What if Artificial Intelligence could make us more human?

AI development today feeds all sorts of fantasies. Should we listen to the birds of bad omen? Should we fear mass technological unemployment? Or the event of a “superintelligence” equipped with conscience, which would supersede the humans? To help us step back to assess the topic, Arnaud de Lacoste provides a well-documented and moderate essay. He starts by placing AI in a historical perspective: he recalls that all major technological revolutions have raised fears without those, most of the time, ever materializing. He then builds a precise picture of AI current developments, showing their concrete applications, for example in the field of customer relationship management. He also outlines the developments to expect in the next few years. According to him, AI will enable brands to maintain a permanent conversation with their clients, of a multi-channel and truly personalized nature?by articulating human and automated approaches. To conclude, he estimates that in an increasingly digitalized economy, the essential attention given to trust prompts us to develop interactions with AI devices accordingly. A book easy to read, which offers significant food for thought.

[Kindle edition, English translation of the French book Le Seigneur des robots (Débats Publics, 2017) - The original book in French can be found here]