It is time for a new narrative on schools in Australia. The Alignment Premium proposes its major features. Analysis of approaches in 13 countries, including most of the world's top-performers, provides 15 benchmarks against which Australia's performance is assessed. Findings include:

A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. Today’s “machine-learning” systems, trained by data, are so effective that we’ve invited them to see and hear for us—and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Researchers call this the alignment problem. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole—and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Readers encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they—and we—succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture—and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.

The importance of creating a favourable impression is hard to overstate in all walks of life - in business it's vital to achieve strategic goals. Customers, journalists, bloggers, investors, governments and other groups are all important stakeholders in an organizations performance and in persuasively communicating a company's ethical and socially responsible behaviour, these groups can be kept onside. Supported throughout by lively examples, this book contains guidance for implementing strategies that engage stakeholders - highlighting those organizations which employ communication professionals as key performers. Van Riel reveals how a dominant logic develops among executives, which influences styles and techniques of trust-building communication. The practical insights demonstrated via cases including Google, Unilever and Barclays make this book useful reading for MBA and other graduate classes across areas such as public relations and reputation management as well as thinking managers across the globe.

Public sector organizations are about to enter one of the most challenging environments they have ever had to face as they bear much of the cost of the credit crunch. This timely book shows public sector leaders what they need to understand in order to be able to cope with these challenges.

FOREWORD BY FRANCIS CHAN If we don’t align with God’s Word, we miss the kingdom He is establishing here on earth as it is in heaven. Once you read this book, you will understand how true alignment with God means submitting to His order so He can establish His Kingdom on earth. Even as the world grows darker and moves into the difficult events of the end times, Messianic Jewish author and Bible teacher Asher Intrater gives reason for hope, pointing to a corresponding revival with signs and wonders that emulate the Book of Acts. In this revised and updated edition, Intrater will take you on a captivating, scriptural journey to reveal what happens as the Messianic remnant is established in Israel and the international church embraces its Jewish roots. This long-awaited alignment will release an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, leading up to the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus). In addition, today Christian Arabs and Messianic Jews are being reconciled into a restored Abrahamic family of faith, demonstrating the love of God in the midst of political tension in the Middle East. You’ll be inspired and challenged as you discover how this synergy within the body of believers is advancing God’s eternal purpose for the kingdom of Messiah on earth with its capital in Jerusalem.