Best Books About Artificial Intelligence
Simple reads to get you started with artificial intelligence.
I’ve been curious about AI lately. But I don’t talk about the technical stuff, but more like… what does all this actually mean for the rest of us?
I’m not a data scientist, but I do run a creative business, and I figured it’s worth understanding where things are going.
These books helped me wrap my head around it, and a few of them were quite eye-opening for me.
“Genius Makers” by Cade Metz
I picked this up out of curiosity, and honestly, it felt like reading tech drama rather than a textbook.
It’s all about the people behind modern AI. Geoff Hinton, Demis Hassabis, Fei-Fei Li, and the rest.
The tech is there, but the real draw is the behind-the-scenes stuff: rivalries, breakthroughs, even a bit of ego.
If you’re into stories about how big ideas come to life through real, flawed people, this one’s a fun read. No heavy tech background needed.
“The Alignment Problem” by Brian Christian
This book hit different. It dives into the whole “how do we make sure AI actually does what we want it to do” thing, and it’s more complicated than you’d think.
What stuck with me was the idea that training AI is kind of like parenting. You’re trying to teach something smarter than you how to act right. It’s thoughtful, but still accessible.
“Rebooting AI” by Gary Marcus & Ernest Davis
If you’ve ever felt like AI sounds smarter than it actually is. This book will validate that feeling.
Marcus doesn’t buy into the hype around deep learning, and he’s not afraid to say it.
He’s basically arguing that current AI is smart in narrow ways but still kind of dumb in others. And honestly? I agree with a lot of it. It’s a solid read if you like the idea of questioning the hype.
“Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach” by Russell & Norvig
Yeah, this is the giant textbook everyone talks about.
I didn’t read the whole thing (who does?), but I did skim parts when I wanted to understand certain terms or ideas more clearly.
It’s a great reference, even if you’re not in tech.
It’s not exactly light reading, but it’s useful if you want to understand what people actually mean when they talk about algorithms, machine learning, etc.
“Superintelligence” by Nick Bostrom
This one’s more big-picture and philosophical. What if AI gets too smart? It’s not a light read, but it definitely makes you think about long-term consequences.
Some parts were a bit dense, but it definitely made me pause and think.
It’s not the kind of book you binge-read in one weekend, but it’s worth picking up if you like those “what if” questions about the future of tech and humanity.
Some of these books answered questions I had. Others just gave me better questions to ask.
Either way, they’ve stuck with me, and that’s more than I can say for most things I scroll past.
If you’re looking for more insights on AI, we’ve shared a few more thoughts over on our Medium blog.
You can check a few of them out here:
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