A fascinating, accessible and expertly written introduction to the most important invention in human history.
The internet is everywhere. But how did it start? How has it changed? And what will it look like in the future? No development in human history has changed the world as radically, or as quickly, as the advent of the internet. There's almost no aspect of 21st-century life that it hasn't shaped or fundamentally altered, for better or for worse. But the history of the internet is longer than you might think. Its foundations stretch as far back as the 1960s, decades before it would become an accessible and inescapable part of everyday life. In this new entry in the bestselling Bite-Sized Chunks series, author and journalist Chris Stokel-Walker traces the internet from its (relatively) humble beginnings to the ubiquitous force that exists today, from email and dial-up to social media and the metaverse. Breaking down complex concepts around how the world wide web works, how it has changed over time, and the effects it has had on the world as we know it, as well as explaining key terminology and spotlighting important figures, The History of the Internet in Byte-Sized Chunks explains everything you need to know about this era-defining technology in short, easy-to-digest chapters.Artificial intelligence will shake up life in the 2020s as dramatically as the internet did in the 2000s. This accessible, up-to-date book charts AI's rise from its origins in Cold War America to its imminent and far-reaching impact on us today.
Tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker (author of TikTok Boom and YouTubers) goes into the laboratories of the Silicon Valley innovators making rapid advances in 'large language models' of machine learning. He meets the insiders at Google and OpenAI who built Bard and ChatGPT and reveals the extraordinary plans they have for them.
And he explores the dark side of AI by talking to workers who have lost their jobs to chatbots and engages with futurologists worried that we are creating a dangerous super-intelligence that could threaten humankind.
Along the way, he answers critical questions about the AI revolution, such as what, if anything, humanity is jeopardising; the professions that will win and lose; and whether the existential threat Elon Musk and Sam Altman warn about is realistic - or a smokescreen to divert attention away from their growing power. How AI Ate the World is a 'start here' guide for anyone who wants to know more about the next big tech wave. It's vital reading.
A fascinating look behind the scenes of today's hottest social media app
TikTok is the fastest growing app in the world, and the first to challenge Silicon Valley's dominance of social media. Why is TikTok so appealing to today's social media audience? How has it taken over the world in just a few years, and what does its success mean for the future of technology?
In TikTok Boom, journalist and author of YouTubers Chris Stokel-Walker has interviewed scores of people connected to the world's hottest app, including current and former employees, as well as some of TikTok's biggest names in front of and behind the lens, gleaning never-before-seen insights as to how the new influencer ecosystem works. And he goes behind the scenes at its ambitious Chinese owner, ByteDance, which wants to become Beijing's answer to Google, and finds out what has happened to its founder, Yiming Zhang. TikTok Boom presents a nuanced, informed and incisive read on the characters and strategies behind the world's new tech order.