These Strange New Minds - by Christopher Summerfield (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An insider look at the Large Language Models (LLMs) that are revolutionizing our relationship to technology, exploring their surprising history, what they can and should do for us today, and where they will go in the future--from an AI pioneer and neuroscientist. In this accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative examination of the world's most radical technology, neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield explores what it really takes to build a brain from scratch. We have entered a world in which disarmingly human-like chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Bard, appear to be able to talk and reason like us--and are beginning to transform everything we do. But can AI 'think', 'know' and 'understand'? What are its values? Whose biases is it perpetuating? Can it lie and if so, could we tell? Does their arrival threaten our very existence? These Strange New Minds charts the evolution of intelligent talking machines and provides us with the tools to understand how they work and how we can use them. Ultimately, armed with an understanding of AI's mysterious inner workings, we can begin to grapple with the existential question of our age: have we written ourselves out of history or is a technological utopia ahead?"--

Book Synopsis

An insider look at the Large Language Models (LLMs) that are revolutionizing our relationship to technology, exploring their surprising history, what they can and should do for us today, and where they will go in the future--from an AI pioneer and neuroscientist

In this accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative examination of the world's most radical technology, neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield explores what it really takes to build a brain from scratch. We have entered a world in which disarmingly human-like chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Bard, appear to be able to talk and reason like us - and are beginning to transform everything we do. But can AI 'think', 'know' and 'understand'? What are its values? Whose biases is it perpetuating? Can it lie and if so, could we tell? Does their arrival threaten our very existence?

These Strange New Minds charts the evolution of intelligent talking machines and provides us with the tools to understand how they work and how we can use them. Ultimately, armed with an understanding of AI's mysterious inner workings, we can begin to grapple with the existential question of our age: have we written ourselves out of history or is a technological utopia ahead?

Review Quotes

"An erudite history of artificial intelligence research... Weaving colorful anecdotes from history and pop culture into threads of philosophy, linguistics and computer science, [Summerfield] unspools how the latest models work by first explaining what didn't work along the way, and why. It's an approach that both demystifies ChatGPT and clarifies what made it such a breakthrough."--The Washington Post

"A deep dive into the intersection of human intelligence and artificial intelligence.... This book is an eye-opening exploration of a revolution unfolding before our eyes."--The New York Journal of Books

"A compelling and insightful exploration of large language models (LLMs) and their profound world impact. This work is both a great introduction to artificial intelligence and a thought-provoking analysis of its capabilities and limitations.... A key addition to collections, this is more than just another tech book: it's a guide to navigating the era of AI with awareness, and the writing encourages readers to think critically about how humans interact with the technology."--Library Journal

"A clear-minded, accessible examination of how AI systems work."--Kirkus Reviews

"Provocative... Summerfield brings some welcome nuance and clarity to discussions of LLMs. In a crowded field of AI primers, this rises to the top."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An engaging, insightful, and panoramic survey of where we are, why we got here, and what it means. A brilliant guide to the most important technology of our times."--Mustafa Suleyman, coauthor of The Coming Wave

"Witty, brilliant, and deeply thought through - by far the best guide to a newly emerging species with which we will share the planet for the foreseeable future."--Stuart Russell, author of Human Compatible

"As a leading authority in both computational neuroscience and the social impacts of AI, Christopher Summerfield is perfectly situated to explore the meaning and implications of these machines that are so uncannily like--and unlike--ourselves."--Brian Christian, coauthor of Algorithms to Live By

"We are at a unique moment in human history, with powerful general-purpose AI tools available for the first time. But how do these weird tools work? How will they develop? And what does it mean for humanity? Chris Summerfield takes us on a tour of this astonishing new technology, and helps us to understand the issues it raises. You might choose to be alarmed, excited, or indifferent to LLMs, but you should read Chris's book before you decide."--Michael Wooldridge, author of A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

"With clarity, insight, and wit, Christopher Summerfield dives beneath the ever-breaking wave of large language models to reveal the deeper principles at play, and the challenges and opportunities these powerful new technologies present. An essential and highly readable guide to thinking about how, and whether, computers can think, what's coming next, and what we should do about it."--Anil Seth, author of Being You

About the Author

Christopher Summerfield has one foot in the field of Cognitive Neuroscience - studying the brains of humans, as Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford - and the other in AI research, helping build intelligent systems as a Staff Research Scientist at the pioneering Google DeepMind. He has won several awards, including the prestigious Cognitive Neuroscience Society Young Investigator Award in 2015. He is regularly invited to give keynote talks across the world. Christopher has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters and his academic book, Natural General Intelligence: How Understanding the Brain Can Help Us Build AI, was widely acclaimed. This is his first book for a general readership.