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Thinking Machines Lib/E: The Quest for Artificial Intelligence--And Where It's Taking Us Next
When most of us think about Artificial Intelligence, our minds go straight to cyborgs, robots, and sci-fi thrillers where machines take over the world. But the truth is that Artificial Intelligence is already among us. It exists in our smartphones, fitness trackers, and refrigerators that tell us when the milk will expire. In some ways, the future people dreamed of at the World's Fair in the 1960s is already here. We're teaching our machines how to think like humans, and they're learning at an incredible rate. In Thinking Machines, technology journalist Luke Dormehl takes you through the history of AI and how it makes up the foundations of the machines that think for us today. Furthermore, Dormehl speculates on the incredible--and possibly terrifying--future that's much closer than many would imagine. This remarkable book will invite you to marvel at what now seems commonplace and to dream about a future in which the scope of humanity may need to widen to include intelligent machines.
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First published June 2, 2016
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About the author
Luke Dormehl
9 books41 followersLuke Dormehl is a journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film. His writing has appeared in Wired, Digital Trends, The Guardian, Fast Company, Empire, Cult of Mac, Politico, The Huffington Post, and Techmeme.
He is the author of Thinking Machines, The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems (And Create More), The Apple Revolution: Steve Jobs, The Counterculture, and How the Crazy Ones Took Over the World, and A Journey Through Documentary Film.
He is the author of Thinking Machines, The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems (And Create More), The Apple Revolution: Steve Jobs, The Counterculture, and How the Crazy Ones Took Over the World, and A Journey Through Documentary Film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
March 29, 2017
I should note that I am not computer tech person. I usually say at least twice a week, why can't my computer do what I want it to do as opposed to what I accidently told it to do.
I enjoyed this book. It was the non-fiction selection in My Book Box for March. Dormehl writes about computers for the layman, and the concepts are easily grasped. He raises questions and even gives some answers. At times, the book is non-linear but it is never confusing.
I enjoyed this book. It was the non-fiction selection in My Book Box for March. Dormehl writes about computers for the layman, and the concepts are easily grasped. He raises questions and even gives some answers. At times, the book is non-linear but it is never confusing.
March 24, 2017
There's nothing in this book for which I could recommend it. There's a little history of AI and multiple news stories from the recent press all probably familiar to most listeners. The world is changing and networks and AI are happening, but at the most the author only gives surface explanations for what's really going on. There is a story to be told for what's happening, but the author only seems to get the current events in themselves but can't tie them together and is out of his depth when it comes to connecting the dots.
There is a revolution going on right now. The author talks a little bit about Google and its language translation program. He does talk about how the 'machine learning' algorithms made the translator problem solvable and more robust then the previous expert system approach, but he can't take the listener beyond platitudes when he talks about that or other current happenings in the field.
He thinks future teaching should consider that students don't need to remember facts as much since they can always look dates and such up off of the internet. But, I would say that if the student doesn't understand the context that comes from the connections that knowing the facts bring, then they will not understand the meaning of what is really going on. Ironically, that belief contributes to why the author could not connect the dots and wrote such a substandard book that really should be ignored by people who love this topic as much as I do.
There is a revolution going on right now. The author talks a little bit about Google and its language translation program. He does talk about how the 'machine learning' algorithms made the translator problem solvable and more robust then the previous expert system approach, but he can't take the listener beyond platitudes when he talks about that or other current happenings in the field.
He thinks future teaching should consider that students don't need to remember facts as much since they can always look dates and such up off of the internet. But, I would say that if the student doesn't understand the context that comes from the connections that knowing the facts bring, then they will not understand the meaning of what is really going on. Ironically, that belief contributes to why the author could not connect the dots and wrote such a substandard book that really should be ignored by people who love this topic as much as I do.
November 10, 2017
This was awful. Shallow, surface-level popular science writing of the worst sort, narrated by a boring British gentleman whose hemming and hawing and excessive pausing I had to set on 1.5x just to get through. I had already read or heard about nearly everything hastily discussed, and I barely skim the news on artificial intelligence and robotics. Not to mention this was an extended paean to all the great things AI will give us, with a teensy-tiny chapter about the possible ill effects tacked on at the end. BARF. I WAS TRICKED AGAIN!
June 4, 2017
Thinking Machine tries to capture the innovation and progress happening in the field of Artificial Intelligence. It is targeted for laymen and is easy to read.
The author starts the book brilliantly by capturing the history of AI, initial enthusiasm followed by the dull period and then the rise of AI and deep learning. One chapter is dedicated for neural networks and deep learning. The author does a great job in explaining the concepts of symbolic AI and deep learning.
But after chapter 2, the content is collection of AI related news stories only. If you are a regular news reader, then you won't find anything of value from the rest of the book. The author tries to discuss some issues with current AI system e.g. creativity of AI systems, stupidity of AI systems etc. and issues coming due to progress of AI e.g. job security of humans and singularity etc. He could have certainly done better with those topics.
The author starts the book brilliantly by capturing the history of AI, initial enthusiasm followed by the dull period and then the rise of AI and deep learning. One chapter is dedicated for neural networks and deep learning. The author does a great job in explaining the concepts of symbolic AI and deep learning.
But after chapter 2, the content is collection of AI related news stories only. If you are a regular news reader, then you won't find anything of value from the rest of the book. The author tries to discuss some issues with current AI system e.g. creativity of AI systems, stupidity of AI systems etc. and issues coming due to progress of AI e.g. job security of humans and singularity etc. He could have certainly done better with those topics.
May 30, 2017
This book involves a wide overview of the fast growing field of AI and served as an excellent read for anyone who is technology literate but no computer scientist.
It begins with the history of symbolic AI and the old guard of scientists that pioneered the field like Marvin Minsky and introduces classic AI thought experiments and the Turing Test.
The majority of the book thankfully delves straight into the more cutting edge technologies using neutral network systems and provides insight into the science fiction-esque feats AI has been able to perform within the past decade.
There are also interesting quips about the philosophical implications of sentient AI and other fun goodies.
There is, however, quit a bit of name dropping and it might be difficult to keep track of all the companies and project heads mentioned.
It begins with the history of symbolic AI and the old guard of scientists that pioneered the field like Marvin Minsky and introduces classic AI thought experiments and the Turing Test.
The majority of the book thankfully delves straight into the more cutting edge technologies using neutral network systems and provides insight into the science fiction-esque feats AI has been able to perform within the past decade.
There are also interesting quips about the philosophical implications of sentient AI and other fun goodies.
There is, however, quit a bit of name dropping and it might be difficult to keep track of all the companies and project heads mentioned.
May 1, 2017
The subject matter of this book is really interesting. Multiple times, I remarked out loud or read something to my boyfriend.
The writing, however, left something to be desired. I don't like when a writer brings himself into the piece. If it's not about you, I don't want your first person. It was more than that, though, the way he referred back to other chapters felt jumpy. He over explained somethings and chose unrelatable examples at the extremes in others.
The writing, however, left something to be desired. I don't like when a writer brings himself into the piece. If it's not about you, I don't want your first person. It was more than that, though, the way he referred back to other chapters felt jumpy. He over explained somethings and chose unrelatable examples at the extremes in others.
May 11, 2017
This book is a great discussion around the history of AI - where it started, where we're at today, and where it might go. My disappointment comes from the fact that I had thought I was getting a book that was more about the technical aspects of AI as it is today.
March 9, 2018
A very good overview from 40s to now on the AI and efforts related to that. Written in an easy to understand but does not take into account concerns related to the "omnipresent" nature of AI. I will gladly recommend this book to any one that wants to understand the history of AI, in layman terms.
January 31, 2021
More like 3.75 stars, but I rounded up to counter some of the unjustly rough reviews on here. It started strong, particularly by describing the history of the different schools of thought in AI and the surprising rise to dominance of the neural network school.
The middle of the book wasn't that great; the usual case studies and thought experiments that anyone who's done any study of AI will know by now. In particular, the chapter on AI and creativity seemed contrived. If I wanted to read about what creativity is, I'd read a book on creativity.
Last few chapters got a little better when getting into AI ethics, but just a passing glance was given to _privacy_, which is pretty important to AI ethics.
All in all, a strong intro to the field and a book I enjoyed reading, but there is some fat to trim in the middle chapters.
The middle of the book wasn't that great; the usual case studies and thought experiments that anyone who's done any study of AI will know by now. In particular, the chapter on AI and creativity seemed contrived. If I wanted to read about what creativity is, I'd read a book on creativity.
Last few chapters got a little better when getting into AI ethics, but just a passing glance was given to _privacy_, which is pretty important to AI ethics.
All in all, a strong intro to the field and a book I enjoyed reading, but there is some fat to trim in the middle chapters.
September 17, 2025
I liked the book quite a bit. Thinking machines capture the progression of AI. The first few 3 chapters were quite an interesting read, going over AI, neural networks, and deep learning. It is depicted in a way that's quite easily understandable.
But after chapter 3, the quality of the book takes a hit, in my opinion. The author discusses topics related to issues with the current AI system, which most people would already know of if they are up to date with the news. The author discusses topics like the creativity of AI and job security of humand, etc. He could've delved deeper into those topics.
The book is very approachable to the history, ideas and implications of AI. Although the discussions sometimes remain on the surface level, it is very appealing to those curious about AI, but not interested in academic detail.
But after chapter 3, the quality of the book takes a hit, in my opinion. The author discusses topics related to issues with the current AI system, which most people would already know of if they are up to date with the news. The author discusses topics like the creativity of AI and job security of humand, etc. He could've delved deeper into those topics.
The book is very approachable to the history, ideas and implications of AI. Although the discussions sometimes remain on the surface level, it is very appealing to those curious about AI, but not interested in academic detail.
November 30, 2017
This is a pretty good, short, up-to-date summary of the current state of the art, and future prospects for, artificial intelligence (AI). It's well-written, but I kept losing interest, and it sat on the bedside table until it came due and I made a push to finish it, skimming some.
I took some notes, which aren't very valuable. I learned some trivia: 4.4 trillion gigabytes of stuff online, as of 2016! The Google Brain project is training its AI by having it watch cat videos!! Is this truly the highest and best use of a combo of "massive 16,000 computer processors" with "more than 1 billion connections"? I mean, I like cat videos, but...
I was pretty knowledgeable on this topic before, and can't say I know a lot more now. Plus, I owe a fine for my overdue book....
I took some notes, which aren't very valuable. I learned some trivia: 4.4 trillion gigabytes of stuff online, as of 2016! The Google Brain project is training its AI by having it watch cat videos!! Is this truly the highest and best use of a combo of "massive 16,000 computer processors" with "more than 1 billion connections"? I mean, I like cat videos, but...
I was pretty knowledgeable on this topic before, and can't say I know a lot more now. Plus, I owe a fine for my overdue book....
November 27, 2017
Well, this isn't quite what I was looking for. If you want a light, breezy overview of the history and issues involved in AI then this is a probably a good place to start, but if you're at all familiar with the subject, by which I mean, you've read at least a single other survey of computer development and AI research, then there's not a whole heck of a lot to be added in this volume. The writing style is very much like what one might find on wired.com or one of the breezier tech-oriented sites. It's quite approachable and easy for the casual reader. Somehow that style rather lacks... gravitas given the significance of the subject matter, but it might be a merit for many readers. Personally, I found it a bit tiresome. All things considered, however, I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone who wasn't a neophyte, but in the hands of a neophyte it would probably do a lot of good.
July 20, 2017
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Initial thoughts: Even though the potential of artificial intelligence and its underlying principles usually fascinate me in science fiction, I've shied away from reading technical books about it. See, my grasp of science is considerably basic. For someone like me, Thinking Machines was very accessible. The concepts were broken down such that a laymen could understand them.
I gained a broader overview of the origins and state of AI today in a manner that also challenged and engaged my mind. Naturally, the philosophical musings over whether AI truly is intelligent and what constitutes intelligence to begin with, especially captured my attention.
Initial thoughts: Even though the potential of artificial intelligence and its underlying principles usually fascinate me in science fiction, I've shied away from reading technical books about it. See, my grasp of science is considerably basic. For someone like me, Thinking Machines was very accessible. The concepts were broken down such that a laymen could understand them.
I gained a broader overview of the origins and state of AI today in a manner that also challenged and engaged my mind. Naturally, the philosophical musings over whether AI truly is intelligent and what constitutes intelligence to begin with, especially captured my attention.
November 30, 2017
As someone who has very little understanding of the whole AI/Neural Networks topic I expected that I will clarify a lot of my questions by reading this book; that was not the case.
While the book covers numerous aspects of the AI topic, I can't stop feeling that it could have been summarised in a long blog post; especially the parts in which most of the information presented is just reference & mentions of others sources and studies.
On the positive side, I feel it covers quite well the part about "AI taking over people's job".
While the book covers numerous aspects of the AI topic, I can't stop feeling that it could have been summarised in a long blog post; especially the parts in which most of the information presented is just reference & mentions of others sources and studies.
On the positive side, I feel it covers quite well the part about "AI taking over people's job".
May 18, 2018
An engaging broad overview of the recent boom of studies in artificial intelligence that veers a little too sharply towards wild conjecture towards the end, though I suppose that is the point of A.I. research. I would have appreciated a more focused and streamlined look at ways A.I. has evolved in terms of both academic research and business-driven research, whereas Dormehl preferred to focus on the latter. Contrast and structure are always important. It was overall an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
May 22, 2018
As a broad summative overview of the field of work in Artifical Intelligence from its beginnings to today, this book is brilliant! It's also only a year or so old which is nice, as it's therefore a reasonably up-to-date look at a very interesting area indeed. I enjoyed it very much.
December 20, 2019
This book was OK. It did its job, provided an overview, and ultimately the writing was polished enough to pass as status quo journalism. This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but writing is difficult, so producing a status quo overview on AI is a commendable accomplishment.
I learned a few things - but as other readers have expressed, I expected a deeper dive into neural networks. To me, the most interesting parts of AI didn't get the camera time they deserved, and the book suffered because of its surface level gloss.
Even as a non-expert though, I feel like I could have written the book. Which is pretty cool to think there's enough information out there to compile a reasonable overview of a difficult subject. But would I write "that book" just because I could or had a considerable interest? Probably not unless I had something much more interesting and original to say than simple reportage of the evolution of AI.
If this book was an AI system, it would be good old fashioned AI. Nothing new was introduced into the mix. But the author still has writing chops. And despite reading a few disagreements with his autobiographical interjections, I liked when he related AI to his personal life.
I learned a few things - but as other readers have expressed, I expected a deeper dive into neural networks. To me, the most interesting parts of AI didn't get the camera time they deserved, and the book suffered because of its surface level gloss.
Even as a non-expert though, I feel like I could have written the book. Which is pretty cool to think there's enough information out there to compile a reasonable overview of a difficult subject. But would I write "that book" just because I could or had a considerable interest? Probably not unless I had something much more interesting and original to say than simple reportage of the evolution of AI.
If this book was an AI system, it would be good old fashioned AI. Nothing new was introduced into the mix. But the author still has writing chops. And despite reading a few disagreements with his autobiographical interjections, I liked when he related AI to his personal life.
May 28, 2018
I was initially not planning to finish the book after reading the first few chapters, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. While it begins with an overview of the history of artificial intelligence, the book only gets interesting as it begins delving into the developments that have taken place in the field, the discussions that are being held on how to define the term AI, and the challenges we might face as a society in the future, as AI, slowly but steadily becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives.
The book is really eye-opening as it describes the various manifestations of AI, the processes through which intelligent machines are developed, and the progress that has been made. A level of progress that most of us are clearly not aware of.
What's most scary (both in a good way and a bad way) is that in a few years the developments described in the book will be considered a given by most of us. For the information, as well as the philosophical questions the author ponders on, I think the book deserves a 5.
The book is really eye-opening as it describes the various manifestations of AI, the processes through which intelligent machines are developed, and the progress that has been made. A level of progress that most of us are clearly not aware of.
What's most scary (both in a good way and a bad way) is that in a few years the developments described in the book will be considered a given by most of us. For the information, as well as the philosophical questions the author ponders on, I think the book deserves a 5.
February 25, 2019
Decent high level overview, but I noticed several factual errors so I am now worried I have "learned" false information from the book. A decent editor and fact-checker would have drastically improved my review
Examples of incorrect statements:
> Thomas Edison was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting electric lightbulb in his laboratory in Menlo Park, California.
> ENIAC...weighed 60 pounds and took up an entire room
> A regular clamshell cellphone... manages to be 1,3000 times faster
> For example, a little more than ten years ago, driving a car was considered something that a machine would never do... That all changed on October 2010, when Google published a blog post revealing that it had developed 'cars that can drive themselves'
Examples of incorrect statements:
> Thomas Edison was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting electric lightbulb in his laboratory in Menlo Park, California.
> ENIAC...weighed 60 pounds and took up an entire room
> A regular clamshell cellphone... manages to be 1,3000 times faster
> For example, a little more than ten years ago, driving a car was considered something that a machine would never do... That all changed on October 2010, when Google published a blog post revealing that it had developed 'cars that can drive themselves'
February 21, 2025
Luke -
Thank you for a very well written book with how we got here with some of the pioneers and heavy lifters with the evolution of artificial intelligence. There are many highlights you shared that I had not ever knew about and not that I am impacting AI at all, but I feel like I follow it and attempt to pay attention to how technology is developing and changing - mainly how we live and interact with it.
I have set a goal to read more books like this to better understand this technology and phenomenon and it begins to move rapidly and be debated at how quickkly it will takeover how we live and impact our lives and work. I'm looking forward to learning more from you and your take on how this will change how we live.
Thank you for a very well written book with how we got here with some of the pioneers and heavy lifters with the evolution of artificial intelligence. There are many highlights you shared that I had not ever knew about and not that I am impacting AI at all, but I feel like I follow it and attempt to pay attention to how technology is developing and changing - mainly how we live and interact with it.
I have set a goal to read more books like this to better understand this technology and phenomenon and it begins to move rapidly and be debated at how quickkly it will takeover how we live and impact our lives and work. I'm looking forward to learning more from you and your take on how this will change how we live.
June 10, 2017
it was very slow buildinf at first, to go over all the history behind the building of AI as we know (or not know) of today. it reminded me a lot about my grduate work in neuroscience and some of the lectures that i had discussing about connectome and where neuroscience as a whole was growing in parelle to what AI and what we know how we know things are being researched. i am happy to say that I am not only part of what makes AI (or I guess, AGI) is going to soon become but also will be able to see what would come of AI and all the ethical questions that are mentioned in this book to come alive right before my eyes. very interesting read.
June 14, 2017
Challenge yourself to pick-up a copy of this book and read up on why Artifical Intelligence (AI) is more than a computer generated program. Can you live in a world that is self-sustaining? The answer is that we already do, now imagine living in a world that is artifically sustained. Will the parallels intersect much like space travel from one universe to another, and with the discovery of another universe the plausibility of travel between "worlds" is no longer philosophical, theoritical, or cost-prohibitive. Definitely worth a close study for context and concept, however, as a general read this books serves as the perfect front porch conversation in an AGI derived reality.
June 6, 2017
I feel like this book is aimed at people who don’t know much about the current state of AI and want to get a general surface level grasp on it. I fall into that camp and I learned a lot from this book. I am 34 and writing this review in 2017 and my takeaway is that the world is going to drastically change within my lifetime. "47% of jobs in the US are susceptible to automation within the next 20 years” <- I am still processing that one. No one knows what the future holds but Thinking Machines clues you in to what’s happening now and what could be around the corner.
August 24, 2017
A really easy read (and I mean that as a positive) for anyone looking to dip their toes into the world of Artificial Intelligence. A light book that skims across a wide range of AI topics and some of the most important figures and movements in its history. While this likely won't satisfy those well-read on the subject, I'd highly recommend this to someone curious about AI and looking for a solid starting point. There's a snappiness and modernity to the writing that I think would appeal to a lot of younger readers!
September 27, 2018
This is a nice little overview of the history of the development of machine intelligence for a general audience. The author touches briefly on the issue of whether machines will finally be developed that are more intelligent than human beings. He gives arguments on both sides of the question.
He doesn't mention the famous statement "It will be a very long time before computers are smarter than human beings. It may take a 100 years." In other words, just a second or two in real historical time.
He doesn't mention the famous statement "It will be a very long time before computers are smarter than human beings. It may take a 100 years." In other words, just a second or two in real historical time.
August 31, 2020
Stopped after about the first third of the book. The beginning was a decent review of the history of AI and the personalities involved. As a software engineer who has lived through much of that history, I found it reminiscent. Then the author transitioned into futurist promises of utopia where AI-driven machines make ours lives carefree and every move we make is monitored. From my perspective, such a society is a dystopia. My genre of choice is non-fiction and all the fore-telling in the book resulted in it feeling like fiction.
September 11, 2018
This is the first book on AI I have read. It starts with a history of AI and covers the different areas of AI - different types of AI, use cases - past, present and future, research taking place in AI world with real world examples. As the book is written by a journalist, it is an easy read like reading a set of magazine articles.
Overall I would recommend this for a beginner reader to get an understanding into the world of AI.
Overall I would recommend this for a beginner reader to get an understanding into the world of AI.
December 27, 2023
It journals the history of AI and how the usage of the phrase has changed since the early 60s. Published in 2016, it's already stale and has no 'inside story' the cover promises. The author did little more than compile information. He could have given a bit more context... Like when he talks of this AI algo that writes stories, called Scheherazade, he gives no inclination as to why it was named so.
July 28, 2017
It's more of an explanation of the history and world of AI than exploration of ideas. It's about the 3rd book I've read on AI and it is almost exactly the same. They all talk about IBM's Watson, which I've read up on and it's kind of a joke. Fairly disappointing but adding a star for giving a good history on AI.
January 29, 2018
This is a good overview of the history of AI in layman's terms. I found it a fascinating look at where AI came from and where it's headed. Bonus is finding out that IBM's Watson not only authored a cook book but also has an app to help you make something great out of whatever you have lying around your kitchen.
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