Slaves of the MachineSlaves of the Machine
In Moths to the Flame, Gregory J. E. Rawlins took lay readers on a tour of theexciting and sometimes scary world to which compters are leading us. This new book is for those whoare new to computers and want to know what is "under the hood." It shows what computers can do forus and to us. It tells the story of how we became slaves to our machines and how our machines mayone day become slaves to us. Written in an accessible, anecdotal form, Slaves of the Machinepresents the birth of the computer, charts its evolution, and envisions its development over thenext fifty years.Each of the six chapters asks a simple question: What are computers? How do webuild them? How do we talk to them? How do we program them? What can't they do? Could they think?After answering its question, each chapter views its topic in terms of the state of the art as of1997 and into the near future. Rawlins successfully demystifies the computer --the first step awayfrom slavery to it.
An accessible, anecdotal survey of the influence and mechanics of computers traces the birth of the computer, explains its workings and programming, charts its evolution, and predicts its future, including the possibilities of artificial intelligence. UP.
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- Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c1998.
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