Rebooting AI – book review

𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 . It’s a really solid, absorbing book rich with detail, which is why I read it a dozen or so pages a night over weeks.

The book does a great job of straight-up reorienting your sense of AI. I’ve read (and listened to) a fair share of AI books, articles and podcasts and felt pretty well-oriented on AI. While these resources mostly served to deepen my sense of particular aspects of the promise and dystopia of AI. They however, didn’t change my overall sense of AI. This one did.

An excellent book that immediately separates hype about AI from real progress and probes for a more thoughtful and balanced approach to AI development i.e., building intelligent systems with human-like flexibility and scope of skills.

( 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧: Garry Kasparov’s involvement with AI. My earliest recollection of “the rise of machines” was the news story on how the reigning world chess master was defeated by AI. The media frenzy and narratives were all about how it was only a matter of time that the machines would take over everything else humans did/could do – physical sports, jobs, space travel etc. )


I digress though. Coming back to the book Rebooting AI, if you are interested in AI, this book is a keeper.

Here’s a summary of the chapters, in case you want to skip to reading about a specific aspect:

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 sets the stage for a broader vision of AI, urging a shift away from the limitations of data-driven approaches towards more flexible systems. It critiques over-attribution and the resilience challenges inherent in current AI models.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐 delves into the crucial topic of biases within machine learning, highlighting its impact and ethical implications.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑 deep learning takes center stage, its triumphs and vulnerabilities discussed alongside lesser-known AI advancements like knowledge graphs and reasoning systems.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟓 cut through exaggerated claims in machine reading and robotics, offering a grounded view of their current capabilities.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟔 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟕 draw on cognitive science to propose fresh perspectives on AI, underscoring the importance of common sense in advancing the field.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖 navigates the terrain of trust and ethics in AI development, emphasising sound engineering practices and ethical considerations.