Andrew and the Marvellous Analytical Engine is a book about artificial intelligence (AI) written for lawyers, professionals, and thoughtful readers who want to understand what is happening without being overwhelmed by technical detail or rhetorical excess.
The book does not assume that artificial intelligence is either a passing fad or an existential threat. Nor does it treat it as a form of magic. Instead, it proceeds from a simpler and more durable premise: that AI is a tool, and that its effects depend largely on how it is designed, deployed, and interpreted by human beings.
Written in plain English, the book explains what modern artificial intelligence actually is, how it differs from earlier forms of computing, and why recent developments have proved so disruptive to professional work. It avoids mathematics and computer science wherever possible, not out of disdain for them, but because most readers do not need them in order to think clearly about the subject.
Particular attention is paid to the legal world. The book considers how lawyers are already using AI, where the real risks lie, and why professional judgement remains central. It also addresses questions of regulation, responsibility, and accountability, and the limits of what law can realistically achieve in a rapidly changing technical environment.
The book is not written to persuade the reader to adopt any particular position. Its purpose is more modest, and more demanding: to help the reader understand enough to form their own views, and to recognise bad arguments when they encounter them.
Andrew and the Marvellous Analytical Engine is available on Amazon.