Stories about artificial intelligence have been all over the news. On one hand it sounds amazing. AI is already being used in medicine to help with diagnosing patients, transcribing medical documents, and assisting with drug development. I read an article just this week about the CES conference taking place in Las Vegas (CES used to stand for Consumer Electronics Show, which is a trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association). It’s no surprise artificial intelligence is a huge player at the 2024 conference, including AI technology in cars, and an AI-powered robot that will play with and feed your dog.
On the other hand...it sounds terrible. AI takes over the world, and humans are either enslaved or eradicated. Hey, I’ve seen The Terminator and The Matrix, and things are definitely not happy for living organisms (by the way, the library has both of these movies in the collection— just in case you’re in the mood for an apocalyptic joyride). As they say, time will tell what the final outcome will be regarding the evolution of artificial intelligence. For right now, though, it might be prudent to read about AI from a variety of viewpoints.
Going back to the robot who plays the dual role of caretaker and best friend to Spot: please note it doesn’t say anything about cats. A cat would never put up with a robot; in fact, it is highly likely that a cat would attack the robot, leaving rows of claw marks on the damaged machine. A little-known truth is that cats will take over the world. It’s already happened in my house.
- A Human Algorithm: How Artificial Intelligence is Redefining Who We Are by Flynn Coleman.
- Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again by Eric J. Topol.
- Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists Are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe by George Musser.
- The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li.
- You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It’s Making the World a Weirder Place by Janelle Shane.
New at the Library
Fiction
- A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert.
- How to Be Remembered by Michael Thompson
- What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato.
Nonfiction
- Leather Art: Molding, Shaping, and Color Techniques to Take Your Work Beyond the Ordinary by Cathy Wiggins.
- The Lost Subways of North America: A Cartographic Guide to the Past, Present, and What Might Have Been by Jake Berman.
- Pathfinders: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You on the Quest for Financial Independence—and How to Join Them by J. L. Collins.
Children
- Cut Loose! by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz.
- Don’t Trust Cats: Life Lessons from Chip the Dog written by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt.
- How to Talk So People Will Listen: (and Sound Confident When You’re Not!) by Lizzie Waterworth.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org
