Synopses & Reviews
Two leaders in the field offer a compelling analysis of the current state of the art and reveal the steps we must take to achieve a truly robust artificial intelligence.
Despite the hype surrounding AI, creating an intelligence that rivals or exceeds human levels is far more complicated than we have been led to believe. Professors Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis have spent their careers at the forefront of AI research and have witnessed some of the greatest milestones in the field, but they argue that a computer beating a human in Jeopardy does not signal that we are on the doorstep of fully autonomous cars or superintelligent machines. The achievements in the field thus far have occurred in closed systems with fixed sets of rules, and these approaches are too narrow to achieve genuine intelligence.
The real world, in contrast, is wildly complex and open-ended. How can we bridge this gap? What will the consequences be when we do? Taking inspiration from the human mind, Marcus and Davis explain what we need to advance AI to the next level, and suggest that if we are wise along the way, we won't need to worry about a future of machine overlords. If we focus on endowing machines with common sense and deep understanding, rather than simply focusing on statistical analysis and gatherine ever larger collections of data, we will be able to create an AI we can trust--in our homes, our cars, and our doctors' offices. Rebooting AI provides a lucid, clear-eyed assessment of the current science and offers an inspiring vision of how a new generation of AI can make our lives better.
Review
"Artificial intelligence is among the most consequential issues facing humanity, yet much of today's commentary has been less than intelligent: awe-struck, credulous, apocalyptic, uncomprehending. Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis, experts in human and machine intelligence, lucidly explain what today's AI can and cannot do, and point the way to systems that are less A and more I." Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought
Review
"A must-read for anyone who cares about the future of artificial intelligence, filled with masterful storytelling and clear and easy-to-digest examples. Simultaneously puncturing hype and plotting a new course towards toward truly successful AI, Rebooting AI offers the first rational look at what AI can and can't do, and what it will take to build AI that we can genuinely trust." Annie Duke, best-selling author of Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
Review
"Artificial intelligence is here to stay. What are its achievements, its prospects, its pitfalls and misdirected initiatives — and how might these be remedied and overcome? This lucid and deeply informed account, from a critical but sympathetic perspective, is a valuable guide to developments that will surely have a major impact on the social order and intellectual culture." Noam Chomsky
Review
"Rebooting AI is a blast to read. It's erudite, it's witty, and it neatly unpacks why today's AI has such trouble doing truly smart tasks — and what it'll take to reach that goal." Clive Thompson, Wired magazine columnist and author of Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World
About the Author
GARY MARCUS is a scientist, best-selling author, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Robust.AI and was founder and CEO of Geometric Intelligence, a machine-learning company acquired by Uber in 2016. He is the author of five books, including Kluge, The Birth of the Minday, and the New York Times best seller Guitar Zero.
ERNEST DAVIS is a professor of computer science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, New York University. One of the world's leading scientists on commonsense reasoning for artificial intelligence, he is the author of four books, including Representations of Commonsense Knowledge and Verses for the Information Age.