“AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future” by Kai-Fu Lee, Chen Qiufan

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Rating: 4/5 Stars

An interesting collection of stories and essays about the potential of AI systems in 2041. Each story is about an aspect of AI that is now in development or being deployed (for better or worse) in the world and how it impacts the people in the story. An essay follows each story, explaining how the AI systems in the story work at present and the potential of it to affect how we will live in the near future.

• The Golden Elephant: in India, a girl is interested in her classmate. But her family’s AI insurance company’s app continually makes recommendations to keep her away from him, showing the limitations of a deep learning system that optimizes insurance policies by keeping people away from undesirable actions.
• Gods Behind the Masks: in Nigeria, a young man, whose fake video catches the interest of a group who want to discredit a masked political group with another fake video. The solution he uses would involve a ‘deep fake’ that would provoke a political scandal. But he has second thoughts about the job and needs to find a way out.
• Twin Sparrows: an interesting look at a future where custom AIs help to educate children and to direct their growth. The story concerns a pair of twins, each adopted by two families. Each twin has different personalities (one outgoing and competitive, the other withdrawn but artistic). But despite their different lives, they would be drawn back together in their time of need.
• Contactless Love: in this future, new variations of COVID-19 continue to appear. One woman isolates herself in her home to keep safe, and finds companionship online. But when her virtual partner tries to surprise her by turning up, but ends up falling ill, she has to fight her instincts to keep safe to be by his side before it is too late.
• My Haunting Idol: a detective story set in a virtual world where a dead singing idol appears as a ghost to a fan who wants to solve the murder mystery.
• The Holy Driver: in Sri Lanka, a boy who is good at VR racing is given the chance to drive a VR car that feels almost real. Later, he will discover the purpose of the reality simulation and, in a crisis, having to take life or death decisions.
• Quantum Genocide: a techno-thriller involving the stealing of Bitcoins that is the trigger for a series of global terrorist events started by one person who wants to get his revenge of humanity. It would take the efforts of an intelligence officer and a hacker to try to stop him.
• The Job Savior: in a future where most work has been taken over by AI, a company is tasked with find new avenues of employment for those whose jobs have now gone. But what happens when the company’s own business is threaten by AI?
• Isle of Happiness: a Russian tycoon who got rich on gaming and other activities finds happiness hard to achieve. So he jumps at the chance of an isle in the Middle East which claims to use AI to offer happiness. But appearance can be deceiving and happiness can be hard to find.
• Dreaming of Plenitude: in a future without scarcity, a young helper attempts to get along with an elderly patient to get a reputational boost. But it is only after the patient goes missing with her 3D VR goggles and sees the world in a new light do they discover their common interest in helping the people community to work together.

Book read from 2021/11/17 to 2021/11/28