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Heart of the Machine
Richard Yonck Futurist - Heart of the Machine paperback cover

Now available in
bookstores everywhere

Best AI Books of All Time

Richard Yonck Futurist - Heart of the Machine paperback cover
 

Now available in
bookstores everywhere

Best AI Books of All Time

The new paperback edition!

HEART OF THE MACHINE

OUR FUTURE IN A WORLD OF ARTIFICIAL EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

With new foreword by Affectiva CEO Rana el Kaliouby

Imagine a robotic stuffed animal that responds to a child’s emotional state, a commercial that can change based on a viewer’s facial expression, or a device that can actually create feelings as though a person were experiencing them naturally. This is the next giant step in the relationship between humans and technology: computers that can recognize, respond to, and even influence human emotions. Already being used in a growing number of industries, artificial emotional intelligence is forecast to develop rapidly during the next few decades. While it promises enormous benefits, it will also bring issues and challenges that will transform our world, including the possible rise of conscious machines.

Available in hardback, paperback, e-book and on Audible
To feature the book or arrange an interview with the author, please contact: info (at) richardyonck.com

Read What Leaders & Reviewers Are Saying About
HEART OF THE MACHINE

“Yonck is a sure-footed guide and is not without a sense of humor . . . [He] provides a compelling and thorough history of the interaction between our emotional lives and our technology.”

Ray Kurzweil, The New York Times Book Review

“A fascinating, and sometimes disturbing, look at a rapidly approaching future where smart machines understand and manipulate our emotions—and ultimately bond with us in ways that blur the line between ourselves and our technology.”

Martin Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Robots

“Your world is about to change in shocking and amazing ways. The line between machines and humanity is blurring, giving us a strange and beautiful tomorrow. Yonck takes us on a journey through this world from the science and technology of today and into the possibilities and perils that lay just over the horizon. If you want to catch a glimpse of the future open this book.”

Brian David Johnson, former chief futurist at Intel

“Richard Yonck’s Heart of the Machine is a fascinating speculation on the near- and far-term significance of emotions for user interfaces, machine-mediated communication between humans, and what technology and humans may become.”

Vernor Vinge, computer scientist and Hugo Award–winning author

“[Yonck] makes a compelling argument for why affective computing (technology that can read, interpret, replicate, and experience emotions and use those abilities to influence us) is the key to AI and the heart of how we will work with computers. . . . an engaging read.”

Library Journal

“Very important for any decision-maker and a must-read for corporations for planning their road map. It is also recommended to everyone who is curious enough to understand the future. Even the very near future.”

Yoram Levanon, chief science officer, Beyond Verbal Communication, Ltd.

“How we interact with technology is changing: it is becoming more relational and conversational. Yonck makes a very strong case why our devices and advanced AI systems need to have emotional intelligence, specifically the ability to sense human emotions and adapt accordingly. This book highlights key considerations both for academic researchers as well as business leaders looking for commercial applications of AI.”

Rana el Kaliouby, cofounder and CEO of Affectiva

“By using the futurist’s most valuable communications tool—the scenario—to introduce his chapters, Yonck moves between anecdotes from research in affective computing and AI/robotics to speculative scenarios, all with the even hand of a skilled storyteller.”

Cynthia G. Wagner, editor, Foresight Signals and The Futurist magazine