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The Most Human Human: What Talking With Computers Teaches Us About What It Means To Be Alive
Brian Christian, 2011
"Using his participation in the annual Turing test, which pits artificial intelligence programs against humans in a competition to determine if a computer can 'think,' Brian Christian has written an erudite, playful, and profound examination of what it means to be human."
This book knocked my socks off. It made me think, and made a lot of interesting connections. Every few pages there's another provocative nugget. It explores how we define ourselves and what makes us unique (and how that definition has gotten boxed in and had to change over time), touching on conversation, chess, great and mediocre organizations, labor and empowerment, relationships, language, hemispheres of the brain, algorithms, encryption, "hey, I'm up here," and I'll stop turning to random pages and just say many other fascinating topics. It's not the breeziest read, but it's aimed at the layman and I think hits its mark. I'd tell you more, but my attempts thus far to sell it have come up short. I think I need to read it a couple more times before I could hope to effectively share its value. So for now I'll trot out this old chestnut:
If you only read one non-fiction book this year, make it this one.
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