Race After Technology

Race After Technology PDF Author: Ruha Benjamin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509526439
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity. Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life. This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture. Visit the book's free Discussion Guide: www.dropbox.com

Race After Technology

Race After Technology PDF Author: Ruha Benjamin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509526439
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Get Book Here

Book Description
From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity. Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life. This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture. Visit the book's free Discussion Guide: www.dropbox.com

Sophie's World

Sophie's World PDF Author: Jostein Gaarder
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1466804270
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 599

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Book Description
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Eradication

Eradication PDF Author: Nancy Leys Stepan
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 186189967X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
The dream of a world completely free of disease may seem utopian, but eradication—used in its modern sense to mean the reduction of the number of cases of a disease to zero by deliberate public health interventions—has been pursued repeatedly. Campaigns against yellow fever, malaria, and smallpox have been among the largest, most costly programs ever undertaken in international public health. But only one so far has been successful—that against smallpox. And yet in 2007 Bill and Melinda Gates surprised the world with the announcement that they were committing their foundation to eradicating malaria. Polio eradication is another of their priorities. Are such costly programs really justifiable? The first comprehensive account of the major disease-eradication campaigns from the early twentieth century right up to the present, Eradication places these ambitious goals in their broad historical and contemporary contexts. From the life and times of the American arch-eradicationist Dr. Fred Lowe Soper (1893-1977), who was at the center of many of the campaigns and controversies surrounding eradication in his lifetime, to debates between proponents of primary health care approaches to ill health versus the eradicationists, Nancy Leys Stepan’s narrative suggests that today these differing public health approaches may be complementary rather than in conflict. Enlightening for general readers and specialists alike, Eradication is an illuminating look at some of the most urgent problems of health and disease around the world.

Our Final Invention

Our Final Invention PDF Author: James Barrat
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250032261
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Elon Musk named Our Final Invention one of five books everyone should read about the future—a Huffington Post Definitive Tech Book of 2013. Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the “smart” in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence. In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail—human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine. Through profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs, and groundbreaking AI systems, Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to? “If you read just one book that makes you confront scary high-tech realities that we’ll soon have no choice but to address, make it this one.” —The Washington Post “Science fiction has long explored the implications of humanlike machines (think of Asimov’s I, Robot), but Barrat’s thoughtful treatment adds a dose of reality.” —Science News “A dark new book . . . lays out a strong case for why we should be at least a little worried.” —The New Yorker

Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun PDF Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0593318188
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick! Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

The True Meaning of Smekday

The True Meaning of Smekday PDF Author: Adam Rex
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1484731689
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
The hilarious, genre-bending novel from bestselling author Adam rex that inspired the blockbuster feature film Home -- fully illustrated with "photos," drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences. When twelve-year-old Gratuity ("Tip") Tucci is assigned to write five pages on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for the National Time Capsule contest, she's not sure where to begin; when her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge bizarre spaceships descended on Earth and the aliens -- called Boov -- abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it "Smekland" (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod? In any case, Gratuity's story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo; a futile journey south to find Gratuity's mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.

The Last Kids on Earth and the Doomsday Race

The Last Kids on Earth and the Doomsday Race PDF Author: Max Brallier
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1984835386
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
A Netflix Original series! The highly-anticipated seventh book in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series, with over 7 million copies in print! "Terrifyingly fun! Delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.”—Jeff Kinney, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Diary of a Wimpy Kid With his zombie-controlling powers growing stronger, Jack Sullivan and his buddies are road-tripping toward the mysterious Tower, where they must once and for all stop Rezzoch the Ancient, Destructor of Worlds, from descending upon our dimension. But their journey is sidetracked when they are swept up by the Mallusk, an enormous centipede monster carrying the world's largest shopping mall on its back. On board, the kids discover a thriving monster society: Mallusk City! There, they encounter old allies—as well as old foes, who are ruling over Mallusk City with an iron fist. Beating these bad guys in battle is not an option, but beating them in an election is… so Jack runs for mayor of Mallusk City! At first, proving his leadership skills just means shaking monster hands, kissing monster babies, and promising to fill the water fountains with strawberry Nesquik. But when the Mallusk falls under attack, Jack must learn how to be a true leader—before it’s too late. Told in a mixture of text and black-and-white illustration, this is the perfect series for any kid who's ever dreamed of starring in their own comic book or video game.

Strange Dogs

Strange Dogs PDF Author: James S. A. Corey
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316217573
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Book Description
A novella set in the hard-scrabble world of James S. A. Corey's NYT-bestselling Expanse series, Strange Dogs follows a family of colonists on Laconia where a new generation of humanity struggles with the profound changes that come with making a home on an alien world. Now a Prime Original series. This story will be available in the complete Expanse story collection, Memory’s Legion. HUGO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SERIES Like many before them, Cara and her family ventured through the gates as scientists and researchers, driven to carve out a new life and uncover the endless possibilities of the unexplored alien worlds now within reach. But soon the soldiers followed and under this new order Cara makes a discovery that will change everything. The Expanse Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath ​Leviathan Falls Memory's Legion The Expanse Short Fiction Drive The Butcher of Anderson Station Gods of Risk The Churn The Vital Abyss Strange Dogs Auberon The Sins of Our Fathers

Windswept

Windswept PDF Author: Adam Rakunas
Publisher: Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.
ISBN: 1625676085
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
A finalist for the 2016 Philip K. Dick Award, Windswept is the gonzo noir you didn't know you needed until now. Newly reissued, this Author’s Preferred Edition features essays, stories, and, for the first time, a mouth-watering recipe for chicken tacos. Two-fisted labor organizer Padma Mehta is on the edge of space and the edge of burnout. All she wants is to retire, buy a rum distillery, and spend the rest of her life on the beach. To do that, she has to recruit five hundred people to the Union, and she’s thirty-three short. When a small-time scam artist tells her about forty people ready to tumble down the space elevator to break free from her old bosses, Padma checks it out. Now Padma’s up to her eyeballs in trouble as everyone around her starts turning up dead. Can she fight her way through the city’s warehouses, sewage plants, and up the elevator itself to save her job, her planet, and her sanity? And can she do it all before Happy Hour? Praise for Windswept: “This twisty David-and-Goliath tale is clever, fast-paced, and frequently funny, taking plenty of well-deserved potshots at corporate greed.” – Publishers Weekly “Adam Rakunas is one funny SOB, and now everyone’s going to know it. Windswept is a zippy, zany ride, with more fast turns than a Wild Mouse rollercoaster. There’s more witty banter and laughs per page than anything I’ve read in years, making this, my friends, the rarest kind of science-fiction-comedy novel: one that’s actually funny. Buckle the hell up.” – Daryl Gregory, award-winning author of We Are All Completely Fine “Windswept is a classic noir story shot full of space-rum and rocketed into the future.” – The Seattle Review of Books “Part action-adventure, part space opera, part farce... Recommended for Star Trek fans who loved stories like ‘The Bell Riots’.” – Dark Matter Zine “This mélange of fast-paced action, character study, social study and witty dialogue makes up a thoroughly enjoyable narrative treat.” – Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews “I loved the worldbuilding of Windswept... Seriously, this book is just plain funny. Even so, it manages to present an interesting perspective on politics, consumerism, and unionizations.” – Bookaneer

Life 3.0

Life 3.0 PDF Author: Max Tegmark
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1101946601
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
New York Times Best Seller How will Artificial Intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology—and there’s nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who’s helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial. How can we grow our prosperity through automation without leaving people lacking income or purpose? What career advice should we give today’s kids? How can we make future AI systems more robust, so that they do what we want without crashing, malfunctioning or getting hacked? Should we fear an arms race in lethal autonomous weapons? Will machines eventually outsmart us at all tasks, replacing humans on the job market and perhaps altogether? Will AI help life flourish like never before or give us more power than we can handle? What sort of future do you want? This book empowers you to join what may be the most important conversation of our time. It doesn’t shy away from the full range of viewpoints or from the most controversial issues—from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos.