Machine World

In the fourth book of the series, James McGill is up for promotion. Not everyone is happy about that, and McGill must prove he's worth his stripes. Deployed to a strange alien planet outside the boundaries of the Galactic Empire, he's caught up in warfare and political intrigue. Earth expands, the Cephalopod Kingdom launches ships to stop us, and a grand conspiracy emerges among the upper ranks of the Hegemony military.

Passengers get bumped from flights. Phone menus disconnect. Automated financial trades produce market collapse. Of all the challenges in modern life, some of the most vexing come from our relationships with automation: a large system does us wrong, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The problem, economist Dan Davies shows, is accountability sinks: systems in which decisions are delegated to a complex rule book or set of standard procedures, making it impossible to identify the source of mistakes when they happen.

In this “spectacularly smart space opera” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) set in the same universe as the critically acclaimed White Space series and perfect for fans of Karen Traviss and Ada Hoffman, a space station begins to unravel when a routine search-and-rescue mission returns...

Are you intrigued by the world of AI and data engineering? Do you find yourself captivated by the potential of these technologies to transform businesses and industries? If so, Data Engineering and AI for Beginners is the introductory guide you've been searching for. In today’s fast evolving digital landscape where data is lifeblood, those who harness its flow hold the keys to game-changing insights. This book addresses the very challenges and questions that have been on your mind: What is Data Engineering? How Does AI Fit into the Picture? Is This for Me, a Beginner? What Tools and ...

The breathtaking vision and incomparable storytelling of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, a prequel to Frank Herbert's classic Dune, propelled it to the ranks of speculative fiction's classics in its own right. Now, with all the color, scope, and fascination of the...

"The Machine Stops" is a short science fiction story. It describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a "cell", with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own.

Chatbots such as the infamous ChatGPT, robotic warehouses, computerized call centres and patient diagnosis. These are just a few of the areas where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are being used to boost revenues, cut costs, save lives and improve customer experiences. As a result, organizations that understand these tools and know how to use them are benefiting at the expense of their rivals. This book cuts through the hype and technical jargon that one often finds when talking about AI and Machine Learning. It delivers a short, concise and non-technical guide for ...

Hugh Howey is known for crafting riveting and immersive tales of boundless imagination. Now comes Machine Learning, an impressive collection of Howey's science fiction and fantasy short fiction, including three stories set in the world of Wool, two never-before-published tales written exclusively for this volume, and 15 additional stories collected here for the first time. These stories explore everything from artificial intelligence to parallel universes to video games, and each story is accompanied by an author's note.

If you're looking to make a career move from programmer to AI specialist, this is the ideal place to start. Based on Laurence Moroney's extremely successful AI courses, this introductory book provides a hands-on, code-first approach to help you build confidence while you learn key topics.

Today, a vast majority of us live under the economic system called capitalism―it touches almost every aspect of our lives, and most people alive have never known another. Yet, a cursory look at the world around us reveals that things can't stay this way forever: an economy built on infinite...

From the king of modern space opera comes a new adventure in the Prefect Dreyfus series—Machine Vendetta is a thrilling tale of deadly conspiracies and old enemies that refuse to die. Panoply is a small, efficient police force, dedicated to maintaining the rule of democracy among the ten...

In this audiobook, you'll get a clear overview of artificial intelligence technology, the common misconceptions surrounding it, and a fascinating look at its applications in everything from self-driving cars and drones to its contributions in the medical field. 

Colonel Sthykar Karwyk never imagined that he would be ordered to take his Mountain Division deep behind enemy lines for a secret rescue operation. Narducat Imperial Fleet has invaded Karaln Nation – whose scientists alone had mastered the deep mysteries of Atom – and now The Empire commands the sole Atomic arsenal in the world. But there are rumors of a secret base of Karaln scientists, hidden inside the territory occupied by the fearsome Imperial Special Army. Colonel Sthykar and Starfire Kingdom’s Mountain Troopers must find and rescue the atomic scientists even as they battle an ...

The classic, nationally bestselling book that first articulated the principles of lean production, with a new foreword and afterword by the authors. When The Machine That Changed the World was first published in 1990, Toyota was half the size of General Motors. Twenty years later Toyota passed...

This may be the first true AI-era self-help book —not because we need help using technology, but because we need help using it well. It's about building the knowledge —and the confidence —to question, to evaluate, to choose. Because understanding how algorithms work is the first step in making sure they work for us. Human Agency in a Digital World is a book about reclaiming our role —not as passengers, but as pilots —in the fast-moving journey of technological change.

What happens to work, knowledge, and authority when machines no longer assist only at the margins, but enter the very core of thinking, writing, judging, classifying, and deciding? Humans After AI: Work, Knowledge, and Authority in a Machine-Driven World examines one of the defining shifts of the present era. Artificial intelligence is no longer a niche technical matter reserved for engineers, data scientists, or software firms. It now shapes offices, classrooms, professional services, public administration, research, management, and everyday communication. The central issue is no longer ...

Read by George Newbern "George Newbern provides a convincing, conversational narration of this audiobook about robot intelligence. There's a lot to digest. Much of it deals with speculation as to who will be right: those who believe in AI (artificial intelligence machines that may eventually...

When we avoid taking a decision, what happens to it? In The Unaccountability Machine, Dan Davies examines why markets, institutions and even governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims not to want. He casts new light on the writing of Stafford Beer, a legendary economist who argued in the 1950s that we should regard organisations as artificial intelligences, capable of taking decisions that are distinct from the intentions of their members.

Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Britain has lost the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power, and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda's assistance, he co-designs Adam's personality.

The electrical grid is the most complex machine humanity has ever built—a continent-spanning network that must balance supply and demand in real time, every second, at exactly 60 hertz. We inhabit a 21st-century digital civilization powered by a 19th-century thermal machine jury-rigged to stay alive. In 'The Grid', systems expert Thomas Keel pulls back the curtain on the terrifying physics of our daily existence. From the nine seconds that plunged 55 million people into the 2003 Northeast blackout to the thermodynamic collapse of the 2021 Texas freeze, Keel explains the 'engineering veto'...