Social Technology

When Pete Etchells was 13, his father died from motor neurone disease. In order to cope, he immersed himself in a virtual world - first as an escape, but later to try to understand what had happened. Etchells is now a researcher into the psychological effects of video games, and was co-author on a recent paper explaining why WHO plans to classify "game addiction" as a danger to public health are based on bad science and (he thinks) are a bad idea. In this, his first book, he journeys through the history and development of video games via scientific study....

After her father died in 2003, Susan Fensten turned to a genealogy message board to search for surviving relatives. Days later, she was delighted to receive an email from someone claiming to be a distant cousin. In fact, Susan had just been ensnared by a relentless sociopath. She soon became the target of an elaborate cyber-hoax involving dozens of frightening characters, including known sex offenders, who made threats of kidnapping, murder, rape, torture, and cannibalism. Remarkable in its complexity, this story of Internet stalking is also a harrowing tale of courage in the face of madness.

“Read this if you want to understand how to shape our technological future and reinvigorate democracy along the way.”—Reed Hastings, cofounder and CEO of Netflix ""A triumph: an analysis of the critical challenges facing our digital society that is as accessible as it is sophisticated.""...

Having a pet dragon is always fun! He can sit, roll over, and play.... He can candle a birthday cake, lit a campfire, or so many other cool things.... But what if your dragon is addicted to his smart phone, tablet and computer? What if he is always looking at a screen? What if he always took his phone to bed with him, put in on the dinner table, took it on the bus, to the park, to the mall, and even right in the bathroom stall? What if he is always living in the virtual world, and is so disconnected in the real world?

Swallow the Ghost traces the impact of a violent event on three different lives, each interconnected story further complicating the truth. Things are going well for Jane Murphy, or so it seems. She’s making it in New York, a sort of wunderkind at the social media marketing startup where she...

Army veteran Graham Allen -- one of today’s most popular conservative voices -- pulls no punches as he lays out the future and strategy of a movement to save America. President Trump’s 2024 election marked the greatest political comeback in American history, halting left-wing efforts to...

When we make decisions, our thinking is informed by societal norms, “guardrails” guiding our decisions, like the laws and rules that govern us. But what are good guardrails in today’s world of overwhelming information flows and increasingly powerful technologies, such as artificial intelligence? Based on the latest insights from the cognitive sciences, economics, and public policy, Guardrails offers a novel approach to shaping decisions by embracing human agency in its social context.

The key to a booming business is your community. Founder of social media consultancy The Selfhood Daisy Morris is here with the ultimate guide for all the side-hustlers, creators, business owners and freelancers looking to build a genuine community on social media. This audiobook drops the jargon - Daisy will teach you how to take your community on a journey. From brand awareness through to conversion, you will have the confidence to expand your reach while nurturing your existing fans, followers, subscribers and customers to turn them in to loyal and repeat customers.

Have you ever wondered why, despite all the new updates on Facebook, people often forget the simple foundations that made it powerful in the first place? Today, everyone talks about the latest features, algorithm changes, and new trends. But the truth is, Facebook was created many years ago, and its core foundations — the ones that built communities, businesses, and global connections — are often overlooked. This book is not about the newest hacks or the latest shiny tools. Instead, it takes you back to what mattered years ago and shows you how those same basics are still relevant today.

Isaac Kronenberg does it again with another fabulous blogging book that goes above and beyond anything else out there! This latest book by Kronenberg is the most advanced blogging book on the market, teaching nothing but the most effective blogging monetization strategies that exist to get your blog from zero to $2000 a month in 90 days.

Between 1817 and 1898, New York City evolved from a vital Atlantic port of trade to the center of American commerce and culture. Although this important urban transformation is well documented, the critical role of select Union soldiers turned New York engineers has, until now, remained largely unexplored.

Discover the science behind the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time. Capturing the imagination and hearts of crowds worldwide, Star Wars is a fantastic feat of science fiction and fantasy. We marvel at the variety of creatures and technology and the mystery behind the force. But how much of the Star Wars world is rooted in reality? Could we see some of the extraordinary inventions materialize in our world?

After many years during which it languished in relative obscurity, in remote classrooms of computer science departments and in small prototype projects for tech companies, artificial intelligence (AI) is now a searingly hot topic across the media. Yet much of the public discussion is so feverish that an understanding of the basic scientific and engineering elements of the field is easily lost, often resulting in exaggerated claims, as well as dangerously neglected threats.

To a generation in revolt against authority, "Tune in, turn on, drop out" was a mantra, and its popularizer, Dr. Timothy Leary, a guru. A charismatic and brilliant psychologist, Leary became intrigued, and then obsessed, by the effects of psychedelic drugs in the 1960s while teaching at Harvard. What began as research into human consciousness turned into a mission to alter consciousness itself. Timothy Leary is the first major biography of one of the most controversial figures in postwar America.

Chinese society has been shaped by the interplay of the EAST—exams, autocracy, stability, and technology—from ancient times through the present. Beginning with the Sui dynasty's introduction of the civil service exam, known as Keju, in 587 CE—and continuing through the personnel management system used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—Chinese autocracies have developed exceptional tools for homogenizing ideas, norms, and practices. But this uniformity came with a huge downside: stifled creativity.

Bestselling YA author Melinda Salisbury exposes the dark underbelly of new AI technology in this gripping thriller. Freya desperately wants to be a famous influencer, like her former best friend, Hye-jin, but no matter what she does, her posts flop. Until Freya’s stepdad arrives home with...

No matter what you answer, kids will just ask why again. Is your child full of questions? Do you find these questions to test your own knowledge? Well, look no further: Now you have the answers, and they are not boring ones! Encourage your child’s imagination through these fairy tales for children. They will answer some of the common questions that we parents are often asked. The Book of Why for Curious Kids will help you give fun and creative answers to your child’s strangest questions, encouraging them to develop their imagination.

The ability to hack AI and the technology industry's lack of effort to secure it is thought by experts to be the biggest unaddressed technology issue of our time. Hacking Artificial Intelligence sheds light on these hacking risks, explaining them to those who can make a difference. This book is the first-ever layman's guide to the new world of hacking AI and introduces the field to thousands of people who should be aware of these risks. From a security perspective, AI is today where the internet was thirty years ago. It is wide open and can be exploited.

In Artificial You, Susan Schneider says that it is inevitable that AI will take intelligence in new directions but urges that it is up to us to carve out a sensible path forward. As AI technology turns inward, reshaping the brain, as well as outward, potentially creating machine minds, it is crucial to beware. Homo sapiens, as mind designers, will be playing with "tools" they do not understand how to use: the self, the mind, and consciousness.

Modern Political Campaigns brings together academic research and practical experience to help understand how professionalism, technology, and speed have revolutionized elections, creating more voter-centric races for public office. Dr. Michael D. Cohen, a 30+ year veteran of working on, teaching, and writing about political campaigns, delivers a masterclass overview featuring a new chapter on how campaigns are using artificial intelligence and what it means for democracy.