James Scott

Nick Polson

Two leading data scientists offer an up-close and user-friendly look at artificial intelligence: what it is, how it works, where it came from and how to harness its power for a better world. 'There comes a time in the life of a subject when someone steps up and writes the book about it. AIQ explores the fascinating history of the ideas that drive this technology of the future and demystifies the core concepts behind it; the result is a positive and entertaining look at the great potential unlocked by marrying human creativity with powerful machines.' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics Dozens of times per day, we all interact with intelligent machines that are constantly learning from the wealth of data now available to them. These machines, from smart phones to talking robots to self-driving cars, are remaking the world in the twenty first century in the same way that the Industrial Revolution remade the world in the nineteenth. AIQ is based on a simple premise: if you want to understand the modern world, then you have to know a little bit of the mathematical language spoken by intelligent machines. AIQ will teach you that language but in an unconventional way, anchored in stories rather than equations. You will meet a fascinating cast of historical characters who have a lot to teach you about data, probability and better thinking. Along the way, you'll see how these same ideas are playing out in the modern age of big data and intelligent machines, and how these technologies will soon help you to overcome some of your built-in cognitive weaknesses, giving you a chance to lead a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life.

How artificial intelligence works and how we can harness its power for a better world

Two statistics professors describe how intelligent machines are changing the world and use stories, rather than equations, to explain the mathematical language they use and provide a better grasp on concepts in data and probability.

How People and Machines Are Smarter Together

Numeri intelligenti. La matematica che fa funzionare l'intelligenza artificiale di Google, Facebook, Apple & Co.

“There comes a time in the life of a subject when someone steps up and writes the book about it. AIQ explores the fascinating history of the ideas that drive this technology of the future and demystifies the core concepts behind it; the result is a positive and entertaining look at the great potential unlocked by marrying human creativity with powerful machines.” —Steven D. Levitt, bestselling co-author of Freakonomics From leading data scientists Nick Polson and James Scott, what everyone needs to know to understand how artificial intelligence is changing the world and how we can use this knowledge to make better decisions in our own lives. Dozens of times per day, we all interact with intelligent machines that are constantly learning from the wealth of data now available to them. These machines, from smart phones to talking robots to self-driving cars, are remaking the world in the 21st century in the same way that the Industrial Revolution remade the world in the 19th century. AIQ is based on a simple premise: if you want to understand the modern world, then you have to know a little bit of the mathematical language spoken by intelligent machines. AIQ will teach you that language—but in an unconventional way, anchored in stories rather than equations. You will meet a fascinating cast of historical characters who have a lot to teach you about data, probability, and better thinking. Along the way, you'll see how these same ideas are playing out in the modern age of big data and intelligent machines—and how these technologies will soon help you to overcome some of your built-in cognitive weaknesses, giving you a chance to lead a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life.

____________________ What is AIQ? How does it work? Most importantly, how can it help us? Two leading data scientists offer an up-close and user-friendly look at artificial intelligence and how to harness its power for a better world. 'A positive and entertaining look at the great potential unlocked by marrying human creativity with powerful machines.' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics ____________________ Dozens of times per day, we all interact with intelligent machines that are constantly learning from the wealth of data now available to them. These machines, from smart phones to talking robots to self-driving cars, are remaking the world in the twenty first century in the same way that the Industrial Revolution remade the world in the nineteenth. AIQ is based on a simple premise- if you want to understand the modern world, then you have to know a little bit of the mathematical language spoken by intelligent machines. AIQ will teach you that language but in an unconventional way, anchored in stories rather than equations.

How Artificial Intelligence Works and how We Can Harness Its Power for a Better World

Numeri intelligenti. La matematica che fa funzionare l’intelligenza artificiale di Google, Facebook, Apple & Co.

L’Intelligenza Artificiale non appartiene più a un futuro fantascientifico: è già qui, e sta cambiando il mondo uno smartphone alla volta. I medici la usano per diagnosticare i tumori; gli scienziati, per fare nuove scoperte in fisica e neuroscienze. Aziende e semplici appassionati la sperimentano in mille modi diversi: per rilevare fughe di gas, predire epidemie, salvare le api dall’estinzione. Eppure, quando si parla di IA, di solito è per risvegliare paure e alimentare inquietudini, che di volta in volta assumono le malvagie sembianze dei Borg di Star Trek, di HAL9000 in 2001: Odissea nello spazio, o di colossi digitali avidi di informazioni su di noi come Google o Amazon. Secondo Nick Polson e James Scott, non può essere la paura, ma la curiosità, ad aiutarci a capire concretamente che cos’è l’IA, e soprattutto come funziona. Come impara un’automobile a guidare da sola? Come riesce Alexa a capire quello che le diciamo? Come fa Facebook a riconoscere i volti dei nostri amici, e Netflix a suggerirci serie tv così azzeccate? Attraverso le storie di sette scienziati geniali, Numeri Intelligenti racconta in modo chiaro e appassionante le meraviglie del pensiero che si nascondono dietro l’IA e i meccanismi matematici che la muovono: scopriamo così che una materia considerata spesso astrusa e inaccessibile si basa in realtà su un pugno di idee matematiche sorprendentemente semplici, nate non nella Silicon Valley dei millennials, ma dalle intuizioni straordinarie di uomini e donne vissuti a volte secoli fa, che non potevano immaginare le immense opportunità della rivoluzione tecnologica che stiamo vivendo. Una rivoluzione che è solo all’inizio: c’è una moltitudine di problemi in attesa di buone soluzioni, e per trovarle è necessaria un’alleanza coraggiosa e consapevole tra la creatività umana e la potenza di calcolo dei supercomputer. «Nella storia di una materia arriva il momento in cui qualcuno scrive il libro: Numeri Intelligenti è quel libro per l’Intelligenza Artificiale.» — Steven D. Levitt, autore di Freakonomics «Un libro esemplare per come rende la matematica accessibile e appassionante.» — The Sunday Times «Polson e Scott sfatano tutti i miti sull’Intelligenza Artificiale: sottoposta alla prova dei fatti, ci sembra molto meno minacciosa, e molto più familiare.» — Wall Street Journal

Nick Polson

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