Artificial Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction

 Artificial Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction, Margaret A Boden, Oxford University Press, 2018

Many advances in artificial intelligence have been made over the past several years, starting with Siri and Alexa. This book gives the details.

The science of AI involves many other sciences, including neurophysiology, logic and psychology. A major problem is how to present a problem, or a question, to a computer in a way that the computer will understand. Another problem is how to show things like emotion and creativity. What is consciousness? Is intelligence more than just IQ or the Turing Test?

Robot designs have had better luck creating robots that resemble insects, with six or eight legs, than in creating robots that look human, with two legs. When is The Singularity coming? When is Skynet coming? The general answer from this book is: not anytime soon.

This is a very well done introduction to the world of artificial intelligence. Some of it gets rather technical, but most of it is good for the general reader. It is very much recommended for anyone who wants an introduction to AI. Veterans of the field might also learn a thing or two.