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The 22 best non-fiction and popular science books of 2023

From Carlo Rovelli on white holes to Fei-Fei Li on AI and Alison Pouliot on remarkable mushrooms, here is New Scientist's selection of the best non-fiction of the year

By Simon Ings

29 November 2023

2F3WH8B Book of the universe - opened magic book with planets and galaxies. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

HiddenCatch/Alamy

THIS year’s best science books are marked by striking new perspectives on the world and on ourselves. From artificial intelligence and space exploration to our relationships with non-humans, there’s plenty to think about this holiday.

Starting with the game-changer, AI, three very different books give the technology a human face. In Unmasking AI (Random House), Joy Buolamwini describes research on racial and gender bias in the algorithms underlying machine intelligence. Her expertise now has her advising world leaders on how to prevent AI’s harms.

Then there is Fei-Fei Li, who is at the forefront of US efforts to teach AI…

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