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There are many myths and mistakes which make the topics of artificial intelligence complex and confusing. But the truth is that the foundations of AI are not rocket science. People do not need a PhD to understand how a basic neural network works. In fact, one does not even need computer skills to learn this.
Cunning Machines: Your Pocket Guide to the World of Artificial Intelligence explains the main concepts: what does AI really mean, where do we find it, how do scientists try to evaluate it, what are its main limitations and what future we can expect with it? It also describes the most popular AI techniques in an easy-to-digest form:
Artificial neural networks
Genetic algorithms
The Monte Carlo method
Natural language processing
Ontologies and their applications
This book is for everyone. Still, it may be especially valuable to teachers who wish to enrich their classes with some interesting and popular topics, sales managers and business analysts who wish to better understand the IT world, and finally politicians and journalists who take part in debates on the latest technologies.
J¿drzej Osi¿ski earned a PhD in artificial intelligence, has worked on government grants and has published 14 scientific papers to date. He is also the co-author of two books. At the same time, he has over ten years of experience working in IT companies of different sizes, domains (the web, telecoms, banking, e-learning), organisation structures and locations (Poland, Ireland and the UK). He is also involved in various initiatives promoting AI, science and modern technologies including blog posts, invited talks and TV and radio appearances
List of contents
Scientific Manifesto. Introduction – Magic revealed. Artificial Intelligence – a sci-fi phrase that changes the World. What is A.I.? Strong artificial intelligence. Turing test. Algorithm or heuristic? “I want to play a game.” Are we there yet? Neural networks – a brainstorming inside a PC. Everything is a number. Secrets of artificial brain. Brainstorming. Layers and liars. Artificial reasoning. Deep Thought. Genetic algorithms – for the Galapagos Islands to computer-composed symphony. Evolution squeezed into milliseconds. Artificial DNA. The birth of life. Natural selection Crossover – a new generation builds a new world. X-men among us. Evolution of a solution. Evolution in IT. Monte Carlo method – unexpected benefit of gambling. How much is π?
About the author
Jędrzej Osiński, PhD, earned his PhD in Artificial Intelligence and has a strong research background in computer science. He has published 14 scientific papers to date as well being the co-author of two books. During his academic career he was working in government grants and lecturing about software testing and products, AI applications and IT business start-ups. He has participated in a number of different conferences as a speaker, papers reviewer and organizer. His scientific interests are mostly focused on spatio-temporal modelling and reasoning, knowledge representation, natural language processing, qualitative calculus and fuzzy sets.
Dr Osiński has over ten years of experience working in IT companies of different sizes, domains (web, telecom, banking, e-learning), organization structures and locations (Poland, Ireland, UK). Currently he combines the roles of certified senior QA engineer, line manager and business analyst to support software projects for some of world’s best-known brands.
He is also involved in various initiatives promoting AI, science and modern technologies e.g. blog posts, science days, invited talks, as well as radio and TV appearances.
Summary
While AI is becoming more ubiquitous in our daily lives, many people don’t have a good understanding of what AI is and how it works. This book aims to address this gap in knowledge by giving readers a pocket guide to the world of AI. It covers basic concepts in AI, their history, and the inspirations.
