sarahxify's reviews
683 reviews

Murgia takes the reader through many aspects of artifical intelligence, always focusing on the human and equality side of things. Experiences of different individuals across a really wide range of counrties are discussed in a very nuanced and sensitive manner, balancing some of the benefits of AI (such as aiding diagnostic decisions in areas with very minimal medical personnel available), to some of the darker sides. Murgia described how humans in developing countries work incredibly hard to train AI algorithms and considers important aspects of exploitation and inequality, as well as discussing the issue of biased algorithms, focussing on case studies where AI has been used to identify 'likely' criminals.

This is well-written and quite accessible, keeping away from in-depth technical discussion of AI. Its focus on the human element keeps it engaging and informative - highly recommend. 

Interesting story but it was quite boringly told imo

Mostly high quality essays discussing various aspects of Trump's presidency. Interesting although highly depressing, as you might expecting. Particularly found his use of the media interesting. 
Already starting to feel outdated since he's about to start a second term, and makes that whole thing feel far more trepidatious. 

I always wish Clare Keegan's novels were a bit longer, but really enjoy these quiet, understated stories 

Found this narrator really self absorbed and uninteresting - wasn't very compelled by it so put it down 

Overall impressions thus far is that the writing is nice, the characters seem well-realised, and the setting is lovely - but this is just too racist for me. It's embedded into practically every scene, both implicitly and explicitly, and is just not something I want to be reading. 

This is a truly impressive debut. Set in a small town in Ireland, this literary thriller is about Kala, a teenage girl who disappeared twenty years ago. Her friends have reunited, and old mysteries and unanswered questions start to resurface. 

Although this sounds like a rather tired and familiar plot, this book is incredibly well executed, with excellent writing and characterisation. The dialogue is convincing and manages to avoid a lot of the tropes I tend to find frustrating in these kinds of novels. The characters were a real standout here, there are a lot of them and Walsh manages to give them all a unique voice and feeling. The book feels very complex and very well-realised, although I will caveat that pure mystery/thriller readers will find the pacing of this frustrating and slow. 

Have enjoyed Bridget Collins' previous two novels, particularly The Binding, but this one really isn't doing anything for me so putting it down.