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The Most Human Human
Apr. 17th, 2012 12:36 pmTitle: The Most Human Human
Author: Brian Christian
Genre: Non-fiction (Science and Philosophy)
Summary: Every year, the Loebner Prize tests Turing machines to see if any computer programs have yet reached the point of indistinguishability from real humans. To compare, of course, the judges evaluate a computer head-to-head with a human. The computer that gets the most votes is the Most Human Computer, and winner of the Loebner Prize. But there's a prize for the human interlocutors, too: The Most Human Human. Brian Christian signs up for the contest and launches on an interrogation of what the title "Most Human Human" even means.
Review: ( This is a fine book. Which is a huge disappointment... )
So there are interesting things in this book. But--honestly--the interesting things have already been mined. I've heard several radio stories based on this book, and a few more brushing the same topics (on This American Life and Radiolab). Those stories were a lot better than this book is. Which shows what a really talented journalist can do with the material. Christian, on the other hand, mostly squanders it.
Author: Brian Christian
Genre: Non-fiction (Science and Philosophy)
Summary: Every year, the Loebner Prize tests Turing machines to see if any computer programs have yet reached the point of indistinguishability from real humans. To compare, of course, the judges evaluate a computer head-to-head with a human. The computer that gets the most votes is the Most Human Computer, and winner of the Loebner Prize. But there's a prize for the human interlocutors, too: The Most Human Human. Brian Christian signs up for the contest and launches on an interrogation of what the title "Most Human Human" even means.
Review: ( This is a fine book. Which is a huge disappointment... )
So there are interesting things in this book. But--honestly--the interesting things have already been mined. I've heard several radio stories based on this book, and a few more brushing the same topics (on This American Life and Radiolab). Those stories were a lot better than this book is. Which shows what a really talented journalist can do with the material. Christian, on the other hand, mostly squanders it.