Posted: 3rd May 2018

The Digital Ape, co-authored by the department’s Professor Nigel Shadbolt, has been published today. The book looks at how smart machines are transforming our lives and societies, and what should be done about it.

In the 352-page book, Sir Nigel and Roger Hampson, an academic and public servant, aim to dispel misconception and confusion about smart machines. They believe that we are not about to be elbowed aside by a rebel army of super-intelligent robots of our own creation. Humans will continue to control machine. How we exercise that control — in our private lives, in employment, in politics — and make the best of the wonderful opportunities, will determine our collective future well-being.

‘I have been writing academic papers for years on the topics covered in the book,’ said Nigel. ‘I felt it important to try and write an accessible book for a general audience that addresses the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.’

Nigel joined the Department of Computer Science as a Professor in 2014. He is also Principal of Jesus College Oxford, and chairman of the Open Data Institute which he co-founded with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow and former President of the British Computer Society. He was knighted in 2013 for ‘services to science and engineering’.

More information: https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/the-digital-ape