What do you think?
Rate this book
A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going
From Oxford's leading AI researcher comes a fun and accessible tour through the history and future of one of the most cutting edge and misunderstood field in Artificial Intelligence
The somewhat ill-defined long-term aim of AI is to build machines that are conscious, self-aware, and sentient; machines capable of the kind of intelligent autonomous action that currently only people are capable of. As an AI researcher with 25 years of experience, professor Mike Wooldridge has learned to be obsessively cautious about such claims, while still promoting an intense optimism about the future of the field. There have been genuine scientific breakthroughs that have made AI systems possible in the past decade that the founders of the field would have hailed as miraculous. Driverless cars and automated translation tools are just two examples of AI technologies that have become a practical, everyday reality in the past few years, and which will have a huge impact on our world.
While the dream of conscious machines remains, Professor Wooldridge believes, a distant prospect, the floodgates for AI have opened. Wooldridge's A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence is an exciting romp through the history of this groundbreaking field--a one-stop-shop for AI's past, present, and world-changing future.
The somewhat ill-defined long-term aim of AI is to build machines that are conscious, self-aware, and sentient; machines capable of the kind of intelligent autonomous action that currently only people are capable of. As an AI researcher with 25 years of experience, professor Mike Wooldridge has learned to be obsessively cautious about such claims, while still promoting an intense optimism about the future of the field. There have been genuine scientific breakthroughs that have made AI systems possible in the past decade that the founders of the field would have hailed as miraculous. Driverless cars and automated translation tools are just two examples of AI technologies that have become a practical, everyday reality in the past few years, and which will have a huge impact on our world.
While the dream of conscious machines remains, Professor Wooldridge believes, a distant prospect, the floodgates for AI have opened. Wooldridge's A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence is an exciting romp through the history of this groundbreaking field--a one-stop-shop for AI's past, present, and world-changing future.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2021
160 people are currently reading
1,065 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
October 26, 2021
This was, as described, a fun and accessible overview of major milestones in the journey towards AI. Woolridge is a pragmatist without much patience for "the terminator narrative," as he describes it; meanwhile, I'm also reading Toby Ord's book "The Precipice" on long-term existential risks to human survival.
"A Brief History of AI" is my baby step 1 into becoming literate on the subject. I'll need about 1000 more baby steps, but this one was sturdy and built with love.
"A Brief History of AI" is my baby step 1 into becoming literate on the subject. I'll need about 1000 more baby steps, but this one was sturdy and built with love.
November 16, 2023
First of all I should probably declare that I have a degree in CS since that severely impacted how approachable and interesting this book was to me. For others, your mileage may vary.
This book can be split in two, first the history part which is terrific. It does a really good job of detailing all the major theories and developments of AI since the beginning and up to deep learning. This is probably the best book on the history of AI that I’ve read.
The other part of the book is where the author applies his extensive expertise in the field to predict what future developments might entail. This part I did not like as well, often I disagreed with or didn’t understand his reasoning and some of his predictions have already proven false in the short time since this was published.
Almost 4 stars, but I settled on 3.
This book can be split in two, first the history part which is terrific. It does a really good job of detailing all the major theories and developments of AI since the beginning and up to deep learning. This is probably the best book on the history of AI that I’ve read.
The other part of the book is where the author applies his extensive expertise in the field to predict what future developments might entail. This part I did not like as well, often I disagreed with or didn’t understand his reasoning and some of his predictions have already proven false in the short time since this was published.
Almost 4 stars, but I settled on 3.
November 26, 2021
Developing intelligent machines is turning out to be much harder than many people thought it would be. We can get a computer to play a mean game of chess, but it takes no joy in winning, and I doubt it truly understands what a game even is. This short book does a pretty good job of summarizing the successes and failures we've (collectively) had in creating artificial intelligence, so far. It seems to me that the biggest problem is that we don't have a firm grasp of what thinking is. We don't have a solid understanding of the old questions of "consciousness," the nature of the human mind, and all that philosophical stuff that goes with it. Perhaps our efforts to replicate the effect in machines will bring us to a better understanding of own intelligence.
March 12, 2021
Starts off with very basic knowledge, but gets more interesting as it progresses.
Read
December 13, 2021Leitura para tese de mestrado: um livro muito inicial para o estudo da inteligência artificial, mas que percorre toda a sua história, períodos e teorias, desde que começou a surgir como tema de investigação. É um excelente livro para quem ainda não percebe muito do assunto (eu), uma vez que o autor parece ter perfeita consciência de que quem o vai ler só está a molhar o pézinho na água e a analisar a temperatura. Gostei muito e é uma boa base para, agora, mergulhar com mais facilidade no assunto.
April 30, 2023
This book has just shed a lot of light on knowledge that I had no idea existed, and for sure my conclusion after reading this book is that AI is a complex concept with a lot of development both in the past, present and with a future full of work to develop the true technology with which we have dreamed.
August 30, 2024
This was a fine read. A good overview of Ai but fairly high level, I think some more detail would have been nice but I admittedly got lost and had to re-read several points. I was eager to pick it back up and decided that the difficulty with intelligence is relocating the thing that makes us human - empathy. Feeling like the book reinforced my worldview took me to four stars, we love to see it!
Read
May 12, 2023Lives up to the title. Not an extensive or detailed history of AI development, but seems to hit major points, giving the reader the general contours AI from Touring to now.
Once he finishes with the history part, Woolridge tries to sort through scenarios that might be possible with AI in the future. I appreciated this section because he doesn't get into doomsday predictions or fearmongering. He seems to view AI as a development not unlike the Industrial Revolution or the invention of the internet. It will bring major changes to our world, but that doesn't mean we are about to be overrun with killer robots. Most potential problems are subtle, like how we bias in data sets fed to an AI software might could negatively impact policing or the granting of a home loan.
Once he finishes with the history part, Woolridge tries to sort through scenarios that might be possible with AI in the future. I appreciated this section because he doesn't get into doomsday predictions or fearmongering. He seems to view AI as a development not unlike the Industrial Revolution or the invention of the internet. It will bring major changes to our world, but that doesn't mean we are about to be overrun with killer robots. Most potential problems are subtle, like how we bias in data sets fed to an AI software might could negatively impact policing or the granting of a home loan.
December 1, 2023
Read for class. Pretty good
October 14, 2022
This was a great, quick, relatively light read into the history and present of AI. It dips into literature, philosophy, science, math, and many other subjects, while at the same time explaining where there has been progress with AI, different types of AI, and what the really tough things to overcome are. This book is a great way to catch up on what AI is and isn't and all that goes into that.
While being rich, it wasn't a dense book. It was a fun read that didn't get some complex that you felt lost. It's amazing how many different subjects all play a part in AI. As a homeschool father I could picture basing an entire year of study off of this book and all of the topics that intersect with it.
I'd highly recommend this book to everyone. Whether you're interested in AI or not, you should prepare yourself for what it can be and what it probably won't be.
While being rich, it wasn't a dense book. It was a fun read that didn't get some complex that you felt lost. It's amazing how many different subjects all play a part in AI. As a homeschool father I could picture basing an entire year of study off of this book and all of the topics that intersect with it.
I'd highly recommend this book to everyone. Whether you're interested in AI or not, you should prepare yourself for what it can be and what it probably won't be.
March 13, 2023
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going" là một tác phẩm nổi bật trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo, được viết bởi tác gi� Michael Wooldridge. Cuốn sách này được phát hành vào năm 2021 và đã nhanh chóng tr� thành một tài liệu quan trọng cho các chuyên gia và nhà nghiên cứu trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo.
I. Tổng quan v� cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence"
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một bản tóm tắt v� lịch s� phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� các khía cạnh v� khoa học, công ngh� và xã hội. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge đã cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� lịch s� của trí tu� nhân tạo t� khi xuất hiện đầu tiên cho đến hiện tại. Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và tầm quan trọng của nó trong tương lai của nhân loại.
II. Nội dung của cuốn sách
Lịch s� phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo
Cuốn sách bắt đầu với một lược s� v� trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� những người tiên phong đã đưa ra những ý tưởng ban đầu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, như Alan Turing và John McCarthy. Cuốn sách cũng giới thiệu những cách tiếp cận khác nhau của trí tu� nhân tạo trong quá kh�, bao gồm c� cách tiếp cận theo quy luật và cách tiếp cận dựa trên học máy.
Công ngh� và ứng dụng
Cuốn sách đưa ra một cái nhìn tổng quan v� những công ngh� mới nhất trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� các k� thuật học máy, máy học sâu và học tăng cường. Tác gi� cũng giải thích những ứng dụng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong đời sống thực t�, bao gồm c� các ứng dụng trong lĩnh vực y t�, giao thông vận tải và ngành công nghiệp.
Tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo
Cuốn sách đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và tầm quan trọng của nó đối với tương lai của nhân loại. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge cũng cung cấp một s� kh� năng v� việc trí tu� nhân tạo có th� phát triển trong tương lai, bao gồm c� việc tạo ra các trí tu� nhân tạo t� động hơn và có th� t� học.
Cuốn sách cũng đ� cập đến những thách thức và nguy cơ khi s� dụng trí tu� nhân tạo trong tương lai, bao gồm c� các vấn đ� v� đạo đức và an ninh. Tác gi� đã giải thích cách chúng ta có th� đối phó với những thách thức này và đảm bảo rằng trí tu� nhân tạo s� được s� dụng một cách an toàn và hiệu qu�.
III. Nhận xét và đánh giá
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một tài liệu quan trọng trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Tác gi� đã trình bày một cách rõ ràng và d� hiểu v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và những thách thức mà chúng ta s� phải đối mặt. Tác gi� đã trình bày các khía cạnh này một cách rõ ràng và cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� tầm quan trọng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong tương lai.
Tuy nhiên, cuốn sách cũng có một s� điểm yếu. Nó có th� quá tập trung vào các khía cạnh k� thuật của trí tu� nhân tạo và ít đ� cập đến các khía cạnh xã hội và đạo đức. Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng có th� quá chuyên sâu đối với những người không có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo.
Tóm lại, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách đáng đọc đối với những ai quan tâm đến lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Cuốn sách cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những kh� năng và thách thức của nó trong tương lai. Tuy nhiên, đối với những người không có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� có nhiều khó khăn trong việc hiểu và tiếp cận.
IV. Định hướng đọc gi�
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một tài liệu quan trọng trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Nó s� hữu ích cho những người quan tâm đến lĩnh vực này, bao gồm c� những người đang học và nghiên cứu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những người quan tâm đến ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Tuy nhiên, với những người đã có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực này, cuốn sách s� cung cấp cho h� một cái nhìn tổng quan và chi tiết v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo.
Với những người quan tâm đến ứng dụng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong đời sống thực t�, cuốn sách cũng cung cấp cho h� một s� ví d� v� những ứng dụng của nó, bao gồm c� trong lĩnh vực y t� và kinh doanh.
V. Kết luận
"A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách quan trọng và hữu ích trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge đã trình bày một cách rõ ràng và chi tiết v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những kh� năng và thách thức của nó trong tương lai.
Cuốn sách s� hữu ích cho những người quan tâm đến lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Tuy nhiên, đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến lĩnh vực này, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Tóm lại, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách đáng đọc đối với những ai muốn tìm hiểu v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Ngoài ra, đây cũng là một cuốn sách rất phù hợp cho những người đang học và nghiên cứu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, bởi nó cung cấp cho h� một cái nhìn tổng quan và chi tiết v� lĩnh vực này.
Tuy nhiên, như đã đ� cập � trên, đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Đ� hiểu rõ hơn v� nội dung của cuốn sách, đọc gi� có th� cần phải có kiến thức cơ bản v� trí tu� nhân tạo.
Nếu bạn là một nhà nghiên cứu hoặc nhân viên trong lĩnh vực công ngh� thông tin, hoặc ch� đơn giản là muốn tìm hiểu v� trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó, thì cuốn sách này s� cung cấp cho bạn một tầm nhìn sâu sắc và rõ ràng v� lĩnh vực này.
Trong tổng quan, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách rất đáng đọc và hữu ích cho những ai quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một cuốn sách có nội dung thú v� và b� ích v� lĩnh vực này, thì đây là một lựa chọn tuyệt vời.
Mình mua cuốn này sách gốc tại Bookee, bạn cần mua thì có th� tham khảo � đây:
I. Tổng quan v� cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence"
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một bản tóm tắt v� lịch s� phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� các khía cạnh v� khoa học, công ngh� và xã hội. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge đã cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� lịch s� của trí tu� nhân tạo t� khi xuất hiện đầu tiên cho đến hiện tại. Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và tầm quan trọng của nó trong tương lai của nhân loại.
II. Nội dung của cuốn sách
Lịch s� phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo
Cuốn sách bắt đầu với một lược s� v� trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� những người tiên phong đã đưa ra những ý tưởng ban đầu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, như Alan Turing và John McCarthy. Cuốn sách cũng giới thiệu những cách tiếp cận khác nhau của trí tu� nhân tạo trong quá kh�, bao gồm c� cách tiếp cận theo quy luật và cách tiếp cận dựa trên học máy.
Công ngh� và ứng dụng
Cuốn sách đưa ra một cái nhìn tổng quan v� những công ngh� mới nhất trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo, bao gồm c� các k� thuật học máy, máy học sâu và học tăng cường. Tác gi� cũng giải thích những ứng dụng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong đời sống thực t�, bao gồm c� các ứng dụng trong lĩnh vực y t�, giao thông vận tải và ngành công nghiệp.
Tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo
Cuốn sách đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và tầm quan trọng của nó đối với tương lai của nhân loại. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge cũng cung cấp một s� kh� năng v� việc trí tu� nhân tạo có th� phát triển trong tương lai, bao gồm c� việc tạo ra các trí tu� nhân tạo t� động hơn và có th� t� học.
Cuốn sách cũng đ� cập đến những thách thức và nguy cơ khi s� dụng trí tu� nhân tạo trong tương lai, bao gồm c� các vấn đ� v� đạo đức và an ninh. Tác gi� đã giải thích cách chúng ta có th� đối phó với những thách thức này và đảm bảo rằng trí tu� nhân tạo s� được s� dụng một cách an toàn và hiệu qu�.
III. Nhận xét và đánh giá
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một tài liệu quan trọng trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Tác gi� đã trình bày một cách rõ ràng và d� hiểu v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng đưa ra một s� nhận định v� tương lai của trí tu� nhân tạo và những thách thức mà chúng ta s� phải đối mặt. Tác gi� đã trình bày các khía cạnh này một cách rõ ràng và cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� tầm quan trọng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong tương lai.
Tuy nhiên, cuốn sách cũng có một s� điểm yếu. Nó có th� quá tập trung vào các khía cạnh k� thuật của trí tu� nhân tạo và ít đ� cập đến các khía cạnh xã hội và đạo đức. Ngoài ra, cuốn sách cũng có th� quá chuyên sâu đối với những người không có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo.
Tóm lại, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách đáng đọc đối với những ai quan tâm đến lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Cuốn sách cung cấp cho người đọc một cái nhìn tổng quan v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những kh� năng và thách thức của nó trong tương lai. Tuy nhiên, đối với những người không có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� có nhiều khó khăn trong việc hiểu và tiếp cận.
IV. Định hướng đọc gi�
Cuốn sách "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một tài liệu quan trọng trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Nó s� hữu ích cho những người quan tâm đến lĩnh vực này, bao gồm c� những người đang học và nghiên cứu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những người quan tâm đến ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Tuy nhiên, với những người đã có nền tảng v� lĩnh vực này, cuốn sách s� cung cấp cho h� một cái nhìn tổng quan và chi tiết v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo.
Với những người quan tâm đến ứng dụng của trí tu� nhân tạo trong đời sống thực t�, cuốn sách cũng cung cấp cho h� một s� ví d� v� những ứng dụng của nó, bao gồm c� trong lĩnh vực y t� và kinh doanh.
V. Kết luận
"A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách quan trọng và hữu ích trong lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo. Tác gi� Michael Wooldridge đã trình bày một cách rõ ràng và chi tiết v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những kh� năng và thách thức của nó trong tương lai.
Cuốn sách s� hữu ích cho những người quan tâm đến lĩnh vực trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Tuy nhiên, đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến lĩnh vực này, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Tóm lại, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách đáng đọc đối với những ai muốn tìm hiểu v� lịch s� và phát triển của trí tu� nhân tạo, cũng như những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�.
Ngoài ra, đây cũng là một cuốn sách rất phù hợp cho những người đang học và nghiên cứu v� trí tu� nhân tạo, bởi nó cung cấp cho h� một cái nhìn tổng quan và chi tiết v� lĩnh vực này.
Tuy nhiên, như đã đ� cập � trên, đối với những người mới bắt đầu quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo, cuốn sách có th� hơi khó tiếp cận. Đ� hiểu rõ hơn v� nội dung của cuốn sách, đọc gi� có th� cần phải có kiến thức cơ bản v� trí tu� nhân tạo.
Nếu bạn là một nhà nghiên cứu hoặc nhân viên trong lĩnh vực công ngh� thông tin, hoặc ch� đơn giản là muốn tìm hiểu v� trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó, thì cuốn sách này s� cung cấp cho bạn một tầm nhìn sâu sắc và rõ ràng v� lĩnh vực này.
Trong tổng quan, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" là một cuốn sách rất đáng đọc và hữu ích cho những ai quan tâm đến trí tu� nhân tạo và những ứng dụng của nó trong đời sống thực t�. Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một cuốn sách có nội dung thú v� và b� ích v� lĩnh vực này, thì đây là một lựa chọn tuyệt vời.
Mình mua cuốn này sách gốc tại Bookee, bạn cần mua thì có th� tham khảo � đây:
November 25, 2021
An excellent introduction to the subject, or interesting history for those who already work with it. Not too long, but not too short to be devoid of detail - and there are many references to back up all of the history.
For the most part, this is a history book. Chapters 1-5 focus on where AI and ML have been. The later chapters focus on specific current (2021) topics, and expand on some of the current technical and ethical concerns.
The main topics include:
- Ch. 1-4: A history of AI (including expert systems snd robotics)
- Ch. 5: A history of ML, including NNs
- Ch. 6: AI today, with a focus on healthcare and driverless cars
- Ch. 7: Debunking myths of where AI can go wrong
- Ch. 8: Current issues facing AI (technical and ethical)
- Ch. 9: A philosophical discussion of AI and cognitive science
For the most part, this is a history book. Chapters 1-5 focus on where AI and ML have been. The later chapters focus on specific current (2021) topics, and expand on some of the current technical and ethical concerns.
The main topics include:
- Ch. 1-4: A history of AI (including expert systems snd robotics)
- Ch. 5: A history of ML, including NNs
- Ch. 6: AI today, with a focus on healthcare and driverless cars
- Ch. 7: Debunking myths of where AI can go wrong
- Ch. 8: Current issues facing AI (technical and ethical)
- Ch. 9: A philosophical discussion of AI and cognitive science
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2023
An exceptional guide through the long history of AI. Wooldridge takes the reader through an extensive storytelling journey, breaking down each “Era� of AI advancements and incorporating approachable examples of the complexities in engineering and mathematics faced by researchers throughout the past 70 years. As noted by the author, the book is highly selective regarding the applications and technologies discussed within each era, but I found his selections to provide the perfect amount of detail and breadth. Overall, an exceptionally well written book, and an excellent resource for those curious about the history of AI research and development.
December 5, 2023
An interesting look at the history of AI and what the author terms as the various 'boom and bust' cycles it has gone through over the past few decades, brought about by what the author suggests are overly ambitious forecasts of what AI might be able to achieve in the near term, only to largely disappoint as actual progress fails to live up to the hype.
The first few chapters go over the early decades of progress (starting with Turing), the various methods used, the different types of systems and what they were able to achieve. In addition the author outlines the various limitations of these systems - and approaches - to AI and then leads on with the next innovations and how they tried to fix these issues in the following period.
There are various examples of the big breakthroughs that have been made over the past decade or two, as well as a clear outline as to why this is nothing like AGI and an explanation as to how far off that we really are. As someone who has kept half an eye on progress over the past decade, I was already aware of the progress made and had watched a few videos (as well as downloaded some of the source code) of the DeepMind Atari stuff 7 or 8 years ago (and found it utterly fascinating), but nonetheless reading about it here was still enjoyable and I liked the way Wooldridge tried to ground everything he was saying and not get too carried away - which is one of the main messages of the book.
Woolridge ends the book with a philosophical discussion on what consciousness is, and how we might and define what it would mean for a machine to have consciousness and what tests we might set for that to be proved. Woolridge states we are probably over a hundred years - if not considerably more, if I understood him correctly - to getting even close to AGI and given what he lays out in the book, it is difficult to argue otherwise. I guess perhaps the more interesting counter point (particularly re the dangers of AI) might be whether it matters, the systems in development at the moment could have (and will have) such a profound impact on the planet I wonder whether the conscious argument is somewhat moot and perhaps academic - even though we might be hundreds of years away from AGI, very real change (and the danger that comes with it) will likely be here soon.
Overall I really enjoyed the book as a soft introduction into the various reading I hope to do in AI over the next few months. Recommended.
November 18, 2023
I appreciated this book for accomplishing the goal it set out to do. It provided a great historical framework with a lot of philosophical underpinnings throughout the way to reflect upon. Overall, it was a good addition to my diet of AI literature, but I wouldn't recommend it as a place to start out learning about the topic. There is more accessible literature out there, which in a way made understanding this one so well feel a bit like a victory lap. And then attending my AI conference right after and understanding all that too... shitttttt I'm not saying I'm a genius but if you will then....
/////
Inside all AI systems today is a numeric utility model representing preferences of the user and the model seeks to maximize utility
Bayesian inference to deal with uncertainty
- rationally adjusting beliefs with new information
Inverse reinforcement learning for computers to understand what we really want
- look at human behavior and decide what rewards AI needs to get to that direction
Up to 47% of jobs are susceptible to automation with AI
- if a person can do a mental task with less than one second of thought we can probably automate it using AI now or in the near future
One theory is that instead of allowing automation to free up our working hours we increased our productivity to afford more consumer goods. If we accepted simpler standards of living we would all have to work less
Marx theory of alienation with boring repetitive tasks and no ability to organize labor applies directly to what is being automated away now.
Homunculus argument is an informal fallacy whereby a concept is explained in terms of the concept itself, recursively and the plato charioteer explanation of consciousness just delegates the question of consciousness to a smaller rational person.
/////
Inside all AI systems today is a numeric utility model representing preferences of the user and the model seeks to maximize utility
Bayesian inference to deal with uncertainty
- rationally adjusting beliefs with new information
Inverse reinforcement learning for computers to understand what we really want
- look at human behavior and decide what rewards AI needs to get to that direction
Up to 47% of jobs are susceptible to automation with AI
- if a person can do a mental task with less than one second of thought we can probably automate it using AI now or in the near future
One theory is that instead of allowing automation to free up our working hours we increased our productivity to afford more consumer goods. If we accepted simpler standards of living we would all have to work less
Marx theory of alienation with boring repetitive tasks and no ability to organize labor applies directly to what is being automated away now.
Homunculus argument is an informal fallacy whereby a concept is explained in terms of the concept itself, recursively and the plato charioteer explanation of consciousness just delegates the question of consciousness to a smaller rational person.
March 31, 2023
Superficially, "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence," is an ambitious attempt to provide a comprehensive account of the development of artificial intelligence (AI). However, the different and evolving meaning of the central term, artificial intelligence, comes in the way. The book simply fails to address the rapidly evolving state of AI as it is known today. The way the term AI was meant at various times, the book turns into a computer science history.
The book was published in 2021. For the reader, however, a complete absence of generative AI, ChatGPT, Bard, or other similar terms makes the history itself too historic!
Its treatment of AI's potential uses and abuses is similarly weak. Discussions are cursory, often recycling arguments and examples covered well in popular journals. This lack of depth is especially apparent when the author addresses weighty topics like AI consciousness or its impact on jobs.
The author's biggest failure is in its predictions about the future of AI. Wooldridge's vision of what AI will be capable of in the coming decades seems painfully outdated compared to the developments we've seen in just the past few weeks. The rapid pace of AI advancement has outstripped the author's expectations, rendering many of his predictions obsolete so soon after its release.
Given that the topic is soon to have many books with the central focus on the path-breaking latest innovations, this book has lost its relevance even more.
The book was published in 2021. For the reader, however, a complete absence of generative AI, ChatGPT, Bard, or other similar terms makes the history itself too historic!
Its treatment of AI's potential uses and abuses is similarly weak. Discussions are cursory, often recycling arguments and examples covered well in popular journals. This lack of depth is especially apparent when the author addresses weighty topics like AI consciousness or its impact on jobs.
The author's biggest failure is in its predictions about the future of AI. Wooldridge's vision of what AI will be capable of in the coming decades seems painfully outdated compared to the developments we've seen in just the past few weeks. The rapid pace of AI advancement has outstripped the author's expectations, rendering many of his predictions obsolete so soon after its release.
Given that the topic is soon to have many books with the central focus on the path-breaking latest innovations, this book has lost its relevance even more.
March 20, 2024
Michael Wooldridge's "A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence" offers a concise yet insightful exploration of this ever-evolving field. The book takes the reader on a captivating journey, tracing the development of AI from its conceptual beginnings to the cutting-edge techniques of today.
Wooldridge meticulously dissects the various approaches that have driven AI research throughout history. We learn about the early days of symbolic logic and the rise and fall of different methodologies. This balanced perspective sheds light on the cyclical nature of AI research, where periods of initial excitement are often followed by reassessment and revised approaches.
The discussion on artificial consciousness is particularly thought-provoking. Wooldridge dives into the question of whether AI can ever achieve sentience or a human-like level of consciousness. This section is likely to spark debate and ignite the reader's imagination about the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead.
Wooldridge meticulously dissects the various approaches that have driven AI research throughout history. We learn about the early days of symbolic logic and the rise and fall of different methodologies. This balanced perspective sheds light on the cyclical nature of AI research, where periods of initial excitement are often followed by reassessment and revised approaches.
The discussion on artificial consciousness is particularly thought-provoking. Wooldridge dives into the question of whether AI can ever achieve sentience or a human-like level of consciousness. This section is likely to spark debate and ignite the reader's imagination about the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead.
Read
August 19, 2021He’s knowledgeable and his style is easy to read and he assumes almost nothing. Similar to the coverage you would read in the Economist. It explains the evolution and issues of the field.
Second half is speculations about future developments. I am generally dismissive of predictions, particularly technological ones, and was no less so here.
On the one hand it’s a readable and accessible introduction to how the field developed, perhaps necessarily superficial. But I wonder about his perspective on the field. For example he acknowledges that when Alphabet paid 680 billion for Deep Mind he had never heard of it. And he doesn’t mention that the current largest source of profit from AI’s use is in predictive advertising, a fact I regard as significant. From my point of view he’s a little too unconcerned with what he terms “mundane reality�, the world in which people lose jobs, houses and so on. I got the sense he doesn’t find such issues intellectually stimulating.
Second half is speculations about future developments. I am generally dismissive of predictions, particularly technological ones, and was no less so here.
On the one hand it’s a readable and accessible introduction to how the field developed, perhaps necessarily superficial. But I wonder about his perspective on the field. For example he acknowledges that when Alphabet paid 680 billion for Deep Mind he had never heard of it. And he doesn’t mention that the current largest source of profit from AI’s use is in predictive advertising, a fact I regard as significant. From my point of view he’s a little too unconcerned with what he terms “mundane reality�, the world in which people lose jobs, houses and so on. I got the sense he doesn’t find such issues intellectually stimulating.
July 29, 2023
A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where WE Are, and Where We Are Going by Michael Wooldridge is an engaging popular survey of advancements in AI. I learned a few things from the book, but I think it would have been better if I read this a few years ago. This might not be among the first books you read on AI, but it is very much meant for people who are not yet familiar with the practice or its history. Good, but lacking a little in meat. If you're new to the idea of machine consciousness, still think about terminators in a movie-sense, or perhaps just finished watching the Imitation Game, this is probably good place to start your journey into the science behind artificial intelligence.
December 16, 2021
Turing test နဲ� စတယ� Turing test ရဲ� dilemma နဲ့ဘ� ပြန်ဆုံးတယ်လို့ပြောရမှာဘ�
လူတွ� သိထားတဲ� AI ဟ� လက်ရှ� academic research field မှာရှိနေတဲ� AI နဲ� များစွာကွာခြာ� နေတယ� ဆိုတာက ထောက်ပြထားတယ�
AI ဆိုရင� လူတွေက intelligence နဲ� consciousness ဟာမျိုးကိုဘဲပြေးမြင်ကြပေမယ့� တကယ်တမ်� logic,applied mathematics နဲ� probability လိုဟာမျိုးတွေကိ� မေ့လျော့ထားကြတယ�
လူတွေကိုယ်တိုင်က သူတို့ရဲ� consciousness mystery ကိုမဖြည်နိုင်သေးသရွေ� human level-intelligence ခေါ� strong AI/generalAI ဖြစ်လာဖို� လမ်းမမြင်သေးပါဘူ�
ဒီစာအုပ်ထဲမှ� deepmind တို� waymo ရဲ� driverless car တို့အကြောင်းတွ� ထည့်ရေးသွားပေမယ့� လက်ရှိအချိန်မှ� hot နေတဲ� gpt-3 လိုဟာမျို� အကြောင်းရေးထားတာတော� မတွေ့ဘူ�
လူတွ� သိထားတဲ� AI ဟ� လက်ရှ� academic research field မှာရှိနေတဲ� AI နဲ� များစွာကွာခြာ� နေတယ� ဆိုတာက ထောက်ပြထားတယ�
AI ဆိုရင� လူတွေက intelligence နဲ� consciousness ဟာမျိုးကိုဘဲပြေးမြင်ကြပေမယ့� တကယ်တမ်� logic,applied mathematics နဲ� probability လိုဟာမျိုးတွေကိ� မေ့လျော့ထားကြတယ�
လူတွေကိုယ်တိုင်က သူတို့ရဲ� consciousness mystery ကိုမဖြည်နိုင်သေးသရွေ� human level-intelligence ခေါ� strong AI/generalAI ဖြစ်လာဖို� လမ်းမမြင်သေးပါဘူ�
ဒီစာအုပ်ထဲမှ� deepmind တို� waymo ရဲ� driverless car တို့အကြောင်းတွ� ထည့်ရေးသွားပေမယ့� လက်ရှိအချိန်မှ� hot နေတဲ� gpt-3 လိုဟာမျို� အကြောင်းရေးထားတာတော� မတွေ့ဘူ�
February 28, 2021
It's an overview of AI, with about an equal balance of history and current issues. Falls into the uncanny valley of "too technical for people who are completely non-technical, but not technical or detailed or interesting enough if you're at all technical", I think, unfortunately.
There was nothing wrong in the book, it was just very boring. Maybe I've read enough about both the history of AI and participation in some of the modern deployments, so maybe I'm overly negative. I can't think of what other book I'd recommend more as a "history of AI" for non-technical folks, though.
There was nothing wrong in the book, it was just very boring. Maybe I've read enough about both the history of AI and participation in some of the modern deployments, so maybe I'm overly negative. I can't think of what other book I'd recommend more as a "history of AI" for non-technical folks, though.
June 17, 2021
I thought the book was interesting and a very good overview of AI. It goes through some history and the AI winters when progress was stuck to today where AI is being embedded in everything. It explains narrow AI which is mostly what is used today and the dream of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) which is expected to come about in the near future. The book covers why AGI might not be possible but we just don't know. I would recommend this as a go to book for anyone who just wants to understand AI better and it is in a easy to ready form.
July 30, 2021
Pretty good review of the histories of AI and the ups and downs as the computer scientists overpromised and underdelivered. There were breakthrough algorithms but in general new faster hardware either provided the gains directly or enabled new computer intensive algorithms to be pracotical.
Wooldridge does a good job explaining the different types of what the public perceives as all AI: machine learning, expert systems, deep learning, symbolic AI, neural nets, robotics, self-driving cars, computer chess programs.
A bonus for me was getting a British slant on the history.
Wooldridge does a good job explaining the different types of what the public perceives as all AI: machine learning, expert systems, deep learning, symbolic AI, neural nets, robotics, self-driving cars, computer chess programs.
A bonus for me was getting a British slant on the history.
February 25, 2021
Somewhat difficult to review. Would have preferred either denser history, or more technical discussion. But what's here is well-written, sober unvarnished. Cautiously optimistic about the future, avoiding both the fear that machines will take over the world and the unrealistic hope that machines will make our lives so easy we'll be totally at our leisure. Dogged naturalism when it came to the discussion of personality was, of course, unfortunate, but not exactly unforeseen.
March 27, 2021
An engaging and easy to read history of AI that also speculates about the future. The author draws on AI, psychological, and philosophical literature to create an interesting narrative. By exploring distinct phases of AI research, how they went wrong, and where we might go from where we are, the author demonstrates the nature of knowledge generating disciplines and embraces the importance of paradigm shifts.
February 6, 2023
I enjoyed the last chapter the most where the author talks about the future of AI and discusses consciousness. I also love the parallels he draws between computers, the stars in our galaxy, and the human brain. (e.g. A desktop computer can carry out up to 100 billion instructions every second. There are about 100 billion stars in our galaxy. There are about a 100 billion interconnected components in the human brain.)
July 11, 2023
An overall good and non-technical introduction to AI and its current status. Reads very fast and covers many aspects and challenges of AI. Mr Wooldridge is suitably sober on the current state and near term prospects for various types of AI knowledge. I couple of caveats to my enjoyment:
- The book is likely to be dated pretty quickly so discussions of issues with AI are evolving quickly - many of his points already seem dated (see concern further down).
- When referring to AI in movies he picks few examples of the issues as he sees them. He refers to Blade Runner once... a movie that was nebulous but certainly implied the replicants were not mechanical beings but biological so the relevance is weak. He refers to several other movies and books but never to the more seminal ones that tackled AI like 2001 or Colossus- both illustrated the issues he brings up more succinctly than the movies he references. This is a minor nitpick and may be related to him wanting to appeal to a younger audience.
- More substantive is his unconscious bias and weak understanding of social issues related to AI. He tries to be impartial but his few references seem to be left wing. He rightfully describes some issues with bias and fake news.... but his examples follow left wing college narratives. He gives an example of a right-wing individual getting his news from only right-wing media and the issue of fake news. He does not mention the even greater threat that most IT companies, along with universities and the media are left wing so that any biases in the AI or searching are more likely from the left. Also he mentions the problem of bias with AI recommendations, which unwittingly exposes his own biases. Searches may be biased but an equal or larger concern may be that an advanced AI may come up to conclusions opposite of desired messaging promulgated by universities and the intelligentsia. I am not sure if he made this book two years later he might change some of his narrative to include COVID and other media misses as well as the acknowledged censoring of many issues by most of our big IT companies. He seems to be oblivious to the dangers of left-wing domination of IT companies and the universities.
Overall, if you can overlook his own ideological blindness, a good and clear introduction.
I have started to grade books based on the technical difficulties and the social maturity of the material and how it is presented. I would put this book at middle to high school level.
- The book is likely to be dated pretty quickly so discussions of issues with AI are evolving quickly - many of his points already seem dated (see concern further down).
- When referring to AI in movies he picks few examples of the issues as he sees them. He refers to Blade Runner once... a movie that was nebulous but certainly implied the replicants were not mechanical beings but biological so the relevance is weak. He refers to several other movies and books but never to the more seminal ones that tackled AI like 2001 or Colossus- both illustrated the issues he brings up more succinctly than the movies he references. This is a minor nitpick and may be related to him wanting to appeal to a younger audience.
- More substantive is his unconscious bias and weak understanding of social issues related to AI. He tries to be impartial but his few references seem to be left wing. He rightfully describes some issues with bias and fake news.... but his examples follow left wing college narratives. He gives an example of a right-wing individual getting his news from only right-wing media and the issue of fake news. He does not mention the even greater threat that most IT companies, along with universities and the media are left wing so that any biases in the AI or searching are more likely from the left. Also he mentions the problem of bias with AI recommendations, which unwittingly exposes his own biases. Searches may be biased but an equal or larger concern may be that an advanced AI may come up to conclusions opposite of desired messaging promulgated by universities and the intelligentsia. I am not sure if he made this book two years later he might change some of his narrative to include COVID and other media misses as well as the acknowledged censoring of many issues by most of our big IT companies. He seems to be oblivious to the dangers of left-wing domination of IT companies and the universities.
Overall, if you can overlook his own ideological blindness, a good and clear introduction.
I have started to grade books based on the technical difficulties and the social maturity of the material and how it is presented. I would put this book at middle to high school level.
September 12, 2023
Excellent book that does exactly what it proposes to do in a successful way. This is where you come if you are curious about AI and Machine Learning, have some natural experience or thought about it, and want to learn more without taking a class or learning math or programming. It is a history that includes a thorough exposition of a field, and then a light touch on some problems and predictions at the end.
June 21, 2021
A very nice history of AI, the current state of the art, and likely future directions: not hyperbolic, not pessimistic or alarmist, but level-headed and sensible. The material is well organised and presented, and explained with a clarity that comes from a deep understanding of the issues. Really great primer on AI that I can hardly recommend enough.
September 9, 2021
Good intro to AI. Not too technical. Provided a decent understanding of the progress made and included some good references to past and present systems. The outlook toward the future was realistic. Also discusses some actual AI problems that need to be considered and didn't fixate on the Hollywood fake issues.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.