Allen Lane signs DeepMind professor’s book on being human in the 'coming AI age'

Allen Lane has snapped up The Atomic Human by Neil Lawrence, the inaugural DeepMind professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge.

Keith Mansfield, commissioning editor at Penguin Press, bought world all-language rights from Max Edwards at Aevitas Creative Management UK. Allen Lane in the UK will publish the book in hardback in autumn 2024. Simplified Chinese rights have been sold to CTPC in “a hotly contested auction".

The synopsis reads: “Artificial Intelligence is on the march, seemingly eating into ever more aspects of our lives. With every leap forward, whether driving cars, creating art, or writing poetry or computer programs, it slices away more of the things we used to think were unique to humans. Where will it end and, when it does, what will be left? As well as explaining the new machine intelligence all around us (based as it is on finding patterns within the huge data sets now routinely collected), The Atomic Human contrasts it with our own evolved, locked-in, embodied intelligence.

“By explaining our own limitations alongside the capabilities that machine intelligence gives us, it distils the essence of what makes us human and gives the reader the opportunity to reason about what the purpose of AI should be. To decide where it is useful, and where it is harmful. How, as we seemingly rush headlong into this new future, we can choose artificial intelligence to be a tool for us, or step aside and become a tool for artificial intelligence.”

Lawrence is the inaugural DeepMind professor of machine learning at the University of Cambridge where he leads AI@Cam, the University’s flagship mission on artificial intelligence. He was previously director of machine learning at Amazon where he developed solutions for Prime Air, Alexa and in the Amazon worldwide supply chain. He is co-host of “Talking Machines” podcast, has written a series on AI for the Guardian and sits on the UK’s AI Council and the boards of the AISTATS foundation. He is interim chair of the advisory board for the UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. This is his first book.

Lawrence said: “We like to think of ourselves as special. Until recently, none of us would have doubted that the human is at the centre of our cognitive Universe – much as the Earth, then our Sun, was thought to be the centre of the cosmos. But our exponential progress in generative AI is calling that position into question. I started writing The Atomic Human because I wanted to write about artificial intelligence: but the more I wrote the more I realised that our fascination with AI is a fascination with ourselves. With Keith’s brilliant editing, and the fantastic Penguin Press team, I hope The Atomic Human can help answer as to what it means to be human in the age of AI.”

Mansfield said: “Even before ChatGPT and GPT4 we could all see an intelligence explosion was underway. I think it’s vital people understand the implications and wanted to work with Neil because his background made him the single best-qualified person to cut through the hype around AI and tell readers what’s actually happening, why it matters, and what we need to do about it. Plus, I adore the timeslip nature of his story, flipping back and forth between today’s dramatic developments and their very human origins in the Second World War to explain them. In Bletchley Park and beyond, meeting the key players and even Neil’s granddad.”