Artificial Intelligence: The Basics

The Basics

by Kevin Warwick

'if AI is outside your field, or you know something of the subject and would like to know more then Artificial The Basics is a brilliant primer.' - Nick Smith, Engineering and Technology Magazine November 2011 Artificial The Basics is a concise and cutting-edge introduction to the fast moving world of AI. The author Kevin Warwick, a pioneer in the field, examines issues of what it means to be man or machine and looks at advances in robotics which have blurred the boundaries. Topics covered Exploring issues at the heart of the subject, this book is suitable for anyone interested in AI, and provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to this fascinating subject.

Genres: Artificial Intelligence, Nonfiction, Technology, Science, Computer Science, Popular Science, Psychology

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

Reviews

[Saya]

Abandono en la página 119, no porque el libro sea malo, sino porque no es lo que yo buscaba. Creo que puede ser un muy buen libro para quienes tengan curiosidad sobre los distintos tipos de inteligencia artificial (sistemas expertos, redes neuronales, machine learning...), sobre todo si hay cierto interés en la programación y si en el futuro se pretende profundizar más a nivel técnico. Eso sí, este libro es tan básico que no toca absolutamente nada de programación ni matemáticas, pero aun así es muy teórico y, aunque incluye ejemplos, estos son muy simples y difíciles de relacionar con el mundo real. La parte más filosófica se me queda corta también. En definitiva, un libro que no era para mí.

[Tim Raveling]

This book was useful as an overview of some of the tools currently used in AI -- sensor types, data analysis, neural nets, etc., but it may have been a mistake to read it immediately following Douglas Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach." I came in expecting an in-depth analysis of the problems and potential solutions for simulating some kind of consciousness or thought, or at least emulation of it, but this is more just a list of tools. Read as such, it's worth a skim for anyone interested in the technical side of AI implementation, especially in weak modes like game programming or robotics.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit]

Shallow. Especially the “philosophic” parts.

[Jeremy]

A decent introduction to the field of Artificial Intelligence. I wish it went more into AGI and interesting methods within there but it went the usual historical route from GOFAI to Modern AI. Interesting chapter on Robotics which touches on A-Life and cellular automata. Sometimes it got boringly technical I think the author could have left out certain in-depth explanations about AI techniques since this is supposed to merely be a survey. Overall, a good introductory book for someone with little to no knowledge on the topic and would like to get a broad view of Artificial Intelligence before further investigation.

[Lewis]

Good introductory text to AI. I’d recommend this if you’re interested in the field but don’t want to commit to anything too “meaty”. This is quite a manageable book and gives a nice albeit shallow intro to a number of the key topics and talking points of AI and how they apply to the real world. No prior AI or Computer Science needed, but an interest in the topics would help this digest.

I studied a module at university on introductory AI and this book was a gentle recap to the topics. So thumbs up from me.

[Ambra]

Trovo che il libro abbia mantenuto le sue promesse. Nell’introduzione si legge il principale obbiettivo de libro sia quello di introdurre all’argomento, non una analisi approfondita della moderna Intelligenza Artificiale.
Come novizia nel campo sono rimasta soddisfatta, senza contare che se desidero approfondire determinati argomenti alla fine di ogni capitolo ci sono dei suggerimenti di lettura.

[LRKK]

This book begins with the astonishingly arrogant (and condescending) statement that ‘Although the text provides a general overview, potentially accessible by the general public, it has been written with academic rigour. Some previous texts have been directed more towards a fun book for children – this book is not of that type‘ and it doesn’t get much better. Somewhat informative and mercifully brief introduction to the field.

[Jia]

A nice introduction to artificial intelligence. I like especially the second half which introduces modern AI methodology and robots. The philosophy section, however, is less attractive. The counterarguments raised by the author are not convincing at least to me.

This book should be a four-star for those readers who interest in technology part instead of philosophy part.

[Charles Qi]

This book can be a better read if more details are added to each topic. Another aspect I feel quite disappointed about this book is it's not written in an engaging way. The author might be quite knowledgeable in AI, but he is certainly not good at telling a compelling story.

[☆]

Informative and understandable introduction to AI. Though the British English and occasionally didactic writing was sometimes difficult to understand, this book was an overall enlightening read.

[Janet Homes]

A great introduction to the world of Artificial Intelligence for beginners. AI is a must read topic. Highly recommended.

[Abhisek Panigrahi]

Can't say much about classical AI. But It definitely didn't do a good job in listing modern AI. It didn't tell about AI consists of textual data, nor reinforcement learning.

[John]

liked the first half but got totally lost on second half. unorganized and felt very stream of consciousness

[Michael]

Decent overview. No details but didn't pretend to be detailed.

[Ole Midthun]

As someone who has just scratched the surface on this field, this book was great! It puts AI in a historical perspective, then proceeds to raise and debate some of the ethical aspects of this technology. Most of the book explains what had been done previously, where we currently are, and finally where AI might take us. I found the book very systematic.

I believe this is a great book for a big audience. For me, it has been a diving board I can jump off later, because I do want to get a deeper understanding of the field. However it is also broad enough to be a great look into the state of the art for people with no prior knowledge. This balance is perfect for a book in a series called 'the basics'

[Kristian Henrichsen]

Alot of interesting thoughts in the book. It also gives a good overview as to where the field of AI is today, where it has been over the past dekades, and where it will be in the future. Warwick also discusses some philosophical topics. All in all, the book discusses AI in an interesting way. I think the book is a good supplement to alot of other AI-books that, in contrast to this book, goes straight to the use of algorithms, programming, etc.

[Michał Skrodzki]

I was disappointed with this book. Its very poorly structured an although it does present some basic, useful concepts it does so in a relatively chaotic way without really leaving anything useful behind. It seems at times like a collection of random information around robotics, algorithms and philosophical consideration of AI.

Maybe the problem with AI The Basics is that it is... Well, pretty basic.

[Brian]

Does what it says on the cover. It's a good primer, some of the philosophical aspects absorbed my attention completely, some of the explanations of the logic involved were a little dry and may have benefited from more depth in those areas. All in all I'd recommend it to anyone who may be interested in this area.

[Fred]

A quick read that's a very high level overview of different aspects of AI and different methods of implementing it. The book also gives recommendations for other books that dive into more detail for each subject.

[Arto Liuha]

Very nice guidance to an idea of artificial intelligence. Maybe even a little too simple approach. Could use a few more deeply discussed examples. The book recommendations were a good thing.

[منى سلامة]

كتاب الذكاء الصناعي .. لكيفن واريك
أكتر حاجة عجبتني فيه أنه مش صعب في القراءة .. يعني يقدر يقراه غير المتخصصين

[Sophia]

Legible for someone not in the field, good summary and covers a broad range of topics, although I did get lost a bit, but I blame that on my loosing interest in some parts.

[Andrea Nicaretta]

Introduzione base generale alla IA