The Creativity Code

by Marcusdu Sautoy (Author), Marcus du Sautoy (Author)

New
Hardcover
2019
$14.70

As a species, we have an extraordinary ability to create works of art that elevate, expand and transform what it means to be human. The novels of Henry James can communicate the inner world of one human being to another. The music of Wagner or Schubert takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride as we give ourselves up to their sublime sounds.

These are the expressions of what Marcus du Sautoy calls `the creativity code'. Yet some believe that the new developments in AI and machine learning are so sophisticated that they can learn what it means to be human - that they can crack the code.

* Technology has always allowed us to extend our understanding of being human. But will the new tools of AI allow to us to create in different ways?

* Could recent developments in AI and machine learning also mean that it is no longer just human beings who can create art?

* And creativity, like consciousness, is one of those words that is hard to pin down: what is it that we are challenging these machines to do?

In The Creativity Code, Marcus du Sautoy examines what these new developments might mean, for both the creative arts and his own subject, mathematics. From the Turing test to AlphaGo, are there limits to what algorithms can achieve, or might they be able to perfectly mimic human creativity? And what's more, could they help Marcus to see more deeply into the complex mathematical problems with which he so often wrestles?

Synopsis

As a species, we have an extraordinary ability to create works of art that elevate, expand and transform what it means to be human. The novels of Henry James can communicate the inner world of one human being to another. The music of Wagner or Schubert takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride as we give ourselves up to their sublime sounds.

These are the expressions of what Marcus du Sautoy calls `the creativity code'. Yet some believe that the new developments in AI and machine learning are so sophisticated that they can learn what it means to be human - that they can crack the code.

* Technology has always allowed us to extend our understanding of being human. But will the new tools of AI allow to us to create in different ways?

* Could recent developments in AI and machine learning also mean that it is no longer just human beings who can create art?

* And creativity, like consciousness, is one of those words that is hard to pin down: what is it that we are challenging these machines to do?

In The Creativity Code, Marcus du Sautoy examines what these new developments might mean, for both the creative arts and his own subject, mathematics. From the Turing test to AlphaGo, are there limits to what algorithms can achieve, or might they be able to perfectly mimic human creativity? And what's more, could they help Marcus to see more deeply into the complex mathematical problems with which he so often wrestles?

$14.70

Quantity

Temporarily out of stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Edition: edition
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Published: 07 Mar 2019
ISBN 10: 0008296340
ISBN 13: 9780008296346

Media Reviews

Praise for Marcus du Sautoy:

`Brilliant and fascinating. No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting' Bill Bryson

`I felt I was being carried off on a wonderful journey, a thrilling research expedition to the teasing and mysterious boundaries of scientific knowledge, and I never wanted to turn back. Du Sautoy is a masterful and friendly guide to these remotest regions' Richard Holmes

`I admire and envy the clarity and authority with which Marcus du Sautoy addresses a range of profound issues. His book deserves a wide readership' Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

`Du Sautoy makes a lucid and beguiling companion as he guides us along the byways of contemporary science' Guardian

Author Bio

Marcus du Sautoy holds Oxford University's prestigious Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science, a post previously held by Richard Dawkins, and is also a professor of Mathematics. He has presented numerous programmes on television and radio, including the internationally acclaimed BBC series The Story of Maths and the comedy maths show The School of Hard Sums with Dara O Briain. He writes extensively for the Guardian, The Times and the Daily Telegraph and has written and performed a new play called X&Y which has been staged in London's Science Museum and Glastonbury Festival. He received an OBE for services to science in the 2010 New Year's Honours List.