The future is here: Self-driving cars are on the streets, an algorithm gives you movie and TV recommendations, IBM's Watson triumphed on Jeopardy over puny human brains, computer programs can be trained to play Atari games. But how do all these things work? In this book, Sean Gerrish offers an engaging and accessible overview of the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning that have made today's machines so smart.

Gerrish outlines some of the key ideas that enable intelligent machines to perceive and interact with the world. He describes the software architecture that allows self-driving cars to stay on the road and to navigate crowded urban environments; the million-dollar Netflix competition for a better recommendation engine (which had an unexpected ending); and how programmers trained computers to perform certain behaviors by offering them treats, as if they were training a dog. He explains how artificial neural networks enable computers to perceive the world—and to play Atari video games better than humans. He explains Watson's famous victory on Jeopardy, and he looks at how computers play games, describing AlphaGo and Deep Blue, which beat reigning world champions at the strategy games of Go and chess. Computers have not yet mastered everything, however; Gerrish outlines the difficulties in creating intelligent agents that can successfully play video games like StarCraft that have evaded solution—at least for now.

Gerrish weaves the stories behind these breakthroughs into the narrative, introducing readers to many of the researchers involved, and keeping technical details to a minimum. Science and technology buffs will find this book an essential guide to a future in which machines can outsmart people.

About the Author

Sean Gerrish is a software engineering manager at Google. He has worked in various capacities on machine learning and data science projects at his current company and in a previous role as a quantitative engineer at Teza Technologies. He holds a PhD in machine learning from Princeton University.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

American First Editions, Art Books, and more. Most of our older stock has been packed in storage for over twenty years.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Nilbog Books
ME, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

We're an exclusively online bookstore.

Email is the best way to reach us: nilbogbooks@gmail.com We'll respond to your email inquiry within 24 hours.

Most of our books are in storage, and will have to be retrieved before they can be shipped (or described/photographed if additional details are requested). While this may occasionally slow down responses, it also means these books aren't as manhandled as they might be in a physical store.

We carry mostly modern firsts, photography, art books, childr...

More Information

Shipping Terms

Orders will usually ship within 2 business days. Our prices are based around books the size of a novel, so they may need to be increased for larger books. We don't make any money on postage, but we can't afford to subsidize it, either.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	5 to 14 business days	2 to 6 business days
First item	US$ 4.50	US$ 10.10

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.