calum chace

books

Surviving AI

Artificial intelligence is our most powerful technology, and in the coming decades it will change everything in our lives. If we get it right it will make humans almost godlike. If we get it wrong... well, extinction is not the worst possible outcome.

“Surviving AI” is a concise, easy-to-read guide to what is coming, taking you through technological unemployment (the economic singularity) and the possible creation of a superintelligence (the technological singularity).

A sober and easy-to-read review of the risks and opportunities that humanity will face from AI.

The economic singularity

Artificial intelligence (AI) is overtaking our human ability to absorb and process information. Robots are becoming increasingly dextrous, flexible, and safe to be around (except the military ones). It is our most powerful technology, and you need to understand it. This book argues that within a few decades, most humans will not be able to work for money. Self-driving cars will probably be the canary in the coal mine, providing a wake-up call for everyone who isn’t yet paying attention. All jobs will be affected, from fast food McJobs to lawyers and journalists. This is the single most important development facing humanity in the first half of the 21st century. The fashionable belief that Universal Basic Income is the solution is only partly correct. We are probably going to need an entirely new economic system, and we better start planning soon - for the Economic Singularity!

Stories from 2045

These stories explore the ways that artificial intelligence and related technologies will affect the job market. At the moment, no-one can predict exactly what will happen, but it seems very likely that people will need to retrain and change jobs more often. Looking further ahead, we may need to work out how to make technological unemployment a very positive outcome, and with that in mind, this book has twice as many positive stories as negative ones.

Artificial intelligence

The science of AI was born a little over 60 years ago, but for most of that time its achievements were modest. In 2012 it experienced a big bang, when a branch of statistics called Machine Learning was applied to it. Now machines have surpassed humans in image recognition, and they are catching up with us at speech recognition and natural language processing. Every day, the media reports the launch of a new service, a new product, and a new demonstration powered by AI. When will it end? The surprising truth is, the AI revolution has only just begun.

Our jobless future

This 10,000-word essay summarises and to some extent, updates the arguments set out in earlier books, especially "The Economic Singularity."

Pandora's brain

Around half the scientists researching artificial intelligence (AI) think that a conscious AI at or beyond human level will be created by 2050. If they are right, the consequence could be an intelligence explosion, in which the artificial intelligence rapidly and enormously exceeds human cognitive ability.

Pandora's Brain is a techno-thriller by best-selling writer Calum Chace. It uses the issues raised by the coming machine intelligence explosion as a platform for a fast-paced and thought-provoking adventure story.

Set in the very near future, it features Matt, a shy but engaging and resourceful student who discovers that his recently-deceased father was involved in research that could enable the construction of the world's first conscious machine.

The internet consumer bible

The Internet Consumer Bible is the most authoritative guide to the internet available. Far more than a directory, this book shows you - whether novice or experienced web surfer - which sites can help you and which sites are a waste of time. Taking you through every aspect of life and showing how to save hundreds of pounds and release hours of valuable time for other activities, the book also looks at what you can't do on the web or what you can still do better offline.

The internet start-up bible

This pragmatic and authoritative manual shows how to start an online business. The authors examine the legal implications and explain how to identify and evaluate the hype and separate it from the reality of Internet commerce.