Positive review from nytimes.
The book proposes humans are innately wired up to learn. AI/ robots / AI agents etc. are only as good as their programmes. When both machines and humans work together, they are better than all human or all AI efforts. Therefore, it is important to leverage off the potentialities of AI etc. rather than fearing the coming onslaught.
Additionally, the way we perceive the world and ‘knowledge’
has changed with the widespread availability of information and the ubiquity of
‘smart devices’. Instead of being passive consumers, large numbers now create
and share their efforts. People who would not have written / shared experiences
beyond their friends and families 30 years ago, now upload opinion pieces,
instructions, reflections etc.
The book has 10 chapters and is written in an accessible
prose. Notes (30+pages) and index round off the book.
By way of introduction, chapter 1 ‘the rise of the centaur’
sets the scene. The chapter uses the well-known late 90’s batter between chess
master Gary Kasporov and the IBM Deep Blue to introduce the concept that both
humans and computers have their own strengths and weaknesses. In 2005,
‘free-style’ chess tournaments saw two relatively lower ranked chess players,
who were able to ‘collaborate’ with a chess computer, win the tournament
against teams made up of grandmaster chess players or chess computers only. The
ability to integrate machine assistance into the decision making process of
chess, is argued to be the defining factor. This chapter also presents how the
author has shifted positions, from being pessimistic about the future digital
future, to being optimistic about how humankind has been able to leverage off
the many opportunities afforded.
The second chapter, ‘we the memorious’ overviews the ways
people remember and discusses the pros and cons of recording ‘life blogs’ or ‘video
blogs’ of daily happenings. Technology allows us to have ‘infinite memory’ but
too much is perhaps not always good.
Chapter 3 is on the theme ‘public thinking’ summarises the
rise of ‘citizenship journalism’. How some ‘accidental bloggers’ became conduits
for information when dictatorial regimes imposed news blackouts and the ways
this form of communication has changed our lives forever. For large segments of
society who never really did much reading or writing, the advent of blogging
has shifted many into becoming much more literate to cope with a mostly text
based internet. There is evidence first year students write longer pieces and
more complex pieces when compared to two decades ago.
Of interest to educators, the chapter on ‘new literacies’
overviews the shift from the focus of literacy on reading and writing to
encompassing multiliteracies. These include all the usual needs to become
digitally fluent but also the visual literacies and ‘3D literacies’ which new
tools and platforms bring.
Next chapter extends to the previous with discussion around
‘the art of finding’. Opens with a discussion on how being able to google,
helps us surmount the ‘tip of the tongue’ syndrome but also may cause some to
lose confidence when the internet goes down or their smart phone is unable to
connect with the internet. Discusses how access to anytime/ anywhere
information changes the way we prioritise what we learn and how dependence may
affect our creativity. Too much information is a distraction but selected
digital memories can amplify our access to brain functions.
Following is a chapter on ‘the puzzle hungry world’ which
tracks the rise of digital games and the shift in how games are used by people.
In particular, how games which require collaboration and harness collective
thinking changes the way people play, work and learn.
The next chapter is also useful for educators as it
discusses the potentialities digital technologies bring to the ‘Digital school’.
Khan academy is used as an example of how primary school children learn advanced
mathematics when they are allowed to become self-directed and learn for their
own fulfilment. Uses example from NZ school on how blogging improved reading
and writing for students as their work was being read by others beyond their
own community. Also discusses the pro and cons of teaching children to code.
The chapter on ‘Ambient awareness’ adds another technology
assisted capability / potentiality. The digital trail collected across our
lives lead to data patterns, allowing analysis to reveal our routine life flow.
Included are the networks we are part off and our perspectives on life.
Collection of ‘self-talk’ and broadcasting these, help understand the
perspectives across a team. The pros and cons of ambient awareness are
discussed.
‘The connected society’ is the penultimate chapter and
brings together the ideas from the previous chapters. Uses citizen instigated
protests against the state in China / Egypt / Azerbaijian as examples of how
technology, tapped through the expertise of a few becoming mainstream practice,
is able to create social / political change.
Overall, the book can be seen to be counter to other books on a similar vein. For example - The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains. My thoughts are than humans have survived due to their adaptability. Adaptations can go either way and most people will experience, learn and adjust. Not to the polar opposites of technology will make us all become subservient or we become part cyborg, but a sort of middle ground whereby some will have to work through 'addiction' to the less advantageous aspects of technology and other will overly embrace the perceived advantage. Education has to play a role in assisting people to understand the pros and cons, attain the literacies to make use of the aspects of technology which will enhance their lives, and continue to be vigilant as to how AI develops (i.e. the ethics of AI).
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