The Shortest History of AI: The Six Essential Ideas That Animate It

Shortest History

by Toby Walsh

A timely addition to the Shortest History series from a world-leading AI researcher: The history of the development of artificial intelligence told through its six essential animating ideas

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 Lovelace’s visionary work to IBM’s 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 AI’s 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 it’s provided with.

Fast-paced and rich with facts, The Shortest History of AI explores how artificial intelligence is being created—and 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Science, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2025

About the author

Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in Artificial Intelligence. He is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and leads a research group at Data61, Australia’s Centre of Excellence for ICT Research. He has been elected a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of AI for his contributions to AI research, and has won the prestigious Humboldt research award. He has previously held research positions in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Sweden.

Reviews

[Alex Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging, insightful and accessible read!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, enjoyable read! A nice introduction to the core concepts of AI. I'll be handing it over to my folks to read ☺️

[Toby Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six ideas to understand artificial intelligence today

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 Lovelace's visionary work to IBM's groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT. It also explores AI's cultural journey, touching on classics such as Frankenstein, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and 2001- A Space Odyssey.

Revealing how many 'overnight' successes were decades in the making, this accessible and illuminating book simplifies AI into six key ideas, equipping readers to understand where we've been - and where we're headed.

‘This history of AI in six simple ideas is so informative and easy to digest. Essential reading!’ —Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.

‘One of the world's brightest minds takes on one of the world's biggest topics … Delicious!’ —Adam Spencer.

[Dave Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artificial intelligence is around us every day. It’s not going away. But don’t worry, it can’t think, and it is not about to do away with its human inventors. Toby Walsh’s book, “The Shortest History of AI,” traces its development, explains how it works, and outlines how it will continue to develop.

AI began at a 1956 meeting led by John McCarthy with a bold goal to build thinking machines. Early systems relied on rules and logic. They worked well in clear tasks like games, but failed in real life. This period showed how hard it is to build true intelligence because our world lacks the kind of clear rules that computers require.

AI went through cycles of hype and disappointment. Early excitement led to funding. But progress was slow because it was difficult to integrate human judgment with the rules that computers need.

Progress slowed, and support dropped during the AI winter. Expert systems ushered in a new wave by mimicking human rules in narrow domains. They worked well in small areas but failed to handle real-world complexity. The key issue was the knowledge gap. It was hard to capture human judgment in simple rules.

The field shifted when learning replaced strict coding. Neural networks, computational models inspired by the human brain, were developed. They use interconnected layers of artificial neurons to learn patterns, make predictions, and process complex data.

Transformers changed how machines process language. They break text into tokens, turn them into numbers, find patterns, and generate new text. This design powers GPT models. Each new version grew larger and more capable. GPT-1 was small. GPT-3 and GPT-4 became massive, trained on vast amounts of data from the internet.

ChatGPT made this tech widely available. It works like advanced auto-complete, predicting likely words and ideas. It can write, code, and answer questions. Still, it does not know the truth. It predicts what seems likely, which leads to errors or made-up facts.

Reinforcement learning improves results by incorporating human feedback. It rewards helpful answers and filters harmful ones. Yet limits remain. These systems can drift, make errors, or reflect biases in the training data.

AI also uses probability to handle uncertainty. Methods like Bayes’ rule help systems judge risk and make better choices. This powers tools like spam filters and recommendation systems.

Today, AI is advancing rapidly amid significant investment and global competition. Governments and companies are racing to lead. The technology brings gains but also risks like bias, job loss, and misuse. The future may bring machines that match or exceed human intelligence, but progress will take time and careful control.

[DIPTISHA SARKAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Shortest History of AI' by Toby Walsh was indeed one of the books that I was very excited to read about. We all are quite aware of Artificial intelligence or AI. To many of us, it has become an integral part of our life. Hence, I was looking forward to knowing about how it came into existence and where this is going.

This book is stuffed with information, details and research data. My mind was boggled when I came across how AI was invented and its comparison to its present day use. Many people are scared to use AI because they feel threatened because they think it might take over the world. It's an essential read for everyone to know the correct use of AI and break the misconceptions.

Through this book, Walsh shares great success of AI in the past and in present. I came to know about many unknown things while reading this book. Like i had no idea about what was the full form of GPT in AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The T stands for transformer. Little details and interesting research analysis makes this book one of a kind. If you're someone who is eager to know about AI in detail, I'd definitely like to recommend this book to you.

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-What Will Robots Do To Us?-
Review of 'The Shortest History of AI' by Toby Walsh

Quote Alert
"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐆𝐏𝐓 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐈..𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐝? 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐈'𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐆𝐏𝐓 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞."

Since the day computer was launched, writes Walsh, the advent of artificial intelligence had begun. The hullabaloo that now surrounds AI has been years in making. Walsh has systematically addressed the beginning and the advent of the machines, their expansion into a conscious level and the panic that now engulfs the world that it may take over.

So what is it about? In The Shortest History of AI, Toby Walsh takes us through the journey behind AI’s ‘overnight success’ to show how its recent skyrocketing popularity has been decades in the making. AI has been a part of our lives for centuries – from the first mechanical computer in 1837 to today’s chatbots, robots and self-driving cars.

But how did machines meant to follow simple instructions, read and do math become smart enough to write Shakespeare-style poetry, beat world champions at chess, and offer viable solutions to humanity’s problems? What lies in store for AI? Is it going to graduate to take over more complex jobs? If so, what might happen to our work, society, governance, healthcare – and life as we know it?

This brief history slices through the wild claims, myths and speculated threats to explain AI technology, its challenges, capabilities and how it is likely to shape the world in the future.

Pick it up this festive season.

[Prof. Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly researched by one of the world's preeminent authorities on artificial intelligence (AI). Toby has lived and breathed, and made significant contributions to, the field of AI and reminds us that it is far from a new phenomenon, far from perfect, and far from over.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This is a short, comprehensive history of AI. While a lot of it was familiar to me, because I have read several books on the topic, there were still ideas and information here that felt new to me. I will definitely purchase a copy for my school library.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little refresher as to where we are and how we got here.

[Scott Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did an excellent job in breaking down the history of AI in an easy to read fashion. Brings up societal concerns of AI and the need for responsible regulation.

[Jeremy Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t fault this book. Well-informed, readable and optimistic. A great introduction to an all-important topic.

[p_llavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written succinct yet insightful introduction to the world of AI. Loved it as someone totally new to the field. Crisp , humorous and engaging. Highly recommend as a beginner in AI book

[Stefano Palminteri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reads very well and it is a good entry on the topic, but few inaccuracies and shortcuts reduce my enthousiame. Example minimax is presented as AI and not game theory, reinforcement learning appears to start with DeepMind. One can also discuss about chapter ordering that is not historical. on a plus side it is really easy and fast to read. but for more advanced readers it will be mostly annoying

[Peter Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

AI is a load of 🐂💩
I've been retired for many years now but after a career of 30+ years in IT, I still have a strong interest in technology especially computer science type technology.
I had read many articles in the press about AI but still didn't understand it. The Shortest History of AI gave me a good insight, not on the technical details of how large language models are built and analysed but enough to understand how it works. So for that, thank you Mr Walsh.
There is a basic truth about AI; its results are not true! They are at best an approximation of the truth. They can (possibly) get better with larger models but they will never be true. AI search results are approximations. So we are told of all the benefits AI can bring us. Say an analysis of an MRI scan which is going to tell you whether you have cancer or not. Are you going to accept an approximation. A skilled medical professional is going to be put out of work because we are all happy to accept approximations. AI does not think and reason like you and me; it just makes a guess, often a good guess but a guess none the less.
And then there are data centres. Our politicians (of the left and right) want to join a head-long rush to have data centres built everywhere. This they say will give us a lead in the race to implement AI and reap its benefits (and its problems). Again, this is just 🐂💩! Data Centres are built wherever there is the least reaction and wherever the costs are cheapest. What our politicians are not telling us is that EVERY data centre is connected to the bloody Internet! They can be accessed anywhere in the world! They don't have to be in Australia! And as for the employment opportunities, again more 🐂💩! Once they're built they only require a few people to turn the lights on and off and clean the floors and dust the cabinets. Even these menial jobs could be/will be done by robots.
So again, thank you Mr Walsh for helping explain a few of these things.
Would I recommend this book? NO!
But I would recommend that you lobby your local member to look harder at the pros and cons of AI and data centres.
And instead of reading this book, search the Internet for Bill Gates latest essay on AI - a very troubling read.
That was perhaps my strangest book review; sorry for the preaching. But this is an important subject.

[Harsh Tyagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shortest History of AI approaches the subject with clarity. We’re living in a time where AI sparks endless debate. Some people fear it, some openly dislike it, and others still treat it like a distant futuristic concept. Yet, intentionally or unintentionally, AI has already become part of everyday life, from recommendation algorithms and navigation apps to chatbots, smart devices, and the digital systems most of us interact with daily. Whether people embrace it or resist it, AI is clearly here to stay, which makes books like this feel especially relevant right now.

The book traces the long journey of AI from early mechanical computers in the nineteenth century to the modern world of chatbots, robots, and self-driving technology. Along the way, it explores how machines evolved from following basic instructions to performing tasks such as creative writing, strategic thinking, and problem-solving at astonishing levels.

Books about AI can easily become overwhelming with jargon or dramatic predictions, but not this one. This is a good read, clear on the topic and way too interesting. It carefully looks at the possibilities as well as the limitations of AI. The historical approach also makes the subject feel more easy to understand, showing that AI did not suddenly appear overnight but has been shaped by decades of experimentation, ambition, and innovation. This book provides a clearer understanding of what AI truly is, what it can realistically do, and why its future matters so much. Informative, readable, and genuinely interesting.

[Rob Tarling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very good. I found it in a bookstore yesterday and immediately bought a copy.

What it does better than so many AI books is that it slows the reader down. Essentially, by placing AI in a historical context, it becomes far easier to see what matters, what is likely significant, and what is just noise in a fast-moving field.

And its key strength is its structure.

The author explains AI through six core ideas, and each one is so clearly laid out that it is very easy to see how the field has progressed. The book covers a historical arc from the Symbolic Era (e.g., symbolic search, game-playing, and rule-based expert systems) to where we are now in the Learning Era (e.g., neural nets, reinforcement learning, and handling uncertainty using Bayesian probability).

It’s a very simple framework, but it’s amazingly powerful in the way that Walsh has written it.

I also really liked the fact that the author is very balanced and sober. Where justified, he is excited about the genuine recent progress, but equally, he is realistic about current AI’s limits, hype cycles, and what passes for reasoning and understanding.

Mercifully short, easy to read, and genuinely informative (even for a reasonably informed person, like myself).

4.5 stars.

[Ambica Gulati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artificial Intelligence was formally “born” in 1956 at Dartmouth College—but its story stretches across centuries, cultures, and ideas.

Toby Walsh’s The Shortest History of AI is not just about machines, but about people, philosophies, and societies shaping the future. It covers:
* The innovators who imagined thinking machines
* Google’s surprising typo origin
* India’s ancient contributions to logic and reasoning
* The environmental, ethical, and existential challenges AI poses today

For professionals outside the tech world, this book offers a clear, witty, and accessible entry point into AI’s past, present, and future.

Sometimes, before forming an opinion, we simply need to know the story.

Walsh’s book is a quick, essential ride through AI’s past, present, and future. It gives easy insight into the making of AI, including the game-changing computers like Watson and Menace. All you need is 6 hours and AI would be on your tips, because let’s face it: we have to know something before we opine on it.

[ROLLAND Florence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would probably be excellent after being reviewed by a good technical editor. In its current state, it lacks structure.

There are lots of anecdotes in there that range from useful to just entertaining. Some will really help you understand what AI is and how it came to be. The others will just waste your time, especially in a condensed book that is supposed to cut through the babble.

I would also have liked schemas, a high level view that explains how different fields relate to each other. It is a lot easier to explain complex technical things if you provide a way to visualize them.

All in all, I enjoyed it despite the structural flaws. The author seems like a very fun and witty person, with the typical academic mindset that I love. Definitely someone fascinating to have coffee with, or spend around 100 pages sitting with.

Thank you #NetGalley and The Experiment Publishing for the ARC.

[Nick Shears · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb, concise history of Artificial Intelligence, written by an expert for the interested layman. Recommended to everyone who has been or will be affected by the phenomenal growth of AI – and that’s all of us!

The writing style is crystal clear, and includes occasional welcome humour, such as this anecdote from a contemporary about Alan Turing’s time as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during WWII:

Fearful of a German invasion, Turing buried a number of silver bars in the grounds of the country house. But (he) failed to record the location of these bars. The silver therefore remains buried to this day.

[Charlie Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars.

I am not an AI person - yet I feel siren-sung-to to try and understand it. This is a really accessible and coherent read. Lots of AI-interested people dismiss books as not being up-to-date, a fair criticism of a cutting-edge technology. For those playing catch up - this is a great book with a firm sense of the social history of AI as well as the technological one. This is a particularly necessary sense to have as lots of current critiques of the technology fall along social lines; the discussion about the technology is rarely just about the technology.

[Sarah]

I was already sceptical both of the subject matter and of the dull, broski, pop-fiction-esque writing style of this book, but finally decided to DNF this when, ten pages in, the gentleman writer went to introduce Ada Lovelace, which he did not by describing her talents and achievements but by naming her father, Lord Byron, her friend, Charles Babbage, and then listing four paragraphs' worth of Babbage's accomplishments.

[kglibrarian (Karin Greenberg) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating look at the history of AI (it started in 1956!) written in a conversational style that's easy for non techies to understand. With the rising use of AI in our personal and professional lives, it's more important than ever for us to stay informed about the details behind it. This book helps demystify some of the basic concepts of AI, while also giving a clearer picture of how the continued developments may affect our world.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't read much like a history. It wasn't linear, so what happened in one chapter didn't lead to whatever happened in the next chapter. Instead, the chapters seemed disconnected and fragmented, so I had trouble following the chronology. Also, some important concepts were never fully explained. I still don't understand what AI transformers are or how they work or what they do.

[avie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a PhD student in history, my work touches on parts of the history of AI, so naturally I was drawn to this book. It does a great job distilling the need-to-knows for a broad audience in a way that introduces them historically but also practically.
I will say that my digital ARC has odd formatting regarding the timeline and the photographs, but it did not interrupt the experience too much.

[Juan Lazcano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was extremely informative and did a very good job at exposing the pillars that AI is built on, and I especially like the final chapter where it alludes to the possible issues that AI will bring about in the future. Very helpful for me since my knowledge on the technical base of the subject is very limited.

[Deepayan Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A crisp and concise guide to AI- from its birth, infancy and the wonderful growing years to what it is today. Walsh simplifies intricate concepts of machine learning and pattern recognition into layman terms which indeed glues you to the text. An interesting read for the ones intrigued, and somewhat intimated by the advent of AI in modern times.

[Kosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read!

My favourite part of this book was how much I "learned how much I have to learn". The field of AI is huge, growing, and excitingly unpredictable. There's so much to know about it, and this book is about the best job you could do of introducing AI to any audience.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading but a bit too technical for me at times. Toby Walsh does a great job explaining how AI evolved and where it’s going, but some sections felt heavier than needed for such a short book. Still, it’s a solid intro if you’re curious about AI and don’t mind a few deep dives!

[Olga C.Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like everyone needs to read this book or something similar that explains AI because it is quite every any aspect of our lives. I do recommend this book because it was easy to read yet thorough, explaining the most important aspects that led to the advances in AI that we have today.

[Stuart Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent - and indeed short - history of AI, exploring key themes and introducing the waves of AI development.