Ways of Being - James Bridle

Ways of Being, as the author describes it, is a book about “about AI, non-human intelligence, ecology, biological computing, more-than-human relations, and much else”. It is a single book taking on a wide range of complex topics, but conceptually it could be considered a collection of essays, since each chapter has a different focus (apart from the last one + conclusion).

The author tries to find common ground among the different topics, usually by using anecdotes or personal stories, which form the basis of each chapter. This entertaining approach makes the book more accessible and actually introduced me to a lot of new topics, concepts and people I don’t think I would have encountered otherwise.

But to make this connection and eventually draw conclusions, the author has to stretch some aspects. The latter in the book, the less are the conclusions, built upon certain assumptions and simplifications, convincing. Especially the last chapter, connecting the previous chapters and describing (or proposing) a future where non-human intelligence participates similarly to humans, is a bit too far-fetched. I agree with some of the author’s points (the idea of a more-than-human world is a good one), but the way this is presented seems misleading.

That being said, I particularly enjoyed these of the chapters:

  • The 3rd chapter, especially the part discussing the origin of humans (Homo sapiens) and human intelligence.
  • The 5th chapter, looking at language and how it has developed thanks to the more-than-human. And at ways of communicating and relating to this more-than-human.
  • The 6th chapter, looking at the history of computing. With particular focus on alternative approaches to computing (that aren’t as “binary” as the current ones), such as biological computing. The 7th chapter follows up on this quite well, by looking at randomness and its surprising importance not only in computing.

On the other hand, I found the introduction too personal and not really representing the book as a whole. I had some problems with the 1st chapter (looking at AI and introducing non-human intelligence), but personally the concluding 9th one was the most disappointing. Although fascinating in some anecdotes (particularly animals in some cases being able to detect seismic activity) and optimistic in a sympathetic way that I personally agree with. Ultimately trying to tie too many knots together.

That, in my eyes, sums up the book quite well. It is insightful and (mostly) quite enjoyable, but a bit too ambitious at times, trying to answer questions that are too complex to be answered in a single book.

Motivation to pick up the book

To be frank, I don’t remember how I first came across this book. It might be that I came across its picturesque cover on Tumblr, in any case I’m acquainted with James Bridle through his previous book “New Dark Age”. That together motivated me to pick up this book and see what it’s about. What also surprised me as well was Brian Eno’s positive review of the book.