Cognitive Computing: A Brief Guide for Game Changers

Cognitive Computing is a very short (78 pages) and interesting book published this year (2015). The book opens with a QR code to the "Humans need not apply" video "as a backdrop to for this book".I purchased the physical book, but would highly recommend purchasing the kindle version instead. The book has more QR codes and urls than you'll ever want to scan and view. It is basically an ebook compilation of current topics in cognitive computing. It does not translate into print very well.That said, the content is a rather comprehensive survey that is current as of spring 2015. On page 56, for example, it correctly explains my employer's use of Watson as an advice query engine for military separation.1,000x increase in programmable neurons, synapses and neurosynaptic cores. This supports the premise that technological acceleration in AI is on an exponential development curve after years of steady evolution.The rest of the book is basically lots of different use cases and speculation on what this means for everything from journalism, to transportation, and the internet of things, all with copious QR codes and links to additional information.The book positions itself as a "brief guide", and that's what it feels like, Cliff Notes for Cognitive Computing, with lots of links. For the kindle price it is a good snapshot of the current state which marks a transition point towards our AI enabled future. For serious discussion on what implications that has, I would recommend "The Second Machine Age" instead. I'm giving it a 5 for content and I should have known to buy an electronic version of a computing book.

A good summary of the current state in cognitive science and computing. Only a starting place... You will need to read the references to learn more.

hard to read, didn't get much of substance from this book. Maybe it just didn't cover the stuff I was personnaly interested in, but I don't recommend to anyone who doesn't just want to see what everyone in the field has to say...

I keep re-writing this review to make it sound academically correct. Actually what I want to say is the book is great, it's fun, it contains great information. Everyone needs to read it. Don't be apprehensive about the title it doesn't go into the technical weeds.

I kept wondering if this was a kind of meta-level joke, and that what I was seeing was the result of a next-generation AI system trying to pass the Turing Test in book form. What I was reading seemed superficially book-like, but felt like it had been created using an algorithm. The "book" is mainly a series of lengthy quotations linked by paragraphs that appear to have bundled a set of unexplained buzzwords together using some kind of definite clause grammar. Your eyes scan over it and your brain is convinced at first that it is reading a book, yet no actual knowledge is transferred to your mind from the pages you are reading.

Don't just take my word for it that this is a 5-star book, click on Look Inside and scroll down to "What they are Saying." This book is a powerful wake-up call for the new era of computing, cognitive computing, and what it protends for work and society as a whole. It's written in lay language so that non-technical readers can quickly grasp that which will shape their future... all in 78 pages!

Cognitive computing is the future. This book will get you thinking in the right direction.

A short, but anything but brief, timely exploration of all things related to the cognitive era. A treasure trove of information, Internet links, and thought-provoking ideas I've found no where else. Should be required reading at business and tech universities everywhere.