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This is a great telling of the race to create a general purpose artificial intelligence that sparked the ChatGPT LLM frenzy that is fueling a craze for AI. It is interesting how two companies both approached the challenge with a focus on AGI and safety and how they both ended up getting co-opted by the very tech giants they were seeking to shield the technology from. Well-told and well-researched, I really enjoyed reading this. The book does a good job at not taking sides as either a techno-optomist or and AI-doomer and presents both sides evenly. Well done!

Loved this book. It is a gripping cyber-thriller about how the FBI infiltrated criminal organizations using encrypted communications. I tore through this and thoroughly enjoyed it. The material is factual and follows real events while still being structured effectively in a compelling narrative.

#Bookwyrm #bookstodon

I love nature and I love books.If you do too, you might love this book. Told with a almost mystical reverence for the natural world, but with the voice of a scientifically trained botanist it weaves a story that while tragic at times is hopeful and uplifting. I feel like I struggled along with the author as she told her story and came out a better person in the end because of it. The audiobook is narrated by the author and that adds an extra dimension to the book and makes it more enjoyable, something rare for author narrated audiobooks.

#Bookwyrm #bookstodon

I love nature and I love books.If you do too, you might love this book. Told with a almost mystical reverence for the natural world, but with the voice of a scientifically trained botanist it weaves a story that while tragic at times is hopeful and uplifting. I feel like I struggled along with the author as she told her story and came out a better person in the end because of it. The audiobook is narrated by the author and that adds an extra dimension to the book and makes it more enjoyable, something rare for author narrated audiobooks.

#Bookwyrm #bookstodon

Loved this book. I feel like this book did a better jobs than the more well-known Better Angels of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker at making the case that people are basically good. Pinker fell in the trap of trying to present specific evidence from research that was impefrect and most of the arguments against his thesis have been around that evidence and the validity of that research. Bregman does a good job of avoiding that trap without presenting unsupported arguments.Also, the way he structures the book helpds. Pinker was saying look at this macro evidence we are clearly good on average, whereas Bregman breaks down human behaviors in a micro way and shows the roots of these behaviors. It is a more satisfying approach and I feel more effective.

Loved this book. It is a gripping cyber-thriller about how the FBI infiltrated criminal organizations using encrypted communications. I tore through this and thoroughly enjoyed it. The material is factual and follows real events while still being structured effectively in a compelling narrative.

#Bookwyrm #bookstodon

Some interesting points about how voice systems and voice interfaces in general are important and applicable in many places you would not expect. Pretty dry overall.

As an avid reader of science and math books who also has a degree in Physics and Maths, I often end up reading books about topics I have some level of familiarity with. This research into the science of sync was totally new to me. This was also my first Steven Strogatz book. His writing style is great. He is able to communicate the most complex of ideas using simple easy to understand language. I loved this book and am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. It is packed with science but presents in a well-organized and interesting way. Zooming through eras and eons it does not try to be comprehensive in its telling but focuses on a number of narrative threads. The approach is unique and refreshing and in the end an enjoyable ride.

@SunScales You should check out "Braided Sweetgrass." Not poetry but poetic in its telling, its a story about nature, botany and the heritage of native american peoples.

Haven't read her before but I understand that she's a poet; I picked this up first to see if I'd be interested in her poetry, and I think I'll check it out. (Wanted to read the essay collection first since it's been years since I've looked at poetry.)

Mary is very in touch with the natural world around her and how it shapes her perspective.