Talk to Me

Product Description

The next great technological disruption is coming. Each year, the titans of Silicon Valley spend millions competing to build the same device- the world?s first conversationally capable computer. Whichever company gets there soonest will turn our smartphones into our teachers, friends and lovers - and make billions of dollars in the process. Veteran technology journalist James Vlahos has gained astonishing access to the research teams at Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple who are leading the way. In Talk to Me, he reveals the secrets of the remarkable individuals fighting in the battle for conversational computing- from the little-known software programmers trying to chat with their laptops, right up to the CEOs of the world?s leading tech companies. In the process, he reveals why hand-held artificial intelligence will revolutionise our work and social lives, exploring how conversational computers will spark the most dazzling - and unsettling - changes of our lifetime. Above all, Vlahos explores a single fascinating and troubling question- what happens when our computers become more articulate, more charming and more creative than we are?The next great technological disruption is coming. Each year, the titans of Silicon Valley spend millions competing to build the same device- the world?s first conversationally capable computer. Whichever company gets there soonest will turn our smartphones into our teachers, friends and lovers - and make billions of dollars in the process. Veteran technology journalist James Vlahos has gained astonishing access to the research teams at Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple who are leading the way. In Talk to Me, he reveals the secrets of the remarkable individuals fighting in the battle for conversational computing- from the little-known software programmers trying to chat with their laptops, right up to the CEOs of the world?s leading tech companies. In the process, he reveals why hand-held artificial intelligence will revolutionise our work and social lives, exploring how conversational computers will spark the most dazzling - and unsettling - changes of our lifetime. Above all, Vlahos explores a single fascinating and troubling question- what happens when our computers become more articulate, more charming and more creative than we are?
James Vlahos has written about the future of technology for publications including the New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, The Atlantic, GQ, and National Geographic. He lives in Berkeley, California.