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The Shortcut: Why Intelligent Machines Do Not Think Like Us
An influential scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) explains its fundamental concepts and how it is changing culture and society.
A particular form of AI is now embedded in our tech, our infrastructure, and our lives. How did it get there? Where and why should we be concerned? And what should we do now? The Why Intelligent Machines Do Not Think Like Us provides an accessible yet probing exposure of AI in its prevalent form today, proposing a new narrative to connect and make sense of events that have happened in the recent tumultuous past, and enabling us to think soberly about the road ahead.
This book is divided into ten carefully crafted and easily digestible chapters. Each chapter grapples with an important question for AI. Ranging from the scientific concepts that underpin the technology to wider implications for society, it develops a unified description using tools from different disciplines and avoiding unnecessary abstractions or words that end with -ism. The book uses real examples wherever possible, introducing the reader to the people who have created some of these technologies and to ideas shaping modern society that originate from the technical side of AI. It contains important practical advice about how we should approach AI in the future without promoting exaggerated hypes or fears.
Entertaining and disturbing but always thoughtful, The Shortcut confronts the hidden logic of AI while preserving a space for human dignity. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in AI, the history of technology, and the history of ideas. General readers will come away much more informed about how AI really works today and what we should do next.
A particular form of AI is now embedded in our tech, our infrastructure, and our lives. How did it get there? Where and why should we be concerned? And what should we do now? The Why Intelligent Machines Do Not Think Like Us provides an accessible yet probing exposure of AI in its prevalent form today, proposing a new narrative to connect and make sense of events that have happened in the recent tumultuous past, and enabling us to think soberly about the road ahead.
This book is divided into ten carefully crafted and easily digestible chapters. Each chapter grapples with an important question for AI. Ranging from the scientific concepts that underpin the technology to wider implications for society, it develops a unified description using tools from different disciplines and avoiding unnecessary abstractions or words that end with -ism. The book uses real examples wherever possible, introducing the reader to the people who have created some of these technologies and to ideas shaping modern society that originate from the technical side of AI. It contains important practical advice about how we should approach AI in the future without promoting exaggerated hypes or fears.
Entertaining and disturbing but always thoughtful, The Shortcut confronts the hidden logic of AI while preserving a space for human dignity. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in AI, the history of technology, and the history of ideas. General readers will come away much more informed about how AI really works today and what we should do next.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 8, 2023
3 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 2, 2025
Cristianini’s core point about modern AI is sound: today’s AI doesn’t “understand” the world - rather it learns patterns and optimizes a score. Give it a metric and it’ll chase that, not your intentions, which is why these types of systems can look genius one minute and bizarre the next.
What I liked:
• The book treats AI as engineered infrastructure, not as baby minds.
• It explains why (large-scale) data regularities beat hand-written rules, how reward functions quietly shape behavior, and why recommendation engines can nudge society without any “intent.”
• It’s very pragmatic about governance: state the objective, design guardrails, audit outcomes, and install circuit-breakers.
Minor issue:
• Because the author was aiming for short and understandable, the book stays high-level; real-world practitioners may want more concrete, detailed case studies.
But as a lens for understanding, building and regulating modern AI systems, it’s truly excellent. Clear, sober, memorable. Highly recommended, and 4.5 stars from me.
What I liked:
• The book treats AI as engineered infrastructure, not as baby minds.
• It explains why (large-scale) data regularities beat hand-written rules, how reward functions quietly shape behavior, and why recommendation engines can nudge society without any “intent.”
• It’s very pragmatic about governance: state the objective, design guardrails, audit outcomes, and install circuit-breakers.
Minor issue:
• Because the author was aiming for short and understandable, the book stays high-level; real-world practitioners may want more concrete, detailed case studies.
But as a lens for understanding, building and regulating modern AI systems, it’s truly excellent. Clear, sober, memorable. Highly recommended, and 4.5 stars from me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review