yes, it is worse than ever. There is not a single leftist social justice warrior issue that has not been raised, everything from feminism to black lives matter, and from the denial of incarceration strategies to negative views on policing. Much of this would not be a problem in and of itself, however, Ward uses biased and selective research in order to try and advance his viewpoints and convince his readership of his poorly formulated theories. The book was ostensibly meant to measure the negative impact of AI; however, the evaluation of effective AI has taken a back seat to the nonsense that Ward pushes. George Floyd is there, as is the so-called covid pandemic, as are police shootings, but no mention of the riots, In Chapter 11 onward he becomes a cheerleader of political correctness using exclusively female pronouns. He does so in such a way that his motives are obvious. The alphabet gang has not yet made an appearance (at least not directly), nor has climate change, or censorship, but there still remain 2 chapters and I have no doubt that agenda will also be thrown at the reader. He projects himself as a pilot in chapter 10, however, rest assured, this specimen would never risk his skin for his nation. This guy is a cheerleader for Gruesome Newsom. I am just waiting for him to pronounce on the profound wisdom and alacrity of Joe biden. 50 pages left and it is one of the worst drudges I have ever endured.
You may have noticed I have now lowered my rating from the generous 3-wtars to a single dull celestial body. I undertook this book as part of preparation for an international conference on AI and its use in crime and policing in the Asian context. If anything, it has led me to question my own convictions concerning the negative influences of AI. I required serious literature; this is little more than popular socialism masquerading as scientific investigation. He discounts more conservative viewpoints and advances those which favor his liberal agenda. Definitely not a resource for the serious scholar by any means.
...50 pages and counting (July 12, 2024)
And the story continues... Today is July 14, 2024, and things have not improved. The sign of a truly good book, be it fact or fiction or is that you are sad when it ends. The sign of a poor book is that you find it an increasingly painful drudge each time you pick it up and increasingly count the remaining (40) pages left. Really it is as simple as that. So, in the last few pages we endured Advance Trump Derangement Syndrome *TDS), DEI policy support and pro-affirmative action programs, police bashing, as the social justice warrior dons his liberal armor. He is a criminal apologist who adopts “cool” surfer speak...I guess it is telling he hails from California. He vaunts the “progressive" (actually corrupt and grossly incompetent) judicial systems of Seattle and NYC. How daft can a human being be? He blames stimulus payment problems on former president Trump despite the fact that it was during the biden administration that the errors occurred. I will not be surprised to come across a full liberal meltdown before I finally turn that last excruciating page. and bid a fond farewell to this burden.
Page 255 the author presents if not supports the convoluted, misguided and factually incorrect theories of sociologist Donald Black. Black surmises that there has never been a capital case against a man who murdered his wife. There have been actually, yet it is worth bearing in mind a large majority of men kill their entire families, whereas females often murdered their spouses in isolation as well as other family members. Black's theories would be interesting if they were not tainted by liberal feminist apologetics. In actual fact according to the bureaus of justice statistics (BJS) "In spouse murder cases, wife defendants were less likely to be convicted and to receive severe sentences than husband defendant"
(link: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/S...). Here is yet another case (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/i...), So, simply pushing incorrect personal narratives is not a strong point of scholarship'
Never before have I been so overjoyed to have gotten through a book. This was an excruciating struggle. I will leave the readers with a few excerpts which characterize the extreme bias displayed between these pages.On e of the worst titles I've had to slog through. There are a few very limited redeeming features, though they are few and far between.
Quotes:
P. 262 "...fires are becoming more frequent and destructive." Fires cannot be more destructive they simply either are or are not controlled.
P.262: "There is currently so little regulation as to where one can build a home in the United States [so much for his professions of free choice], and there is so much climate-fueled catastrophe coming towards us." [the new Nostradamus of our day and age].
P.266 "...and there are enormous dangers in the United States-- firearms, industrial pollution, alcohol-- that public -health experts have argued for generations are woefully under-regulated." [there is that regulation mania again, looking to big brother for the cure].
Pp.265 General anti-capitalist rant
P. 269 "...AI cannot be trusted to absorb our *values* in any reliable way,..." Whose values? Here the author automatically assumes everyone is onboard with his twisted world view.
P. 270 This one was a clinker - "I want to be up front . [as if he hasn't been until now] that I think are the greatest life-invention in human history. This isn't just because they're saving lives from COVID-19 all over the world as I wrote this." [false and misleading, at best, outright sponsored misinformation at worst].
P.270 "When a vaccine passes trials and makes it to market get the shot." [Yes Sir, right away sir...reminder the EUA injections never followed this protocol].
P.275 General anti-gun rant. anti -2nd amendment superhero. Again screeching in the deafening liberal tone for greater regulation. It is a miracle if this guy can go to the toilet without supervision.
P.268 "Green river AI is one of the very few firms that restricts its deployment of machine learning to public health and social justice." [how very woke of them].
P.292 Hailing whistleblowers for revealing company trade secrets. How ethical
P.293 "I'm deeply grateful to Heather Allan, who gave me my first opportunity in television news and taught me from the first day to treat the technology beat as being about the inequities of capitalism rather than about the shiny doodads of the future." [Marxist doctrine right there despite their raking in the moola hand over fist].
After having dragged myself through this ordeal I had a rethink on my anti-AI position. If this liberal knucklehead is so vehemently opposed to AI, then perhaps I need to seriously question my own perspectives. His entire argument has convinced me that there may be more positive features to AI than meets the eye. Nevertheless, unlike Jacob Ward, I remain open to further research and better understanding of the topic, and this in a more objective and unbiased manner.
Recommendation: Give this to your mother-in-law for Christmas [assuming you really don't like her]
If you are suffering from a severe case of masochism get out there and order it right away.
For any other sane individual avoid it like the plague - or his so -called pandemic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2022
The Loop was a fascinating if not terrifying non fiction book that looks at AI technology, the way we use social media algorithms, and how pattern recognition technology is changing social behavior and the lack of moral structure surrounding it.
"We are on the verge of reprogramming not only the planet, but one another, for efficiency and profit. We are turning systems loose that will fundamentally reshape our behavior."
I have always been leary of social media, so I found this book fascinating. It starts off DEEP...going way back to over 100 years ago with scientist doing experiments on soldiers. Before the book explains AI technology and the ways it is effecting us, the book dives into how our brains work, why we make the decisions we do and how much we don't know about how our bodies work. The author looks at behavior, technology, marketing, politics, and how we THINK we are getting so autonomous but in reality our choices are shrinking.
"Human behavior is being supercharged by capitalist efficiency, human agency is under threat from systems packaged for our unconscious acceptance."
He uses an array of examples and studies, from gambling apps to surveillance tracking, spotify suggestions to driving routes, facial recognition software to Facebook groups. He shows us how algorithms built to do one thing may be used to do so much more and you aren't even aware of it. And why this is NOT a good thing.
"AI cannot be trusted to absorb our values, because acting on our values is often inefficient and costly. Doing the right thing often feels wrong, which is why we should make sure who we want to be in the first place. We are capable, as a society, of making choices and rules based on something softer and messier and more important than data."
This book is very technological but it is also fascinating and well researched. If you really want to know what's out there, what we're doing with the technology we have, and where we are going with it, you should read this book!
Thank you to Hachette Books and #hsSocialClub for sending this to me to read and review.
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"We are on the verge of reprogramming not only the planet, but one another, for efficiency and profit. We are turning systems loose that will fundamentally reshape our behavior."
I have always been leary of social media, so I found this book fascinating. It starts off DEEP...going way back to over 100 years ago with scientist doing experiments on soldiers. Before the book explains AI technology and the ways it is effecting us, the book dives into how our brains work, why we make the decisions we do and how much we don't know about how our bodies work. The author looks at behavior, technology, marketing, politics, and how we THINK we are getting so autonomous but in reality our choices are shrinking.
"Human behavior is being supercharged by capitalist efficiency, human agency is under threat from systems packaged for our unconscious acceptance."
He uses an array of examples and studies, from gambling apps to surveillance tracking, spotify suggestions to driving routes, facial recognition software to Facebook groups. He shows us how algorithms built to do one thing may be used to do so much more and you aren't even aware of it. And why this is NOT a good thing.
"AI cannot be trusted to absorb our values, because acting on our values is often inefficient and costly. Doing the right thing often feels wrong, which is why we should make sure who we want to be in the first place. We are capable, as a society, of making choices and rules based on something softer and messier and more important than data."
This book is very technological but it is also fascinating and well researched. If you really want to know what's out there, what we're doing with the technology we have, and where we are going with it, you should read this book!
Thank you to Hachette Books and #hsSocialClub for sending this to me to read and review.
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April 23, 2022
This might have been a 2-3 star book had the author not insisted on frequently injecting his politics into every chapter. What a great way to alienate a decent portion of your audience. He uses examples like music/video sites using algorithms to recommend other things, and to him that all boils down to: "Well ok, since I can't choose durr hurr!" I hate to tell you this, but recommendations are how people discover new and potentially awesome things (not everything out there is made with a cookie cutter either).
Ward's final chapter was meant to suggest ways to "fight back" against the very real and serious threat of automated bias, but instead he decided to pander to the covid narrative and rave about how great Big Pharma and their shots are (and justify their lack of liability for injuries)? Not sure how taking a leaky shot is going to solve our looming AI problems, but maybe that's just me. Ward ends on a note that basically says that we as humans are too stupid to do anything about this (thus negating the "hopeful" subtitle of the book itself), because we're all sheep and when given any opportunity to not have to think for ourselves, we'll always take it.
This book is not worth your time.
Ward's final chapter was meant to suggest ways to "fight back" against the very real and serious threat of automated bias, but instead he decided to pander to the covid narrative and rave about how great Big Pharma and their shots are (and justify their lack of liability for injuries)? Not sure how taking a leaky shot is going to solve our looming AI problems, but maybe that's just me. Ward ends on a note that basically says that we as humans are too stupid to do anything about this (thus negating the "hopeful" subtitle of the book itself), because we're all sheep and when given any opportunity to not have to think for ourselves, we'll always take it.
This book is not worth your time.
April 16, 2022
This is not the first book addressing the dangers of tech/algorithms/AI.
However, I liked the unique approach of looking through the lens of 3 concentric loops:
1. Human behavior - our natural tendencies and autopilot functions
2. Modern forces - consumer tech, capitalism, marketing, politics etc
3. Algorithms/AI
The Loop refers to the 3rd and outermost loop which uses autonomous tech to weaponize the 2nd loop to exploit the 1st loop.
This is how the author describes the threat:
"we’re guided by unconscious tendencies, but we rarely detect it when they are analyzed and played upon. Now throw pattern-recognition technologies and decision-guidance strategies at us. And do it all in a society that doesn’t have the long-term sensibilities in our policies and in our programming to recognize and regulate something that will determine the future of the species."
However, I liked the unique approach of looking through the lens of 3 concentric loops:
1. Human behavior - our natural tendencies and autopilot functions
2. Modern forces - consumer tech, capitalism, marketing, politics etc
3. Algorithms/AI
The Loop refers to the 3rd and outermost loop which uses autonomous tech to weaponize the 2nd loop to exploit the 1st loop.
This is how the author describes the threat:
"we’re guided by unconscious tendencies, but we rarely detect it when they are analyzed and played upon. Now throw pattern-recognition technologies and decision-guidance strategies at us. And do it all in a society that doesn’t have the long-term sensibilities in our policies and in our programming to recognize and regulate something that will determine the future of the species."
February 2, 2022
Mars is the most survivable planet in our solar system. Except that the poles are -200 degrees Fahrenheit at night and there is not much oxygen at many locations. The journey to Mars takes between 300 and 400 days. Humans have ever been in space for that long of a period of time. Besides the endless possibilities of danger in space travel, 300 to 400 days of confinement has proven in test studies to not have positive outcomes.
Scientists look for planets not in our solar system to sustain human life. Proxima Centauri is only 4.2 light years away. Which at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour, translates to more than 130,00 years of space travel.
Scientists look for planets not in our solar system to sustain human life. Proxima Centauri is only 4.2 light years away. Which at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour, translates to more than 130,00 years of space travel.
February 13, 2022
This book could be interpreted as being just as scary as it is informative and educational about the use of artificial intelligence that impacts the lives of ordinary people. Yes, we are being scanned and recorded much more often than we are aware of, and all of it purportedly for the common good. However, history teaches us that what starts out for the common good often makes a drastic turn to our detriment and regret. This book is extremely detailed and somewhat of a technical read with real life examples scattered within about the pluses and minuses of AI. You will learn much, and perhaps be more wary of who might be watching you… Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read copy.
May 21, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. 10/10 would recommend
I would say that "The Loop" was an eye-opening journey into the dangers of AI. It explores the potential dangers that lie when you combine AI and human behavior, that often lead to to flawed decision-making. It debunks a common misconception about AI: robots enslaving humanity, Ward highlights the true peril—our own minds influencing AI systems. By drawing attention to the ways our brains make choices through shortcuts, biases, and hidden processes, the author successfully highlights the pressing need to reevaluate how we approach AI development.
I would say that "The Loop" was an eye-opening journey into the dangers of AI. It explores the potential dangers that lie when you combine AI and human behavior, that often lead to to flawed decision-making. It debunks a common misconception about AI: robots enslaving humanity, Ward highlights the true peril—our own minds influencing AI systems. By drawing attention to the ways our brains make choices through shortcuts, biases, and hidden processes, the author successfully highlights the pressing need to reevaluate how we approach AI development.
January 15, 2022
Does it seem that algorithms, AI and other forms of technology are now making decisions on what we see, changing the way we do things, taking over the things we used to do and slowly limiting our choices over our own lives? Well that is why THE LOOP is such a sensational read in opening our eyes and grasping the knowledge of just how little control we will have left if we don’t make a change. When we allow a machine to make decisions and to think for us; we are giving up on our humanity. We need to take the best parts of ourselves and keep it, instead of putting it into a machine.
May 1, 2022
Entertaining enough - but the book failed to have a clear presentation of content. At times it seemed to just be a hodgepodge of information.
April 9, 2022
I think that everyone should put down their devices and read this book! If we don’t implement some structure then all aspects of our lives will be manipulated! Let’s focus on using AI to help us!
May 14, 2022
Not enough on fighting back.
Read
May 5, 2023This was interesting to read. It's written in a journalistic style, by a journalist, so I'm not too sure about the author's grasp of AI on a technical level - there were some question mark moments, for example, when the author was talking about using AI to analyze history and make conclusions about humans (?!). Not sure what kind of data would be used to train such an AI, lol. With that said, O found the broad themes of the book are very interesting, timely, and important.
Basically, the main idea is that as a society, we're experimenting with new technologies (specifically, AI recommendation and decision systems) and this is having effects on a very fast timescale - faster than the speed at which we can study these effects. Because of this, we're deploying AI recommendation systems without fully understanding their risks and how they'll shape society - the book draws on examples from mobile gaming / gambling, war operations, and policing for how AI systems are being blindly used by humans in a way that reshapes behavior and reinforces our worst cognitive biases, since the models are trained also on their own results. (For example, an AI system recommending more police presence in a certain neighborhood would cause police to naturally find more crimes in that neighborhood, which will just cause the system to recommend more police presence there at the expense of other areas in an illogical loop.)
The book doesn't really give too many options about how to escape "the loop", but it seems optimistic about how, with some effort, we can use AI to *mitigate* our biases rather than amplify them. I think the book makes a good case for making a habit of avoiding digital recommendation systems, as they provide an illusion of choice but actually restrict our behavior by reinforcing our biases or forcing us to choose between some provided choices. (A relatable example is that in the past, people used to fight against Google Maps or maybe diverge from the main path on a whim to check out towns or restaurants along the way, whereas now, since Google Maps provides maybe three convenient options, we just choose one and go with it because it's easy - and go off the selected route less than we would otherwise, because that's not one of the options Google gave. In this example, you get the illusion of choice from Google, but in reality you're taking the same three paths anyone else could take.)
Basically, the main idea is that as a society, we're experimenting with new technologies (specifically, AI recommendation and decision systems) and this is having effects on a very fast timescale - faster than the speed at which we can study these effects. Because of this, we're deploying AI recommendation systems without fully understanding their risks and how they'll shape society - the book draws on examples from mobile gaming / gambling, war operations, and policing for how AI systems are being blindly used by humans in a way that reshapes behavior and reinforces our worst cognitive biases, since the models are trained also on their own results. (For example, an AI system recommending more police presence in a certain neighborhood would cause police to naturally find more crimes in that neighborhood, which will just cause the system to recommend more police presence there at the expense of other areas in an illogical loop.)
The book doesn't really give too many options about how to escape "the loop", but it seems optimistic about how, with some effort, we can use AI to *mitigate* our biases rather than amplify them. I think the book makes a good case for making a habit of avoiding digital recommendation systems, as they provide an illusion of choice but actually restrict our behavior by reinforcing our biases or forcing us to choose between some provided choices. (A relatable example is that in the past, people used to fight against Google Maps or maybe diverge from the main path on a whim to check out towns or restaurants along the way, whereas now, since Google Maps provides maybe three convenient options, we just choose one and go with it because it's easy - and go off the selected route less than we would otherwise, because that's not one of the options Google gave. In this example, you get the illusion of choice from Google, but in reality you're taking the same three paths anyone else could take.)
May 7, 2022
One part of my reading theme this year is around AI and all its facets. Here, the author also combines it with a bit of focus discussion. It became a good companion to _Stolen Focus_, as both approach the topic from very different perspectives.
Machine Learning is a very interesting computer science topic. At its root is using techniques to have a machine train itself instead of a human writing out all of the rules. By using large amounts of data, the machine can devise rules in order to predict what will come next given a set of parameters. While fun to research, its actual implementation is filled with problems. Presently ML is being seen as a hammer and everything around us is a nail.
Data is invariably biased in some fashion & it is difficult to audit the rules the machine has written for itself. The decision process of the machine creates a loop, in that it gives a prediction (recommendation), which is then given to a human. The human then uses it to make their own decision, which is then eventually recycled back into the data used for making predictions. It is this ever tightening loop the author aims to illustrate & what it bodes for our future selves.
With the rise of phones, people find it easier to take the recommendation of a machine over that of a human. The machines do not understand people, they only understand the data provided, which is broken down into numbers and letters. They do not understand emotion or right/wrong, just how to determine the future from past behavior. Of humans. By blindly following the machine, people are giving up agency and tightening the decision loop even further.
At some point the number of choices will be reduced such that variety will become absent. Humans will wonder what happened, but remain oblivious as to the reason why. Serendipity and randomness are being expunged, replaced with algorithms that are solely focused on increasing revenue. Humans need randomness & variety. The author demonstrates that every time we follow what the machine says, it becomes more difficult to break out of the loop we have placed ourselves within.
Machine Learning is a very interesting computer science topic. At its root is using techniques to have a machine train itself instead of a human writing out all of the rules. By using large amounts of data, the machine can devise rules in order to predict what will come next given a set of parameters. While fun to research, its actual implementation is filled with problems. Presently ML is being seen as a hammer and everything around us is a nail.
Data is invariably biased in some fashion & it is difficult to audit the rules the machine has written for itself. The decision process of the machine creates a loop, in that it gives a prediction (recommendation), which is then given to a human. The human then uses it to make their own decision, which is then eventually recycled back into the data used for making predictions. It is this ever tightening loop the author aims to illustrate & what it bodes for our future selves.
With the rise of phones, people find it easier to take the recommendation of a machine over that of a human. The machines do not understand people, they only understand the data provided, which is broken down into numbers and letters. They do not understand emotion or right/wrong, just how to determine the future from past behavior. Of humans. By blindly following the machine, people are giving up agency and tightening the decision loop even further.
At some point the number of choices will be reduced such that variety will become absent. Humans will wonder what happened, but remain oblivious as to the reason why. Serendipity and randomness are being expunged, replaced with algorithms that are solely focused on increasing revenue. Humans need randomness & variety. The author demonstrates that every time we follow what the machine says, it becomes more difficult to break out of the loop we have placed ourselves within.
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