The Shortest History of AI Audiobook By Toby Walsh cover art

The Shortest History of AI

The Six Essential Ideas That Animate It

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

The Shortest History of AI

By: Toby Walsh
Narrated by: Michael Langan
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.51

Buy for $16.51

LIMITED TIME OFFER | $0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Terms apply.

From a world-leading AI researcher, the history of artificial intelligence told through the six key ways it functions

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; and 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.

©2025 Toby Walsh
Computer Science History History & Culture Technology & Society
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet