The Digital Ape

how to live (in peace) with smart machines

Nigel Shadbolt author Roger Hampson author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Scribe Publications

Published:11th Apr '19

£9.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

The Digital Ape cover

How smart machines are transforming us all — and what we should do about it.

The smart-machines revolution is re-shaping our lives and our societies. Here, Nigel Shadbolt, one of Britain’s leading authorities on artificial intelligence, and Roger Hampson dispel terror, confusion, and misconception. They argue that it is human stupidity, not artificial intelligence, that should concern us.

Lucid, well-informed, and deeply human, The Digital Ape offers a unique approach to some of the biggest questions about our future.

‘[W]e should be grateful to Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson for pausing for breath and helping us to think through the true significance of our latest technological developments.’

* Financial Times *

‘Numbed by dire warnings of technological Armageddon? Computer scientist Nigel Shadbolt and economist Roger Hampson dispel the miasma with this superb survey of the landscape we “digital apes” have wrought.’

-- Barbara Kiser * Nature *

'Nigel Shadbolt is one of the most fascinating and important scientists alive today.'

-- Professor Jim Al-Khalili

'There has never been a more important time to discuss what it means to be human, in the past, now, and in the future. This is a book for anyone interested in getting behind the headlines and understanding how technology is impacting our world. The writers are two masters in their field who are not only erudite but immensely humane and compassionate.'

-- Martha Lane Fox

'This is a brilliantly readable, genuinely cutting-edge book that is also often very entertaining. Of all the recent studies of automation and AI, The Digital Ape stands head and shoulders above the rest. Shadbolt and Hampson have written a landmark book.'

* Andrew Keen, author of How to Fix the Future and The Internet is Not the Answer *

‘Rich in ideas and insights, the book is especially strong on our growing personal relationships with Alexa and other robots … An upbeat — even reassuring — take on what will be an AI-saturated future.’ STARRED REVIEW

* Kirkus Reviews *

‘All explore the relationship between the human animal and what might be its most momentous creation yet: artificial intelligence … In a series of wide-ranging chapters, the authors argue that human beings are not just distinguished by their ability to use tools but also largely shaped by it.’

* Weekend Australian *

‘[An] interdisciplinary approach comes over in The Digital Ape, which has arresting sentences.’

* Computer Week

  • Short-listed for Business Book Awards, Embracing Change Award 2019 (UK)

ISBN: 9781911617815

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 22mm

Weight: unknown

368 pages