Finalists for the 1992-1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes : SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

AI: The Tumultuous History of the Search for Artificial Intelligence by Daniel Crevier (BasicBooks/HarperCollins). Beginning with the centuries-old question of whether an engineered creation can be alive, this compelling narrative teaches us about how humans think. In the process profound and philosophical questions are raised about the consequences of “machines (that) will eventually excel us in intelligence” and the impossibility of pulling the plug on them. In the meantime the reality of computer programs that reproduce themselves, exhibit unexpected behavior and evolve is with us.

The Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists and winners are selected in each category by an independent panel of judges. Winners will be announced in the Book Review issue of October 31.