10 SHORT LESSONS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & ROBOTICS:

Computers rule the world. Data floods from everything we do. Robots are building our products in factories. Our homes are computerised and we can talk to these digital home assistants, receiving detailed and coherent replies. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence is making everything work and you cannot live in the modern world without it or being impacted by AI and robots. Every time you make a purchase, AIs are handling your money, checking for fraud, using your data to understand you better, recommending new products. Inside our homes we have smart TVs, computerised fridges, washing machines, central heating, air conditioning systems all AI robotic devices. Decisions about whether we should or should not be accepted for financial products are made by AIs. Our future anti-viral and antibacterial drugs are being designed by AI. Internet connections, utilities and mobile phones are all adjusted by smart AI algorithms that try to optimise supply while minimising waste. The book takes us on a short journey through the strange world of computers, robots and building brains and the surprisingly long life and ups and downs AI has already had. Leading expert Professor J. Bentley breaks down the fast-moving world of computers in the time of automata into 10 pivotal lessons, presenting the reader with the essential information, the origins and motivation behind AI and robotics, the smart algorithms that allow us to build good computers, how computers interpret sensory information and the challenges of emotional intelligence, unpredictable environments and imagination. 192pp, line art and short biographies of important figures such as Michael Maudlin or 'Fuzzy' and his creation, the Lycos web search engine and portal, launched in 1994.