Reviewed by Diana Coyle
In “Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI” by Faisal Hoque the author takes us on an educational journey of teaching us about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and just how integrated it is in our lives already. Without putting much thought to it, everyone carries a cell phone with them. Within that phone, some use facial recognition technology to unlock it. In our messaging apps, you have the autocomplete tool when you are typing a message. AI enhances our daily routines by providing us advanced technology to allow us to do things faster or even more efficiently than before. Purchase Here
Hoque explains that in order to understand what truly matters with AI, we must all first understand what our priority level is in using AI technology numerous times throughout our daily routines. For some, it might have significant importance, especially when running a business. To others, it might just be a technology that’s nice to use, but they aren’t dependent on it.
Some people are worried about AI technology feeling that we may be giving up our freedom to do things ourselves, instead of relying on technology to do things faster and even more efficiently than we ourselves are doing. In truth, AI is really what you make of it. It all depends on your need and how much you want to rely upon AI to get through your daily routine.
I definitely was amazed at just how much the author opened my eyes in regard to just how much AI is already present in our world without us even realizing the extent of dependency in each of our lives. Besides our phones making things easier for us, think about the music we listen to, or the people we interact with online. All the social media platforms are using AI and in each one of us interacting on social media with people and companies, we too have AI entwined in our lives without us putting much thought to it.
One thing I would like to mention that I hadn’t put much thought to before reading “Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI” was just how much the medical industry has incorporated AI in their field. It’s used to provide invaluable diagnostics regarding a patient’s health. It’s used to develop prosthetics and even to assist in daily operations. Although we already knew hospitals and doctors were doing these things, I personally never stopped to think about it being so encompassed around AI. This intelligence is saving human lives daily and if we chose not to use it, think of how behind we would be in technology. People are fearful that AI is giving up too much of the personal touches, but when you think about how it has made such a positive impact on the medical field, one has to stop and wonder if they should re-evaluate their perspective on AI as a whole.
Although there are many AI books saturating the market, this is one in which will make you think about how you are presently using AI in your life. It will have you re-assessing if you are as safe as you think you are by having AI as such an integral part of your daily life. After reading this book, you’ll be able to see the pros and cons of having this technology in your life, and it will give you the knowledge needed to make educated decisions if you should be as dependent as you are on AI. Knowledge is power and “Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI” by Faisal Hoque gives every reader plenty of information on the different forms of AI that surround us. It is for each reader to make their own decisions how far they should allow AI to be a part of their individual lives. Well done!