Future Tense

January 8, 2024
Artificial Intelligence has the capacity to change everything—at least according to this plainly rendered work by Brockenbrough (Unpresidented). Employing prose that eagerly records the subjects’ boundless potential, the author traces AI’s development from 1950s chess-playing computers to present-day applications. Each iteration of AI has transformed the way society learns, lives, and works and, as mathematician and electrical engineer Claude Shannon (1916–2001) states, “it is certainly plausible to me that in a few decades machines will be beyond humans.” As with many inventions, Brockenbrough posits in unadorned text, there are positives and negatives associated with the rise of AI (“A future with AI could bring fantastic things to humanity and the planet, even as there are some unknowns that can make us feel afraid”): cars that can drive themselves can also crash themselves, and the same systems that can diagnose illness in patients can also write—and potentially plagiarize—papers for students. While many questions regarding the future of AI remain unanswered, Brockenbrough is adamant that “we don’t have a choice in whether AI will be part of our lives. It’s already here.” Ages 12–up.

February 1, 2024
A deep dive into the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence. The book's early chapters cover AI's history--going back to ideas from ancient China, Egypt, and Greece--providing readers with a thorough foundation that summarizes various technological developments, each more advanced than the next. This section is best suited to research papers, as the language tends toward the dense and dry. That said, readers will appreciate the text's impressive clarity in technical explanations and the author's obvious respect for young readers' intelligence. The writing becomes remarkably more engaging once the book progresses to modern applications--the good (some medical uses), the bad (surveillance of daily life, deception by bots), and the problems AI can learn to solve. Brockenbrough is particularly good at finding ways to tie its applications to students' lives through relatable examples. At the same time, she covers the broader international context (for example, she compares the AI race between China and the U.S. to the Cold War space race). The book documents both the diversity of the humans behind the creation of AI and the racial bias that can be baked into the technology through the flawed data it's trained on. A careful neutrality, an emphasis on the pros and cons of AI itself, clear ethical judgments regarding certain uses (e.g., privacy violations and manipulation of opinions and emotions), factual accuracy, and rigorous documentation all support authorial credibility and make this an important read. A valuable resource for classrooms, libraries, and forward-looking teens. (bibliography, endnotes, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

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March 1, 2024
Grades 7-12 With comprehensive research and source noting, Brockenbrough (Unpresidented, 2018) charts the history of artificial intelligence before diving into the contemporary picture of the technology and a deep analysis of the benefits and challenges it presents, particularly AI's role in the future lives and professional careers of today's teens. While the overview of the history is a touch dry, the subsequent sections are much more livelier, highlighting potential uses (self-driving cars, medical diagnostics, legal research) as well as pitfalls (algorithms perpetuating systemic racism; significant job loss). Perhaps her most compelling points are about the growing intrusion of AI-assisted surveillance and its role in global politics, framing the contest to improve AI between China and the U.S. as a new kind of space race, made more complicated by China's authoritarian government. Closing with a persuasive argument that ""the impact of AI on humanity will largely depend on the wisdom, humility, and ethics of the people developing it,"" Brockenbrough invites teen readers to think critically about AI and its promise and heed the ways it's already a part of our everyday lives.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-"The future is not what you think it is," writes Brockenbrough, and, after reading this book, readers will understand that the future truly is not what we have been led to believe regarding artificial intelligence. The author's evenhanded approach sharply contrasts oft-quoted doomsayers or those who welcome AI as a benevolent overseer. The book begins with a historical look at computer science but refocused on computing's lack of intelligence. It demystifies AI by exploring the many ways we have been using it in our daily lives and explains the first tests of intelligence through the use of games. Human versus computer matches of Go and chess are described in breathtaking detail. Part 2 examines intelligence, both human and artificial, and how the two differ. Readers learn about neural networks, algorithms, and the researchers who are trying to train computers to think and learn similarly to humans. Part 3 explores how AI is currently used in education, healthcare, finance, and many other industries, as well as its limitations. Part 4 brings readers into the possible future uses of AI including propaganda and warfare, and more advanced uses in healthcare and economics. The book ends with the best safeguard against dangerous AI-humans. Using Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and newer principles for AI creators, Brockenbrough establishes a pathway for harnessing the power of artificial intelligence without destroying ourselves in the process. VERDICT A fascinating and grounded look at technology and the need for human intelligence even as artificial intelligence grows smarter.-Cathy DeCampli

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