The hidden costs of artificial intelligence—from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom “This study argues that [artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . .

A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained.”—New Yorker “A valuable corrective to much of the hype surrounding AI and a useful instruction manual for the future.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times “It’s a masterpiece, and ...

Offering an introduction to the New Testament, the author presents an historical study of the origins of Christianity by analyzing the literature of the earliest Christian movements. Focusing mainly on the New Testament, he also considers non-Biblical Christian writings of the era.

A surprising assessment of the ways that virtual worlds are entangled with human psychology Proteus, the mythical sea god who could alter his appearance at will, embodies one of the promises of online games: the ability to reinvent oneself. Yet inhabitants of virtual worlds rarely achieve this liberty, game researcher Nick Yee contends. Though online games evoke freedom and escapism, Yee shows that virtual spaces perpetuate social norms and stereotypes from the offline world, transform play i...

A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first

A lively reimagining of how the distant medieval world of war functioned, drawing on the objects used and made by crusaders

Although much has been written about the political history of the Russian revolution, the human story of what the revolution meant to ordinary people has rarely been told. This book gives voice to the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the Russian people—workers, peasants, soldiers—as expressed in their own words during the vast political, social, and economic upheavals of 1917. The documents in the volume include letters from individuals to newspapers, institutions, or leaders; colle...

An illuminating study of the complex relationship between children and media in the digital age

An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available that contradicts the standard narrative for the beginnings of the earliest civilizations

A beloved introductory physics textbook, now including exercises and an answer key, explains the concepts essential for thorough scientific understanding In this concise book, R. Shankar, a well-known physicist and contagiously enthusiastic educator, explains the essential concepts of Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, waves, fluids, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics. Now in an expanded edition—complete with problem sets and answers for course use or self-study—this work p...

One World Now seamlessly integrates major developments of the past decade into Peter Singer's classic text on the ethics of globalization, One World. Singer, often described as the world's most influential philosopher, here addresses such essential concerns as climate change, economic globalization, foreign aid, human rights, immigration, and the responsibility to protect people from genocide and crimes against humanity, whatever country they may be in. Every issue is considered from an ethic...