Artificial Intelligence – Redpath Book Display, September 2024

Everywhere you look today, you will see signs of artificial intelligence (AI) all around you — from the apps on your phone to the algorithms behind the scenes. While AI might feel like a recent phenomenon, its roots trace back to the 1950s—making it older than Tim Hortons!

What’s changed is the surge of new AI tools now available to the public, transforming how we interact with technology. That is why you are hearing more and more about AI every day.

Below, you will find a few recommended reads from our Redpath Book Display for the month of September highlighting the topic of “Artificial Intelligence”. Have a good read!

A concise but informative overview of AI ethics and policy. Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, has generated a staggering amount of hype in the past several years. Authored by experts in fields ranging from computer science and law to philosophy and cognitive science, this book offers a concise overview of moral, political, legal and economic implications of AI. It covers the basics of AI’s latest permutation, machine learning, and considers issues such as transparency, bias, liability, privacy, and regulation. Both business and government have integrated algorithmic decision support systems into their daily operations, and the book explores the implications for our lives as citizens.


Groundbreaking narrative on the urgency of ethically designed AI and a guidebook to reimagining life in the era of intelligent technology A Human Algorithm: How Artificial Intelligence Is Redefining Who We Are examines the immense impact intelligent technology will have on humanity. These machines, while challenging our personal beliefs and our socio-economic world order, also have the potential to transform our health and well-being, alleviate poverty and suffering, and reveal the mysteries of intelligence and consciousness. International human rights attorney Flynn Coleman deftly argues that it is critical we instill values, ethics, and morals into our robots, algorithms, and other forms of AI. Equally important, we need to develop and implement laws, policies, and oversight mechanisms to protect us from tech’s insidious threats. To realize AI’s transcendent potential, Coleman advocates for inviting a diverse group of voices to participate in designing our intelligent machines and using our moral imagination to ensure that human rights, empathy, and equity are core principles of emerging technologies. Ultimately, A Human Algorithm is a clarion call for building a more humane future and moving conscientiously into a new frontier of our own design.


The United States has long been the leader in Artificial Intelligence. But Dr. Kai-Fu Lee–one of the world’s most respected experts on AI–reveals that China has caught up to the US at an astonishingly rapid pace. As Sino-American competition in AI heats up, Lee envisions China and the US forming a powerful duopoly in AI. He outlines the upheaval of traditional jobs, how the suddenly unemployed will find new ways of making their lives meaningful, and how the Chinese and American governments will have to cope with the changing economic landscape.


How will AI evolve and what major innovations are on the horizon? What will its impact be on the job market, economy, and society? What is the path toward human-level machine intelligence? What should we be concerned about as artificial intelligence advances? Architects of Intelligence contains a series of in-depth, one-to-one interviews where New York Times bestselling author, Martin Ford, uncovers the truth behind these questions from some of the brightest minds in the Artificial Intelligence community. Martin has wide-ranging conversations with twenty-three of the world’s foremost researchers and entrepreneurs working in AI and robotics.


Addressing major issues in the design of intelligent machines, such as consciousness and environment, and covering everything from the influential groundwork of Alan Turing to the cutting-edge robots of today, Introducing Artificial Intelligence is a uniquely accessible illustrated introduction to this fascinating area of science.

Library Vocab 101: What is a Catalogue Record?

When using the McGill Libraries, it can be useful to know what the various terms on the website mean in order to become more efficient in your work. However, terms such as “Catalogue” and “Catalogue Record” may come up – but what exactly do these words mean?

What is the library Catalogue?

The library catalogue is the collection of all the materials available through the McGill Libraries, whether it be books, articles, movies, or any other resources. For a better searching experience, the Sofia Discovery Tool allows you to browse the library catalogue for materials in our collection, as well as materials in other libraries worldwide.

What is a Catalogue Record?

Now that we have a better grasp on what the catalogue is, it’s time to turn to catalogue records. When you search something in the catalogue, all the results that come up are individual (catalogue) records.

To see more information on a particular record, simply click on it. This will show you all of the metadata within that catalogue record, such as the author, date of publication, and ISBN number. Each search result is its own individual catalogue record, with information on the selected record stored within it!

If you have any questions about how to use the library or more, contact hssl.library@mcgill.ca

PressReader: A New Way To Access News!

In recent years, the digitizing of content has become more and more popular. Although newspapers and magazines can still be purchased and read as physical copies, many people have been turning to electronic formats of these sources instead. With new content and stories coming out daily, it can be challenging to keep up with everything. Luckily, PressReader has made this easier by creating an all-you-can-read service containing thousands of reading options.

With a catalogue of over 7000 online newspapers and magazines, PressReader gives you access to content on various topics worldwide! The best part? You can access it all for free using your McGill email and password!

Not sure how to get started? This Tip Sheet can help you get started with your account!