
Why Machines Learn
The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI
Anil Ananthaswamy(Author)
Dutton (Publisher)
Published on 16. July 2024
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-0-593-18574-2 (ISBN)
Description
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 tumor is cancerous, or deciding if someone gets bail. They now influence developments and discoveries in chemistry, biology, and physics—the study of genomes, extrasolar planets, even the intricacies of quantum systems. And all this before large language models such as ChatGPT came on the scene.
We are living through a revolution in machine learning-powered AI that shows no signs of slowing down. This technology is based on relatively simple mathematical ideas, some of which go back centuries, including linear algebra and calculus, the stuff of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mathematics. It took the birth and advancement of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see today. In this enlightening book, Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental math behind machine learning, while suggesting intriguing links between artificial and natural intelligence. Might the same math underpin them both?
As Ananthaswamy resonantly concludes, to make safe and effective use of artificial intelligence, we need to understand its profound capabilities and limitations, the clues to which lie in the math that makes machine learning possible.
Machine learning systems are making life-altering decisions for us: approving mortgage loans, determining whether a tumor is cancerous, or deciding if someone gets bail. They now influence developments and discoveries in chemistry, biology, and physics—the study of genomes, extrasolar planets, even the intricacies of quantum systems. And all this before large language models such as ChatGPT came on the scene.
We are living through a revolution in machine learning-powered AI that shows no signs of slowing down. This technology is based on relatively simple mathematical ideas, some of which go back centuries, including linear algebra and calculus, the stuff of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mathematics. It took the birth and advancement of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see today. In this enlightening book, Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental math behind machine learning, while suggesting intriguing links between artificial and natural intelligence. Might the same math underpin them both?
As Ananthaswamy resonantly concludes, to make safe and effective use of artificial intelligence, we need to understand its profound capabilities and limitations, the clues to which lie in the math that makes machine learning possible.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Illustrations
EQUATIONS, GRAPHS, AND TABLES
Dimensions
Height: 160 mm
Width: 233 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
628 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-593-18574-2 (9780593185742)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Book
08/2025
Dutton
€20.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Anil Ananthaswamy is an award-winning science writer and a former staff writer and deputy news editor for New Scientist. He is the author of several popular science books, including The Man Who Wasn’t There, which was longlisted for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. He was a 2019-20 MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow and the recipient of the Distinguished Alum Award, the highest award given by IIT Madras to its graduates, for his contributions to science writing.