So fun fact: I am on a PhD program currently with 9 other students and about 5 of those students are doing hardcore AI projects. Personally I know nothing about AI and whenever they would talk about their research, I would automatically switch off. However, this doesn't build the best working relationship so I thought I would try reading around the area so I could at least carry a conversation with them.
This book is AMAZING. Honestly, it is written in such an engaging and accessible way that me, the anti AI queen, could not put it down. Firstly I should clarify what this book is not. It is not a deep guide to how to create or work with AI systems. Instead what it is is essentially an overview of what AI means, how it functions (on a very accessible level) and the wonderful mistakes the systems make. One of my favourite parts of this book is all the examples it gives of things generated by real life AI systems and they are hilarious! I was laughing so loud on the bus that people were giving me weird looks.
In terms of the layout, each chapter flows very naturally into the next one. I've already mentioned that I think it's accessible but things really are broken down very clearly. Shane has a fantastic style of prose which is informative but engaging, and I didn't even zone out once which is impressive for even the most interesting of nonfiction books. The text is also peppered with frankly adorable drawings (see the one on the cover) which really helped bring the information to life and added to the overall feel.
Overall, I am blown away by this book. I thought it would help with my PhD but I had no idea how much I would enjoy reading it. I have already bought a copy for a friend as a birthday present and I would recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in the topic. It really does teach you more about how the world works and I feel like I will definitely read more about AI in the future because of it.
Overall Rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment