'An invaluable companion for anyone who wants a deep understanding of what's under the hood of
often inscrutable machines' Melanie Mitchell A rich narrative explanation of the
mathematics that has brought us machine learning and the ongoing explosion of artificial
intelligence Machine-learning systems are making life-altering decisions for us: approving
mortgage loans determining whether a tumour is cancerous or deciding whether someone gets
bail. They now influence discoveries in chemistry biology and physics - the study of genomes
extra-solar planets even the intricacies of quantum systems. We are living through a
revolution in artificial intelligence that is not slowing down. This major shift is based on
simple mathematics some of which goes back centuries: linear algebra and calculus the stuff
of eighteenth-century mathematics. Indeed by the mid-1850s a lot of the groundwork was all
done. It took the development of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips
designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see all around us today. In this
enlightening book Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental maths behind AI which suggests
that the basics of natural and artificial intelligence might follow the same mathematical
rules. As Ananthaswamy resonantly concludes to make the most of our most wondrous
technologies we need to understand their profound limitations - the clues lie in the maths that
makes AI possible.
