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AI: Its Nature and Future
The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us; in our homes, schools and offices, in our cinemas, in art galleries and - not least - on the Internet. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, and linguists in helping to understand the processes of memory, learning, and language from a fresh angle.
As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Margaret A. Boden reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever be really intelligent, creative or even conscious, and shows how the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence has helped us to appreciate how human and animal minds are possible.
As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Margaret A. Boden reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever be really intelligent, creative or even conscious, and shows how the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence has helped us to appreciate how human and animal minds are possible.
210 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 7, 2016
Quite comprehensive treatise on Artificial Intelligence, covering its history, multiple branches, current applications, and future perspectives. However, I didn't find it especially enjoyable for one reason: Except for the last chapter, I think the intellectual depth of the discussions varied broadly. For example, given its intended broad audience, the book would not delve into details over specific areas of AI or specific algorithm families; only a general description is given. However, when later comparing several areas or algorithms, I struggled to keep up with the arguments because of the weak foundation on the individual topics. I have some expertise in several areas of AI but, sometimes within a single section of the book, I often found a very basic introduction followed by an overly-complicated analysis that seemed like it required a much stronger background that the one provided. A way to work around this problem could be by providing helpful figures (or at least key analogies) that describe the ideas better, instead of making any diagram, equation, pseudo algorithm, or any other technical representation taboo.
December 11, 2017
This book is more about some philosophical discussions about what AI really is and what its future will be. So if you're expecting to learn AI techniques or more in-depth AI topics, this is not the right book.
July 12, 2024
Pretty much the definition of mid.
In this book cringily titled "AI", written in 2016, Boden takes on the lofty challenge of trying to summarize all of the advancements seen in the field of artificial intelligence in 169 pages slim, dating back as early as Ada Lovelace's early speculations. As can be expected, this leads to quite a rapid account of all advancements, with random attention spent on certain subjects. Throughout, there are some definitions I disagree with or I view as at least being poorly chosen, such as the notion of virtual machine which she uses here - not to be confused with the typical virtual machines used to simulate a development environment.
The actual writing is, I think, a tad subpar and all over the place. The vast majority is extremely technical, so much so that I think someone with no prior AI background would struggle to get through the dense pages. There is, however, random jokes thrown in that mess with the serious tone for the rest of the book, as well as weird uses of modern lingo (most notably the use of "imho").
To top it all off, Boden tries to throw in some of her own ideas on "the Singularity" towards the end, but the ideas themselves are not really developed at all and even still are far from breathtaking.
All in all, I guess this is an okay summary of AI thus far, but surely there are better ones, and most definitely there are ones more relevant today, as the world of AI has changed greatly with recent advancements, the most notable of which being ChatGPT, which everyone has heard about by this point.
TL;DR: If you want to learn more about AI, this probably isn't what you want to be reading.
In this book cringily titled "AI", written in 2016, Boden takes on the lofty challenge of trying to summarize all of the advancements seen in the field of artificial intelligence in 169 pages slim, dating back as early as Ada Lovelace's early speculations. As can be expected, this leads to quite a rapid account of all advancements, with random attention spent on certain subjects. Throughout, there are some definitions I disagree with or I view as at least being poorly chosen, such as the notion of virtual machine which she uses here - not to be confused with the typical virtual machines used to simulate a development environment.
The actual writing is, I think, a tad subpar and all over the place. The vast majority is extremely technical, so much so that I think someone with no prior AI background would struggle to get through the dense pages. There is, however, random jokes thrown in that mess with the serious tone for the rest of the book, as well as weird uses of modern lingo (most notably the use of "imho").
To top it all off, Boden tries to throw in some of her own ideas on "the Singularity" towards the end, but the ideas themselves are not really developed at all and even still are far from breathtaking.
All in all, I guess this is an okay summary of AI thus far, but surely there are better ones, and most definitely there are ones more relevant today, as the world of AI has changed greatly with recent advancements, the most notable of which being ChatGPT, which everyone has heard about by this point.
TL;DR: If you want to learn more about AI, this probably isn't what you want to be reading.
February 6, 2019
Excelente recorrido por la historia, avances y nomenclaturas de la IA. Gran precisón en detalles y de fácil lectura. Sí requiere ciertos conocimientos previos pero de ahí en adelante es una clase magistral.
Es interesante ver los esfuerzos que se están haciendo a nivel internacional para colocar marcos y referentes éticos a las máquinas que se aproximan. No estamos muy lejos de un Black Mirror ni de un Terminator. Una vez más el asunto son los seres humanos y sus dinámicas sociales, cuando se encuentre el límite ahí podremos extendérselos a los robots o asistentes, hasta entonces, me considero escéptico de la Singularidad, pero no del poder de la Inteligencia Artificial.
Es interesante ver los esfuerzos que se están haciendo a nivel internacional para colocar marcos y referentes éticos a las máquinas que se aproximan. No estamos muy lejos de un Black Mirror ni de un Terminator. Una vez más el asunto son los seres humanos y sus dinámicas sociales, cuando se encuentre el límite ahí podremos extendérselos a los robots o asistentes, hasta entonces, me considero escéptico de la Singularidad, pero no del poder de la Inteligencia Artificial.
April 11, 2017
The title is a little misleading. Only in the next to last chapter does she talk about philosophy (the nature part) and only in the last chapter does she talk about speculations of the future of AI. (To be fair she does allude to this often in the earlier chapters.)
Most of the book is a straight history of AI, which while helpful in my particular research was also very dry. On the plus side she does take the piss out of Daniel Dennett and the Churchlands when it comes to his views on qualia and consciousness.
Most of the book is a straight history of AI, which while helpful in my particular research was also very dry. On the plus side she does take the piss out of Daniel Dennett and the Churchlands when it comes to his views on qualia and consciousness.
April 24, 2018
Good overview of AI as a technological field.
The mischaracterization of John Searle's views in chapter 6 was either ignorant or irresponsible.
The mischaracterization of John Searle's views in chapter 6 was either ignorant or irresponsible.
August 21, 2018
Great primer on AI, but not an introductory text. Dense with lots of complex concepts.
May 18, 2020
My apologies to Ms/prof/Dr? Boden. I received her (and several other) book(s) for review but was unable to locate them in my kindle until recently.
Judging from this book, Margaret Biden is the sort of teacher I always wanted but seldom got while trying to get an education. I believe if I had had chances like this in school I would have chosen a different career.
This book does not try to get you an "A" in this subject, but to allow you to grasp the principles and techniques so you can decide if you are interested. The delivery is conversational in a way that allows you to follow and digest the material as if it were an old friend, gives you the confidence to try a class in the subject of you decide you want to participate in this fascinating field.
If the subject were self-defense this book could be very dangerous (possibly leading some to feel ready to hands-on danger far too early. But in this field, it is a rare opportunity to better understand the opportunities, limits, and dangers AI continues to offer in a world relying more and more on a science that is already credited with altering or election (and resulting government) in a way we are still unable to understand.
Judging from this book, Margaret Biden is the sort of teacher I always wanted but seldom got while trying to get an education. I believe if I had had chances like this in school I would have chosen a different career.
This book does not try to get you an "A" in this subject, but to allow you to grasp the principles and techniques so you can decide if you are interested. The delivery is conversational in a way that allows you to follow and digest the material as if it were an old friend, gives you the confidence to try a class in the subject of you decide you want to participate in this fascinating field.
If the subject were self-defense this book could be very dangerous (possibly leading some to feel ready to hands-on danger far too early. But in this field, it is a rare opportunity to better understand the opportunities, limits, and dangers AI continues to offer in a world relying more and more on a science that is already credited with altering or election (and resulting government) in a way we are still unable to understand.
January 6, 2024
Solid coverage of the basics of AI up to 2016. The author wrote one of the classic texts back in the 80s. This book briefly covers the major advances and some ongoing work at a popular level. The author discusses in some detail the relationship between the symbolic approach and the neural network approach. The latter was in abeyance back in the 80s but has come to prominence once more with so called Deep Learning and massively more powerful computers on which to run it.
2016 is an unfortunate date. Explosions in Deep Learning Based solutions were just starting to occur. Starting with AlphaZero in 2017 and on up to ChatGPT and all of its siblings in just the last two years. I would love to hear what the author has to say about those. Her overall conclusion is that both approaches are needed which seems to be a pretty good bet. She finishes up with a look at the issue of consciousness. What it is and how it relates to Intelligence. Concluding that it is still the case that nobody has got a clue. We're not even asking the right questions.
2016 is an unfortunate date. Explosions in Deep Learning Based solutions were just starting to occur. Starting with AlphaZero in 2017 and on up to ChatGPT and all of its siblings in just the last two years. I would love to hear what the author has to say about those. Her overall conclusion is that both approaches are needed which seems to be a pretty good bet. She finishes up with a look at the issue of consciousness. What it is and how it relates to Intelligence. Concluding that it is still the case that nobody has got a clue. We're not even asking the right questions.
August 31, 2019
AI is a really comprehensive topic. While nowadays most of the interest resides in either the technological part or the ethical side, there are many other aspects that should not be forgotten. Margaret Boden has been there and done that for many years, and this book is a compelling summary of the philosophy and conceptual research behind AI since its beginnings.
While my current interests on AI are definitely more pragmatic, remembering some and learning much more about the philosophical and biological insights that have led us to where we are now is definitely and good use of anyone’s time.
While my current interests on AI are definitely more pragmatic, remembering some and learning much more about the philosophical and biological insights that have led us to where we are now is definitely and good use of anyone’s time.
March 26, 2018
The idea of AI is for the purpose of making machines smart and useful tools for humans, not expecting AI to actually simulate human consciousness. However, the development of AI has been divided into pro and cons. This book explained the essential ideas of AI, and pointed out 2 sides of voices. It is an easy reading booking without any difficult terms, could consider to be an introduction of AI. however maybe because it just touched the surface, some might feel not deep enough or not providing sufficient information.
April 11, 2024
I liked it.
I dont know why people go into a 156 page book thats 8 years old that has the title "its nature and future" and expect a comprehensive guide on how to build your own AI?
Its a short and sweet introduction to the field (including its history/future and philosophy) and nothing more than that. Of course, outdated (to no fault if its own) and right before the "GPT Boom". But its a nice read.
If people would just not go into books with the wrong perceptions the world would be a better place. Read a textbook if you want a comprehensive guide.
I dont know why people go into a 156 page book thats 8 years old that has the title "its nature and future" and expect a comprehensive guide on how to build your own AI?
Its a short and sweet introduction to the field (including its history/future and philosophy) and nothing more than that. Of course, outdated (to no fault if its own) and right before the "GPT Boom". But its a nice read.
If people would just not go into books with the wrong perceptions the world would be a better place. Read a textbook if you want a comprehensive guide.
July 29, 2017
While the concept of the book was highly interesting the delivery left much to be desired. I will probably, in the future, try to read it again but for now I couldn't get into this book enough to finish it.
September 11, 2018
History of AI intertwined with history of computing. Last two chapters get close to something called ethics but not really. I really wished it to get deep into ethics but that was just me not knowing what to expect. Good quick read none the less. Good for students in the field and beginners.
January 9, 2020
Un gran pantallazo del tema, que indaga sobre las repercusiones sociales. No llega a ahondar en implementación ni matemáticas. Me hubiese gustado en algún punto una descripción más formal de los métodos utilizados en las diferentes disciplinas de la IA.
June 9, 2020
Es un gran libro para seguir de cerca los desafíos que enfrenta la Inteligencia Artificial. No creo que sea un libro de divulgación ya que Boden utiliza muchos tecnicismos que impiden tener una lectura fluida del tema.
April 19, 2024
No está mal para conocer la historia de las IA's y sus retos (aún que si esperas algo que se centre en la actualidad, recomendaría otras lecturas). Si quieres indagar a nivel técnico/matemático, no es tu libro.
September 3, 2018
A great book for beginners to start with if you are interested to join the AI field.
August 14, 2016
Ai By Margaret a Boden is about computers and Internet.
The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us; in our homes, schools and offices, in our cinemas, in art galleries and - not least - on the Internet. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, and linguists in helping to understand the processes of memory, learning, and language from a fresh angle.
As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Margaret A. Boden reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever be really intelligent, creative or even conscious, and shows how the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence has helped us to appreciate how human and animal minds are possible.
This was an interesting read it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I would give it 4*. Interesting and enjoyable read. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.
The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us; in our homes, schools and offices, in our cinemas, in art galleries and - not least - on the Internet. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, and linguists in helping to understand the processes of memory, learning, and language from a fresh angle.
As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Margaret A. Boden reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever be really intelligent, creative or even conscious, and shows how the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence has helped us to appreciate how human and animal minds are possible.
This was an interesting read it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I would give it 4*. Interesting and enjoyable read. Thanks to netgalley for the arc.
October 11, 2016
Great overview about the origins and challenges of artificial intelligence. This book meditates about AI as an approach to discover the mysteries of the human mind, establishes its similarities and differences, and distinguishes the fields where AI can certainly outperform humans but also the disciplines where there is still a long way to go to even emulate what humans do. Very easy to read and with great bibliography
June 16, 2016
This book provides encyclopedic coverage of AI in mostly non-technical language, with terminology and definitions on nearly every page. However, it lacks a compelling narrative and clear, simple examples of the different types of AI.
March 7, 2024
Really good book. Well written and about an interesting subject.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews