Since Alan Turing first posed the question Can machines think? artificial intelligence has evolved from a speculative idea to a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this evolution, from Ada Lovelaces visionary work to IBMs groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT.
Revealing how many overnight successes were decades in the making, this accessible and illuminating book tells AIs history through the six main ways it functions:
It uses symbols to represent common concepts and ideas.
It chooses its best possible move based on the information it is given.
It simulates human expertise by following simple rules.
It learns based on its past experiences.
It assesses its mistakes and learns to avoid making them again in the future.
It computes probability based on the evidence its provided with.
Fast-paced and rich with facts, The Shortest History of AI explores how artificial intelligence is being createdand how it will continue to transform and affect our lives now and in the future.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
Arvustused
"Recommended by the Next Big Book Club
"This enjoyable, wide-ranging, and compact survey explains where we began and where we now find ourselves. An entertaining and concise tour." -- Kirkus "One of the worlds brightest minds takes on one of the worlds biggest topics. . . . Delicious!" -- Adam Spencer, author of Book of Numbers "This history of AI in six simple ideas is so informative and easy to digest. Essential reading!" -- Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki "Toby Walshs elegant six-idea history of AI reminds usthat the future was a long time comingand that thehardest problem in intelligence may still be the humanone. . . . It satisfies both curiosity and conscience." -- Financial Express "If your brain tends to seize up with fear or incomprehension at the mention of AI, this concise and entertaining history is for you." -- Sydney Morning Herald "The Shortest History of AI gives a cogent and often comical account of AIs evolution from a once specialized technology to a now ubiquitous feature of daily life" -- The Saturday Paper (Australia)
Introduction: How it begins
PART 1: THE SYMBOLIC ERA
Idea #1: Searching for answers
Idea #2: Making the best move
Idea #3: Following rules
INTERMISSION
The Robots are coming
PART 2: THE LEARNING ERA
Idea #4: Artificial brains
Idea #5: Rewarding success
Idea #6: Reasoning about beliefs
PART 3: THE FUTURE
Achieving AI
Image Credits
Thanks
Endnotes
Index
Toby Walsh is one of the worlds leading researchers in artificial intelligence. He is a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales and chief scientist at its new AI institute, UNSW.ai. Walsh has been profiled by The New York Times and is the author of four previous books about AI for general readers, including Machines Behaving Badly and Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World. The winner of multiple prestigious awards, including the Humboldt Prize and the Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, his X (formerly Twitter) account was voted in the top ten to follow to keep abreast of developments in AI.
