The Myth of Artificial Intelligence Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do by Erik Larson. Erik is an entrepreneur and former research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin where he focused in machine learning and natural language processing.
In addition, Erik founded two DARPA-funded AI startups and works on core issues in natural language processing and machine learning. Erik has written for The Atlantic.
Artificial Intelligence seems to be the buzzword of the last twenty years, for better or for worse. For some it is the savior of humanity. For others, the spawn of the devil.
So, does AI actually deliver on superior knowledge systems surpassing human capabilities? Actually, there are valid points by Erik to reveal quite the opposite.
The real challenge proposed by Erik is that so many noted authors on AI, and all their books promising AI’s coming revolution have really all missed their target dates. All of those noted experts made bold predictions to delivery dates of systems that surpass all human knowledge and the downstream effect AI will play upon both markets and society. So why in 2022 have they all missed the mark?
The book is broken into three parts: The Simplified World, the Problems of Inference, and the Future of the Myth. These opening chapters should be considered mandatory reading for every middle school student as Part 1 is certainly well researched. At less than seventy pages, Erik provides a grounded explanation to the early foundation that brought AI forward. From Chapter Two, Turing at Bletchley, to Chapter Five, Natural Language Understanding.