This was Love(lace) at first byte. The book begins with a lively survey of the history of AI. This is no dry chronology but a tale bursting with brilliant personalities, none greater than Ada Lovelace, the Countess computer programming pioneer, for whom Winterson rails against the sexism which marginalised her genius even well beyond her lifetime - a pattern with brilliant women that is repeated again and again until the present. Throughout the book she is alert to how new technologies have been used by the rich and powerful to exploit the rest of us. What should free us, often appears to perpetuate the white male hold on power. With AI she discusses the mechanism by which biased and incomplete data sets result in algorithms that amplify the inequalities. Meanwhile, unaccountable corporations like Google and Facebook become the new global empires, amassing fortunes and political clout. All on the foundations of our data, freely if unthinkingly given. We have surrendered our privacy to the false god of Choice. Winterson's writing sparkles with intelligence and rests on some hard-graft research over many years studying the field. She perfectly captures our concerns and discomfort about AI but is also alert to the possibilities of technology addressing societal problems. Will it cross the line to being in some way "alive"? Does the question even make sense? Surely, it's not long now: not If but When things around us pass the "Turing Test" and at least sound indistinguishable from human intelligence. But in confronting these preoccupations, the author cleverly turns the questions around: instead of fearing a soulless Frankenstein's monster, shouldn't we be asking if we humans, biological machines produced by evolution - do we have souls at all? 12 Bytes began as separate essays. Some repetition is understandable. And there is some variety in styles: in the third section the writing is choppy: one sentence, one paragraph. But the writing is always effective and has room to breathe. We are given space to think. I loved this book. It is provocative, open-minded and entertaining. Jeanette Winterson is a distinctive voice: she is sharp, often sparklingly witty and her barbs against inequality are always on the money. She prefers the term "alternative" to "artificial" intelligence, and she provides us with alternative ways to think about the future that is already at our door.

12 Bytes by Jeanette Winterson is absolutely brilliant. Packed with history, philosophy, social and political themes not to mention technology it’s an education and enlightenment while being entertaining and thought provoking. That’s a lot to get into one book and so skilfully done. I loved how Jeanette engages with you as a reader, asking questions of you, allowing you to pause to take a point in or repeating a sentence as though she is sat at the table with you and actively having a discussion. The use of humour, wit and modern-day analogies to explain or stress the gravity of points made added to the feeling of an open engaging discussion. The images of a ‘Love Ewe’ sheep ending up as a cuddly toy in a car boot sale and Einstein in a fluffy cashmere sweater, seasonally coloured, were standout comedic moments for me. (When you read the book, it will make sense why!). It’s an intelligent read but as a result of the informality you don’t need a PhD to enjoy it. I am left not sure whether to feel fearful of AI or AGI or whether to embrace it but firmly believe we need more woman in computer science and STEM industries as we hurtle towards our futures, as Jeanette’s arguments attest. Every woman young and old should read this. It’s in our interests to. With thanks to Vintage Books for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Winterson’s essays were very well written and her use of descriptive words kept my interest. I liked how she linked the past, modern life and celebrities to AI. By not focusing on just one subject area or her viewpoint meant that I was able to understand AI from different backgrounds and perspectives which was a massive plus. Not normally the kind of book I go for but nevertheless was an enjoyable read and I have now gained more insight into the world of AI to add to my knowledge bank. All views and comments on this review are my own. Thank you Vintage publishers for a copy of this book.

This was a good book and clearly a lot of research had gone into it. The first part, setting out how Ada Lovelace made contributions to science and technology at the beginning of the industrial revolution, immediately got my attention. The Industrial revolution itself was intensely described setting the scene for the intensity of the future to come but in an entirely different way. Being gadget free and wired in directly from our brains is scary. It was funny at times but reminders that we are being mined for our data, losing our privacy and that robots could take over as carers for the elderly were not. This book got me thinking a lot. Thank you to Vintage for a copy of the book

From the subject matter I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book, but I really did. I love the history and the detail, some of which I knew but lots I was totally unaware of (maybe blissfully unaware). This is truly a fascinating book, written with lots of humour. I found much of the content really frightening but it is full of information I think we all should know. A really well researched and well written book. I think everyone should read it. With thanks to Vintage Books for a copy of the book in return for an honest review