Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword in news articles, business reviews, academic journals, and conferences.
Our library holds over 2,000 catalogue entries on this subject, most published in the past five years. But what exactly is AI? Do we need to understand it? What should we know about it?
Let’s explore this technological advancement using resources available in our library.
Understanding the Basics of AI
John McCarthy, a computer scientist and mathematics professor, first coined artificial intelligence in 1956 to describe machine reasoning and learning. He defined artificial intelligence as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines." According to Britannica, artificial intelligence is "the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings," such as reasoning, discovering meaning, generalizing, or learning from experience.
If you want to read about AI without the jargon, a few children's nonfiction titles in the library would be an ideal starting point. Among them, Welcome to AI by What Is AI? by
For a deeper technological understanding of how artificial intelligence works and its potential for the future, you can read John Mueller's newly published book Artificial Intelligence For Dummies. In this book, John provides an accessible guide for the general public to explore the world of artificial intelligence.
With a basic understanding of AI, you can further explore the topic with the resources listed in the following three sections.
Applying AI
Artificial intelligence has the potential for widespread use and is beginning to permeate every corner of our tech reality. Among the many books and resources on the application of AI, the AI For Dummies series is a good starting point. These books provide instructional guidance on using AI for various purposes.
This list contains accessible guidebooks on the application of AI for various purposes.
While reading these books, you may encounter two concepts: generative AI and ChatGPT. What is their relationship with AI, and how do they differ? I gained the answer when prompting ChatGPT with the questions.
- AI is the broadest category and encompasses various subfields like machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), robotics, and computer vision.
- Generative AI is a subfield of AI that focuses on content creation. Unlike traditional AI, which primarily classifies or predicts based on existing data, generative AI produces new content.
- ChatGPT is an example of generative AI, specialised in generating text-based conversations.
If you'd like to explore further, you can read books or articles on AI applications in specific industries or sectors. AI books or eAudiobooks published by Harvard Business Review and titles like Artificial Intelligence: Applications in Healthcare Delivery, opens a new window are excellent choices. Priten Shan's AI and the Future of Education guides educators on using AI to create positive changes in the classroom, offering practical examples, tips, and strategies.
Rethinking AI - The downsides
While the techno-hype around AI continues to grow, concerns and fears about the challenges it poses to human society are also emerging. Will AI take all our jobs? Will it evolve into dystopian intelligent beings superior to humans? Will it empower some while disadvantaging others? There are numerous ethical concerns when it comes to the use of AI, not to mention its environmental impacts.
Over the past four years, AI has not only been a topic for technological scientists but has also drawn interest from researchers and writers across various fields, including economics, social sciences, and the humanities. Many books and articles critically examining AI have been published, springing up like mushrooms.
Below are a few notable resources to help navigate this vast and rapidly expanding topic.
Resisting AI by Dan McQuillan offers a critical perspective on the AI hype. Dan explains why and how we should resist adopting artificial intelligence. He argues that "AI represents a technological shift in the framework of society that will amplify austerity while enabling authoritarian politics."
For Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, the persistence of the AI hype vortex stems from both the optimistic culture of the AI community and contributions from researchers, companies, and the media. In their book AI Snake Oil, they guide readers to identify AI snake oil and hype, advocating for critical thinking and the responsible application of AI tools.
Digging deeper into the AI hype, some scholars examine AI within a broad historical, societal, economic, political, and cultural context. Moving beyond scientific and algorithmic forces, they ask thought-provoking questions: How is AI made? What forms of politics does AI propagate? Whose interests does it serve, and who bears the greatest risk of harm? Where should the use of AI be constrained?
In this stream, Kate Crawford employs a cartographic approach to investigate the impact of AI in her book Atlas of AI. Kate argues that artificial intelligence is a registry of power. She uses the atlas as a metaphor to explain how "the field of AI captures the planet in a computationally legible form" and reveals the making of AI across various domains, including lithium mines, data extraction, labor exploitation, and government surveillance.
To understand AI in a historical context, you may read Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari. As a historian, Harari navigates the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, and wisdom and power—from the Stone Age to the contemporary era of AI. He warns us to make the right choices while facing the threats posed by AI, which he describes as an alien information network.
Economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson present a theory of technological vision in their book Power and Progress. They argue that technological change does not always equate to progress; rather, it depends on which vision or direction of technology is chosen and implemented. Using historical and contemporary evidence, they illustrate how social power enables elites—a new "vision oligarchy"—to influence public opinion and shape a shared vision that does not necessarily lead to shared prosperity.
Despite their different focuses, these scholars agree that AI does not automatically benefit everyone. Power relations shape its impact, which must be addressed with strategic solutions. So, what are the solutions for managing the risks posed by AI? From the perspective of public and international law, Simon Chesterman’s book We, the Robots? provides a compelling example of how to address AI challenges. Drawing on technologies and examples worldwide, Simon examines how existing laws handle AI and what additional rules and institutions are needed.
ChatGPT is one of the AI tools that ordinary people can easily access to create texts, images, and artworks. Its rise has sparked particular concerns in the education sector. Should we use it or not? In the blog post 5 articles on... Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT, Simone compiles articles and observations on artificial intelligence and ChatGPT from mainstream media.
AI and Humanity
The rapid spread of AI compels us to reconsider fundamental questions about human existence as the only intelligent beings on Earth. What makes us human? What is the human condition in the age of artificial intelligence? How should we navigate our relationship with AI? You may find the following resources interesting and useful for exploring these questions.
In their book What Makes Us Human?, Iain S. Thomas and Jasmine Wang conduct a daring experiment. They prompt GPT-3 with the wealth of humanity's works, such as the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, and pose the most pressing questions about life to the AI. Written in a human-machine conversation format, this book invites readers to explore human spirituality through the lens of non-human wisdom. As the authors suggest, "Maybe someone who is not human and can observe us and our stories from the outside can help us find those answers."
In the blog post So you've fallen in love with an android..., Moata introduces us to examples in the library collection of onscreen portrayals of human-machine relationships. Watching these films, you may wonder whether our fictional imagining of non-human beings will soon become real, and if that's a good thing.
Biographies related to AI can reveal how humanity and technology intersect and are woven into personal experiences. In her autobiography, The Worlds I See, Dr. Fei-Fei Li, one of the pioneering scientists behind the birth of artificial intelligence, traces the evolution of AI while sharing her profoundly American journey as a young immigrant who discovers her identity through education.
This small list features books exploring the relationship between artificial intelligence and humanity. While it is not exhaustive, it offers a starting point for understanding this complex topic.
Regardless of our opinions on AI, we cannot ignore the profound impact of this rapidly spreading technology on our existence. As Dr. Fei-Fei Li aptly remarks, "The greatest triumphs of AI wouldn't merely be scientific, but humanistic as well."
More resources on AI
- Artificial Intelligence and copyright Guidance from Copyright licensing New Zealand
- Explained: Generative AI's environmental impact MIT News
- O'Reilly Resources on AI: This database contains eBooks and eAudiobooks on the most recent advancements in AI. Access requires logging in with library card details and a keyword search.
- Streaming Videos on AI
- Library blog posts related to AI
- eDS Journal Articles on AI: This database contains journal articles on AI. Access requires logging in with library card details and a keyword search.
- Books on AI
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