Showing titles in History & Culture

We’re running out of time. Fossil fuels are choking the planet and renewable energy isn’t cutting it. The solution has been hiding in plain sight all along. Nuclear. When most people hear that word, they go to a very bad place: bombs, Chernobyl, hazmat suits, radioactive fallout… the stuff...

Rigorously empirical and rich in historical insight, The Sentinel State is a singular contribution to our knowledge about Chinese state coercion and, more generally, the survival strategies of authoritarian regimes.

For decades, IBM shaped the way the world did business. IBM products were in every large organization, and IBM corporate culture established a management style that was imitated by companies around the globe. It was “Big Blue”—an icon. And yet over the years, IBM has gone through both failure and success. The company almost went out of business in the early 1990s, then came back strong with new business strategies and an emphasis on artificial intelligence. In this authoritative history, James Cortada tells the story of one of the most influential American companies of the last century.

Transform your financial future with "How to Make Money Online with Microsoft Copilot AI." This ultimate guide harnesses the power of Microsoft's AI tools to help you generate passive income and thrive in the online business world.

In Human Hacked by Len Noe, a pioneering cyborg with ten microchips implanted in his body, you'll find a startlingly insightful take on the fusion of biology and technology. The author provides a groundbreaking discussion of bio-implants, cybersecurity threats, and defenses.

The beloved author of The Revenge of Analog lays out a case for a human future--not the false technological utopia we've been living. For years, consumers have been promised a simple, carefree digital future. We could live, work, learn, and play from the comforts of our homes, and have whatever...

Haptics, or haptic sensing, refers to the ability to identify and perceive objects through touch. This is active touch, involving exploration of an object with the hand rather than the passive sensing of a vibration or force on the skin. The development of new technologies, including prosthetic hands and tactile surfaces for flat screen displays, depends on our knowledge of haptics. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Lynette Jones offers an accessible overview of haptics, or active touch sensing, and its applications.

The word "glitch" implies an incidental error, as easy to patch up as it is to identify. But what if racism, sexism, and ableism aren't just bugs in mostly functional machinery—what if they're coded into the system itself? Meredith Broussard demonstrates in More Than a Glitch how neutrality in tech is a myth and why algorithms need to be held accountable. Broussard, a data scientist and one of the few Black female researchers in artificial intelligence, masterfully synthesizes concepts from computer science and sociology.

In Artificial Unintelligence, Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally - hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners - that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work. Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology.

Packed with never-before-heard stories and timeless wisdom on the art of computer science, the business of technology, and the durable power of relationships, The Bleeding Edge provides a rare history of how and why the internet looks and feels the way it does today.

Alan Turing can be regarded as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. But who was Turing, and what did he achieve during his tragically short life of 41 years? Best known as the genius who broke Germany's most secret codes during the war of 1939-45, Turing was also the father of the modern computer. Today, all who 'click-to-open' are familiar with the impact of Turing's ideas. Here, B. Jack Copeland provides an account of Turing's life and work, exploring the key elements of his life-story in tandem with his leading ideas and contributions.

Benefits of listening to this book: Discover how to use AI ChatGPT to create engaging content, market products, and increase productivity.

La biografía definitiva de Steve Jobs, el fundador de Apple, escrita con su colaboración.Tras más de cuarenta entrevistas con Steve Jobs y con un centenar de personas de su entorno, familiares, amigos, adversarios y colegas, esta es la biografía definitiva de uno de los iconos indiscutibles de nuestro tiempo, del genio cuya creatividad, energía y perfeccionismo revolucionaron seis industrias: informática, películas de animación, música, teléfonos, tabletas y edición digital.

Dive into the fascinating world of how both your brain and AI learn through supervised learning! In this engaging and accessible book, neuroscientist Dr. Tursun Alkam takes you on a journey to explore the incredible learning capabilities of the human brain and the revolutionary world of Artificial Intelligence.

Do you feel like you are wasting too much time on your smartphone? Do you feel like your digital technology use is becoming too habitual? Don’t worry. You’re not alone. If you feel like your gadgets are stealing a lot of your time, focus, and energy, then this book, Digital Minimalism in Everyday Life, may have the solution for you. If you get lost in a maze of gadgets, apps, and digital technology, then the concepts, tools, and tips you will learn from this book, Digital Minimalism in Everyday Life, will help you set things straight.

As both individuals and communities, we have a choice. We can struggle through the onslaught of information and play an eternal game of catch-up. Or we can choose to live in the present: favor eye contact over texting; quality over speed; and human quirks over digital perfection. Rushkoff offers hope for anyone seeking to transcend the false now.

This eye-opening book uncovers the hidden impact of social media on every generation. Split into two clear parts – one for children and teenagers, the other for adults – it gives you the truth, the dangers, and the practical solutions to take back control. Learn how to protect your kids, safeguard your mental health, and build a healthier relationship with the digital world. A powerful, insightful, and accessible guide for anyone who wants to understand and take action in today’s hyperconnected society.

Multi-award-winning scientific futurist Dr. Catherine Ball presents insights into how technology and science are providing answers to many of the challenges the world is facing today—food shortages, war and conflict, the decline in local manufacturing, health and ageing, and global warming—and asks why we are not embracing these technologies more widely. Dr. Catherine opens our eyes to the amazing, wide world of technological advancements and explores the role we all have in learning more, owning the conversations, and determining what we want technology to be.

Take an inside tour with the author to more than 30 world-class facilities to experience the most remarkable innovations and highly sophisticated robotics and automation in action. Have a front-row seat to top-brand, big-budget manufacturing in action, with complex machines communicating with other machines. However, you can also learn from small-to-medium-sized manufacturers. Discover how some simple tried-and-true, old-school low-budget manufacturing processes can be game changers for the industry.

When John Campbell was hired in 1996, Michael Dell’s company was already a hyper-efficient technology upstart. By the time he left Dell in 2017, Michael’s little Texas-based catalog computer company had grown from 5,000 to 138,000 employees and evolved into one of the largest technology providers on the planet!