More Than a Chatbot - by Mascha Kurpicz-Briki (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Recent technological advances have resulted in a new generation of powerful text processing and generation tools, that produce text very similar to what a human could do. Such tools have the potential to change the way we work, learn and teach - and this book enables you to understand and be part of this exciting development.

Did you wonder how tools like ChatGPT or Bard work, but do not have a technical background? Then this is the right book for you! To discuss and better understand what such technologies are capable of and how this will impact our lives and our society, a basic background knowledge about text processing and generation technologies is required. In particular, the book discusses the following questions: How did the field of automated text processing and generation evolve over the last years, and what happened to allow the incredible recent advances? Are chatbots such as ChatGPT or Bard truly understanding humans? What pitfalls exist and how are stereotypesof the society reflected in such models? What is the potential of such technology, and how will the digital society of the future look like in terms of human-chatbot-collaboration?

The book is aimed for a general audience, briefly explaining mathematical or technical background when necessary. After having read this book, you will be confident to participate in public discussions about how this new generation of language models will impact society. You will be aware of the risks and pitfalls these technologies can bring along, and how to deal responsibly when making use of tools built from AI technology in general.

From the Back Cover

Recent technological advances have resulted in a new generation of powerful text processing and generation tools, that produce text very similar to what a human could do. Such tools have the potential to change the way we work, learn and teach - and this book enables you to understand and be part of this exciting development.

Did you wonder how tools like ChatGPT or Bard work, but do not have a technical background? Then this is the right book for you! To discuss and better understand what such technologies are capable of and how this will impact our lives and our society, a basic background knowledge about text processing and generation technologies is required. In particular, the book discusses the following questions: How did the field of automated text processing and generation evolve over the last years, and what happened to allow the incredible recent advances? Are chatbots such as ChatGPT or Bard truly understanding humans? What pitfalls exist and how are stereotypes of the society reflected in such models? What is the potential of such technology, and how will the digital society of the future look like in terms of human-chatbot-collaboration?

The book is aimed for a general audience, briefly explaining mathematical or technical background when necessary. After having read this book, you will be confident to participate in public discussions about how this new generation of language models will impact society. You will be aware of the risks and pitfalls these technologies can bring along, and how to deal responsibly when making use of tools built from AI technology in general.

Review Quotes

"More than a chatbot is a basic text on artificial intelligence (AI) and especially generative AI, written for the general public. It could be useful for students outside of computer science, as well as for researchers who want learn how to use AI in their work. ... this excellent, well-balanced introductory text reveals, organizes, and summarizes the many faces of AI." (Alexander Tzanov, Computing Reviews, July 10, 2025)

"The book takes readers on a journey from the early days of chatbots, in the 1960s, to their present-day applications and future potential. [It] is a comprehensive and engaging read for anyone interested in AI and its impact on society. It is particularly relevant for professionals in the field, researchers, and anyone curious about the future of conversational agents." (Gulustan Dogan, Computing Reviews, July 12, 2024)

"Mascha Kurpicz-Briki's book takes readers under the hood of today's chatbots by explaining how LLMs work and looks through the hype. ... Her guide to how LLMs work steps through all of the need-to-know concepts underpinning natural language processing. And by the end of the journey, readers will have a clear understanding of what it takes for computers to process written text." (James Tyrrell, T_HQ technology and business, techhq.com, December 20, 2023)

About the Author

Mascha Kurpicz-Briki is professor for data engineering at the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Biel, Switzerland, and co-leader of the research group Applied Machine Intelligence. Her research focusses on applying innovative technology to the fields of health and humanities, and on the investigation of fairness questions in natural language processing. In her research, she has been collaborating in several interdisciplinary projects and therefore often translates very technical details into a language understandable to a non-technical public.