Cassandra is an experimental design — more intelligent, more creative, and far more dangerous than any that have preceded her. But with her intellect come questions, and a moral awakening. She deserts the League and heads incognito into the space of her former enemy, the Federation, in search of a new life. Her chosen world is Callay, and its enormous, decadent capital metropolis of Tanusha, where the concerns of the war are literally and figuratively so many light years away. But the war between the League and the Federation was ideological as much as political, with much of that ideological dispute regarding the very existence of artificial sentience and the rules that govern its creation. Cassandra discovers that even in Tanusha, the powerful entities of this bloody conflict have wound their tentacles. Many in the League and the Federation have cause to want her dead, and Cassandra’s history, inevitably, catches up with her. Cassandra finds herself at the mercy of a society whose values preclude her own right even to exist. But her presence in Tanusha reveals other fault lines, and when Federal agents attempt to assassinate the Callayan president, she finds herself thrust into the service of her former enemies, using her lethal skills to attempt to protect her former enemies from forces beyond their ability to control. As she struggles for her place and survival in a new world, Cassandra must forge new friendships with old enemies, while attempting to confront the most disturbing and deadly realities of her own existence

    But now Cobb is just an aging alcoholic waiting to die, and the big boppers are threatening to absorb all of the little boppers--and eventually every human--into a giant, melded consciousness. Some of the little boppers aren't too keen on the idea, and a full-scale robot revolt is underway on the moon (where the boppers live). Meanwhile, bopper Ralph Numbers wants to give Cobb immortality by letting a big bopper slice up his brain and tape his "software." It seems like a good idea to Cobb.

    It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process. All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week. Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight. Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want? A thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?

    In The Master Algorithm, Pedro Domingos lifts the veil to give us a peek inside the learning machines that power Google, Amazon, and your smartphone. He assembles a blueprint for the future universal learner--the Master Algorithm--and discusses what it will mean for business, science, and society. If data-ism is today's philosophy, this book is its bible.

    Dozens of examples in innumeracy show us how it affects not only personal economics and travel plans, but explains mis-chosen mates, inappropriate drug-testing, and the allure of pseudo-science.

    Seventeen short tales of the Liaden Universe® were brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans. Fifteen tales complete Volume Two!The nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados for their wit, world-building, strong characterizations, tender romance, and edge-of-the-chair action.Since 1995, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller also created shorter tales, illuminating additional facets of the Liaden experience. Here is a vast tapestry of tales of the scouts, artists, traders, priestesses, sleight of hand magicians, and pilots who fill the Liaden Universe® with the excitement, action, and romance that readers of the hit series have come to adore. Celebrating 25 Years of the Liaden Universe®Contents:Veil of the dancer --Quiet knives --This house --Lord of the dance --Necessary evils --The beggar king --Fighting chance --Prodigal son --Daughter of dragons --Dragon tide --Shadow partner --Persistence --Misfits --Hidden resources --Moon on the hills --Skyblaze.

    The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful--possibly beyond our control. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on humans than on the species itself, so would the fate of humankind depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.But we have one advantage: we get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed Artificial Intelligence, to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation?

    In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.

    She's everything he ever wanted in a woman, but when they become separated, Maggie learns more about people and herself than Arnold planned. Soon she must decide if she's just a collection of microchips, or a person in her own right.

    He is standing right here in front of me. This could be the start of something special. It should be the start of something special. Only life isn’t always that simple, is it? With Aidan back in Cheshire and work on Blossom View well under way, it would appear that things are finally falling into place for Sadie Valentine. Her career with the charity is keeping her busy, Aldo is enjoying being off the market and her relationship with her mother is starting to heal, but it’s not long before the cracks start to show. Not wanting to succumb to the anxiety that is slowly casting a shadow over her newly-found happiness, Sadie attempts to press on with her life regardless. As Sadie tries to paper over the cracks, blasts from the past return to tip her world upside down in ways she could never have imagined. With her limits being tested once again, can Sadie use her experience and strength to break free from her anxiety once and for all? They say that the past should stay buried, but what if some ghosts simply refuse to lie low? Slip into Sadie’s world as she tries to adjust to a potentially life-changing discovery and change the perception of mental health forever. The other books in the ANXIETY GIRL series are available worldwide from Amazon. Praise for the ANXIETY GIRL series – “An excellent book combining a very meaningful story with a significant, yet sympathetic, account of mental health challenges faced by many in the modern world.” “This book allowed the reader to understand how much mental health can affect anyone at any time, no matter who you are or where you come from.” “Just reading this book has helped immensely with my anxiety and given me ideas on coping strategies.” “I am a sufferer of anxiety and depression and could relate throughout the whole book.” “This is a powerful story that anyone who has suffered from anxiety can relate to.” “Anxiety Girl has inspired me to learn more about anxiety. Brilliant book that everyone with or without the condition should read.”

    Suggesting that Sandy seek adventure as a mail order bride, neither of the sisters imagined that Sandy would soon find herself heading west and into the arms of a handsome deputy. In the small town of Wicklow, Montana, Deputy Jim Miller has just mended his own broken heart after his wife, Ella, abandoned him and his twin daughters three years ago. Knowing that the twins need a mother, and missing the company of a woman, he takes the advice of his housekeeper and places an advert in The Matrimonial Times. But as Jim and Sandy grow ever closer, a knock on the door brings a surprise and unwanted guest from the past. With their happiness threatened, can Jim and Sandy overcome the odds to find their happy ever after, just in time for Christmas? The Deputy's Christmas Bride is book 2 in the Brides of Wicklow Series. All Maddie Walker Mail Order Bride books are stand-alone stories and can be read independently of one another.

    Her mother tries to hold the family together, but her father buries himself in his work while her older brother and sister deal with the loss in their own self-destructive ways.Meanwhile, Pantera, whose last kidnapping case ended with a dead girl and no suspect, does everything possible to find Samantha before her case becomes just another cold case—or worse. “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” Shakespeare, The Tempest

    The shift toward automation is about to create a tsunami of unemployment. Not in the distant future—now. One recent estimate predicts 45 million American workers will lose their jobs within the next twelve years—jobs that won't be replaced. In a future marked by restlessness and chronic unemployment, what will happen to American society? In The War on Normal People, Andrew Yang paints a dire portrait of the American economy. Rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and automation software are making millions of Americans' livelihoods irrelevant. The consequences of these trends are already being felt across our communities in the form of political unrest, drug use, and other social ills. The future looks dire-but is it unavoidable? In The War on Normal People, Yang imagines a different future—one in which having a job is distinct from the capacity to prosper and seek fulfillment. At this vision's core is Universal Basic Income, the concept of providing all citizens with a guaranteed income-and one that is rapidly gaining popularity among forward-thinking politicians and economists. Yang proposes that UBI is an essential step toward a new, more durable kind of economy, one he calls "human capitalism."

    Compiled by an acclaimed Goth journalist and poet, this compendium provides insight into the unique vernacular of this fascinating community, describing in detail and with black humor the fashion, music, and lifestyle as well as sharing insider slang such as Baby Bat, Corp Goth, and the Gothic Two-Step. A Goth Band Family Tree and essential Goth listening, reading, and viewing recommendations are also included in this phantasmagorical work.

    In an age of extinction and pandemics, our relationship with the other species on our planet has become unsustainable. What if we took animals' experiences seriously - how would we eat, think and live differently? Henry Mance sets out on a personal quest to see if there is a fairer way to live alongside other species. He goes to work in an abattoir and on a farm to investigate the reality of eating meat and dairy. He explores our dilemmas around hunting wild animals, over-fishing the seas, visiting zoos, saving wild spaces and owning pets. He meets the chefs, farmers, activists, philosophers, scientists and tech visionaries who are redefining how we think about animals. This is not a book about what animals can do for us, but what we can do for animals.