An impassioned plea for writing as a human practice and a social necessity in the age of AI.
Minds over machines.
Warner argues that artificial intelligence, including chatbots such as ChatGPT, should never replace human writing as a personal practice and a living art. In lively prose and with many engaging personal anecdotes, he deftly explains how ChatGPT mines data for examples to imitate. He calls attention to authors and artists who have sued generative AI companies, accusing them of “hoovering up” copyrighted text and images. The real point of Warner’s polemic, however, is a view of writing as difficult, worthy of struggle, and central to shaping an individual’s sense of self. AI systems that purport to write for us, he claims, offer only simulacra of writing. Stringing together words and phrases, he notes, is not writing. Writing is creative, much like mathematics. Pocket calculators made computation easier for students. Real mathematics—the study of complex ideas represented in numbers, with equations of beauty and power—is done by humans. We may no longer need to memorize log tables, just as we may no longer need to learn how to write a five-paragraph essay (the demise of which Warner has chronicled elsewhere). What we need to do, instead, is read books closely and emotionally. Warner avers, after surveying a range of AI-constructed texts: “I’d satisfied myself that in terms of writing, real writing that comes from a fully embodied process of thinking and feeling, powered by an intention to communicate human-to-human, GPT had nothing to offer.” Some may be content with a B-minus paper, just as some may be content, he says, with a mediocre dish from a home-delivery meal service. Warner’s resistance to AI could be akin to trying to hold back the tide with a broom. But anyone who loves to read and write, who teaches excellence and personal achievement, and who remains convinced that people are unique will find this book a welcome arrow in their humanist quiver.
An impassioned plea for writing as a human practice and a social necessity in the age of AI.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781541605503
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
The sub-title of this book is "Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools." But one finds in it little about education, and less about the teaching of English. Nor is this volume a defense of the Christian faith similar to other books from the pen of C. S. Lewis. The three lectures comprising the book are rather rambling talks about life and literature and philosophy. Those who have come to expect from Lewis penetrating satire and a subtle sense of humor, used to buttress a real Christian faith, will be disappointed.
Pub Date: April 8, 1947
ISBN: 1609421477
Page Count: -
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1947
This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.
A former NFL player casts his gimlet eye on American race relations.
In his first book, Acho, an analyst for Fox Sports who grew up in Dallas as the son of Nigerian immigrants, addresses White readers who have sent him questions about Black history and culture. “My childhood,” he writes, “was one big study abroad in white culture—followed by studying abroad in black culture during college and then during my years in the NFL, which I spent on teams with 80-90 percent black players, each of whom had his own experience of being a person of color in America. Now, I’m fluent in both cultures: black and white.” While the author avoids condescending to readers who already acknowledge their White privilege or understand why it’s unacceptable to use the N-word, he’s also attuned to the sensitive nature of the topic. As such, he has created “a place where questions you may have been afraid to ask get answered.” Acho has a deft touch and a historian’s knack for marshaling facts. He packs a lot into his concise narrative, from an incisive historical breakdown of American racial unrest and violence to the ways of cultural appropriation: Your friend respecting and appreciating Black arts and culture? OK. Kim Kardashian showing off her braids and attributing her sense of style to Bo Derek? Not so much. Within larger chapters, the text, which originated with the author’s online video series with the same title, is neatly organized under helpful headings: “Let’s rewind,” “Let’s get uncomfortable,” “Talk it, walk it.” Acho can be funny, but that’s not his goal—nor is he pedaling gotcha zingers or pleas for headlines. The author delivers exactly what he promises in the title, tackling difficult topics with the depth of an engaged cultural thinker and the style of an experienced wordsmith. Throughout, Acho is a friendly guide, seeking to sow understanding even if it means risking just a little discord.
This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-80046-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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