It is a truism, to say that machine intelligence is anything but. Yet, In Literary Theory for Robots" Dennis Yi Tenen" confronts a deeper, and perhaps less known truth about AI. That is, in essence, that AI is based on human efforts and experience. As such, history matters and understanding AI often comes down to understanding the solutions that were crafted for past problems. The resulting book is a deeply insightful exploration of how and why AI came to be that reaches far back into recorded history. This book will not reveal the ghost in the machine but it will show the traces of past human endeavors. reside at the core of any AI solution. Readers with a broad range of technical backgrounds who want to understand the roots of the current generative text revolution and other AI developments should find this book appealing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/08/literary-theory-robots-tenen-review/

Before blocked writers could turn to ChatGPT for help, they might have consulted Wycliffe Hill’s 1930s manual, “The Plot Genie.” The genie’s magic was held in a series of numbered lists that, according to Hill, collectively contained every story ever told. Simply spin the cardboard “Plot Robot” wheel (sold separately) and generate “a complete plot framework every five minutes.” Perhaps a coffee taster (Unusual Male Character No. 148) and a dope addict’s sister (Usual Female Character No. 50) desire “vengeance against a rival in love [but are] opposed by inclement

Really interesting study and very topical. I think this should be involved in classrooms, but maybe find ways to make it interactive for students. Otherwise, it's a good study that needs to be documented and this is a great documentation