Cambridge Forum is kicking off a new series AI: Servant or Master with Professor Gary Marcus, one of the most trusted voices in artificial intelligence who is well-known for his knowledge about the challenges and risks of AI. In his latest book, Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure that AI Works for Us, Marcus explains how Big Tech is taking advantage of us, how AI could make things much worse, and most importantly, what we can do to safeguard our democracy, our society and our future.

Marcus explains the potential and potential risks of AI in the clearest possible terms and how Big Tech has effectively captured policymakers. He lays out how they have played both the public and the government and why they need to be reined in. Marcus offers eight suggestions for what a coherent AI policy should cover from data rights to layered AI oversight to meaningful tax reform.

In addition to being a scientist and best-selling author, Marcus was founder and CEO of Geometric.AI, a machine-learning company acquired by Uber. A Professor Emeritus at NYU, he is the author of five previous books, including Kluge (one ofThe Economist's best-sellers on the brain and consciousness), and co-author of Rebooting AI one of Forbes's seven must-read books on AI.

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For world-recognized scientist and visionary, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, trees are a religion. In her eyes, forests are cathedrals that present humanity with numerous divine gifts including the source of the planet’s potential salvation. “I want to remind you that the forest is far more than a source of timber.  It is our collective medicine cabinet.  It is our lungs. It is the regulatory system for our climate and our oceans.  It is the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. It is the mantle of our planet and our sacred home.”

Orphaned at a young age in Ireland, Diana was the last child to receive a full Druidic education which immersed her in ancient Celtic wisdom before she attended University College, Cork where she gained an extensive scientific education. But she never forgot the old wisdom and Diana has spent a lifetime trying to understand trees and share that knowledge with the world. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her work and has spent decades curating, planting and restoring the global forest. In addition to authoring numerous books on the topic Diana is also the subject of the documentary Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees (available on Amazon).

 Our Green Heart is Diana’s latest book, and in it she challenges us all to dig deeper into the science of forests and the ways they will save us from climate breakdown – and then do our part to plant and protect them.

“The children of earth’s future need a world where these essential connections are revitalized and respected.  We can give them this future by pledging to revive the global forest.  Pick up a trowel.  Plant a native tree every year for six years.  It’s that simple”.

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The Great Abolitionist is the first major biography of Charles Sumner in over 50 years. Employing his “vast knowledge of 19th-century Boston and its diffident attitude toward slavery and integration,” Stephen Puleo calls his book a “biographical history” that brings to life two decades when the nation’s very fate hung in the balance -- when slavery consumed Congressional debate, America careened toward civil war, and the country dealt with the war, the assassination of a President, and the monumental task of Reconstruction. Before, during, and after the war, Charles Sumner’s voice rang strongest, bravest, and most unwavering, often at the cost of great personal sacrifice. He moved America toward the twin goals of abolitionism and equal rights for emancipated people, which he fought for literally until the day he died. From the award-winning author-historian we’ll gain a deeper understanding of this remarkable abolitionist and the time in which he lived.

In the book, “Black Homeownership on Martha’s Vineyard: A History,” authors Thomas Dresser and Richard Taylor trace the presence of Black Americans on the Vineyard back to pre-Revolutionary War, through the Underground Railroad and the Civil War, and into the 20th century and the Great Migration.

Join American Ancestors featured author and a guest historian-expert for an insightful discussion of Nat Turner, Black Prophet, a bold reinterpretation of the causes and legacy of Nat Turner's rebellion. This new, definitive account offers a fresh look at Black history.

In August 1831, a group of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, rose up to fight for their freedom. They attacked the plantations on which their enslavers lived and attempted to march on the county seat of Jerusalem, from which they planned to launch an uprising across the South. After the rebellion was suppressed, well over a hundred people, Black and white, lay dead or were hanged. The uprising was the idea of a single man: Nat Turner. An enslaved preacher, he was as enigmatic as he was brilliant. He was also something more—a prophet, one who claimed to have received visions from the Spirit urging him to act.

With co-author Gregory P. Downs and moderator-historian Vincent Brown of Harvard, we’ll unpack how and why Nat Turner inspired the largest enslaved people’s rebellion in the US between 1811 and 1861 and became an enduring icon of resistance. Nat Turner, Black Prophet, a narrative history by the late historian Anthony E. Kaye and Downs, his collaborator, provides a new understanding of one of the nineteenth century's most decisive events.

Join American Ancestors for the tale of one family spanning centuries and continents. Inspired by the discovery of a mysterious manuscript in an old Massachusetts farmhouse, the celebrated author John Kaag follows eight menbers of the Blood family from seventeenth-century England through the founding of the colonies and the American Revolution to the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Bloods were one of America’s first and most expansive pioneer families. They explored and laid claim to the frontiers—geographic, political, intellectual, and spiritual—that would become the very core of the United States. They were active participants in virtually every pivotal moment in American history, coming into contact with Emerson, Thoreau, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Victoria Woodhull, and William James. The genealogy of the family tracks the ebb and flow of what Thoreau called “wildness,” the untamed spirit of Americans. John Kaag’s remarkable account reminds us of the risks and rewards that were taken in laying claim to the lands that would become the United States and shows how each family member embodied the elusive ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.

Don’t miss learning more from the author’s illustrated presentation and discussion with biographer Megan Marshall.

Join us for the highly anticipated kick-off of a new season of Beyond the Page, featuring the bestselling author J. Courtney Sullivan! This event promises an engaging discussion around her captivating storytelling and an inside look at her creative process and her latest novel, The Cliffs, which was Reese Witherspoon’s July 2024 selection for Reese’s Book Club.

J. Courtney Sullivan is the bestselling author of the novels Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, Saints for All Occasions, and Friends and Strangers. Her work has been translated into 17 languages.

Sullivan's writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York, Real Simple, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among many others. In 2017, she wrote the forewords to new editions of two of her favorite classic novels— Anne of Green Gables and Little Women.

She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Check out more about J. Courtney Sullivan here.

GBH News' Marilyn Schairer will moderate the conversation.


This event offers two ticket options:
Attend the event $0
Attend the event + receive a SIGNED copy of The Cliffs + GBH membership $60

Please note that books will be shipped out following the event.

Go beyond the page with acclaimed author Danzy Senna! Known for her works on race, gender, and American identity, Senna will talk about, her writing process, challenges, and more. She will answer your questions and will share insights into her new novel, Colored Television, which releases on September 3, 2024.

Danzy Senna is the author of five works of fiction, including the bestselling Caucasia (set partly in Boston and Roxbury), New People, Symptomatic, and her forthcoming novel Colored Television, a collection of short stories, and a memoir. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, she teaches writing at the University of Southern California.

GBH News' Phillip Martin will moderate the conversation.

At Beyond the Page, we believe in the power of knowledge, the magic of stories, and the beauty of shared experiences. This event series features interactive sessions with renowned authors discussing their latest work and their writing process. Whether you're seeking profound discussions or heartfelt emotions, these events offer something truly special for everyone.

 
This event offers two ticket options:
Attend the event $0
Attend the event + receive a SIGNED copy of Colored Television + GBH membership $60

Please note that books will be shipped out following the event.

This event is presented with support from our sponsor Liberty Mutual Insurance.


This event is presented by GBH with support from the Boston Book Festival which returns to Boston this October.

In this special edition of “Bookmarked: The Under the Radar Book Club,” we’re diving into one of today’s most popular and best-selling genres taking over bookstores — and your social media feeds: "romantasy." That’s romance plus fantasy.

Author Brian Rashad Fuller shares his own story of navigating the world, overcoming his family struggles, and eventually entering an educational system that he believes is inherently racist, damaging, and unhelpful.