The Story Behind the Man Who Helped Launch 5 A.I. Companies Worth $25 Billion
On the Eve of the AI era, it is perfect timing to read an AI expert's autobiography, to learn about Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, the author of "AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley & the New World," also available on Amazon. This is the first and only authorized English version of Dr. Lee's autobiography. The original Chinese version of the sold 1.2 million ......
The laser--a milestone invention of the mid-twentieth century--quickly captured the imagination of the Pentagon as the key to the ultimate weapon. Veteran science writer Jeff Hecht tells the inside story of the adventures and misadventures of scientists and military strategists as they exerted Herculean though often futile efforts to adapt the ......
Manufacturing the Newspaper in Twentieth-Century North America
Popular assessments of printed newspapers have become so grim that some have taken to calling them "dead tree media" as a way of invoking the medium's imminent demise. There is a literal truth hidden in this dismissive expression: printed newspapers really are material goods made from trees. And, throughout the twentieth century, ......
The Amazing Stories behind Lidar from 3D Mapping to Self-Driving Cars
Lidar--a technology evolved from radar, but using laser light rather than microwaves--has found an astounding range of applications, none more prominent than its crucial role in enabling self-driving cars. This accessible introduction to a fascinating and increasingly vital technology focuses on the engaging human stories of lidar's innovators as ......
Examines commonplace conflicting beliefs that technology will either annihilate humanity or preserve humanity from annihilation. Argues that the paradoxical capacities of weapons influence how humanity understands violent ......
Despite a 2016-18 glut in fossil fuel markets and decade-low fuel prices, the global transformation to sustainable energy is happening. Our ongoing energy challenges and solutions are complex and multidimensional, involving science, technology, design, economics, finance, planning, policy, politics, and social movements.
Throughout the early twentieth century, railroad safety steadily improved across the United States. But by the 1960s, American railroads had fallen apart, the result of a regulatory straightjacket that eroded profitability and undermined safety. Collisions, derailments, worker fatalities, and grade crossing mishaps skyrocketed, while hazmat ......
The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World
What if you discovered an infinitesimally thin material capable of conducting electricity, able to suspend millions of times its own weight, and yet porous enough to filter the murkiest water? And what if this incredible substance is created from the same element that fills th...
How Critical Events Have Driven Human Evolution, Life, and Development
Critical historical events--or "turning points"--have shaped evolution and continue to have a decisive effect on individual lives. This theme is explored and explained in this lucid, accessible book for lay readers. The author argues that, although evolution is the result of unpredictable events, these events have profound influences on subsequent ......
