Title: Deep Thinking
Author: Garry Kasparov
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count: 294
Rating: 3.5/5
I was expecting this book to be a lot more about artificial intelligence than it actually was, mainly because that’s the way that it’s marketed. Instead, it’s almost entirely about chess, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I got pretty interested in it and indeed now I’m in the mood to play it, and so I’ll probably rope my other half into a game or two.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff in here about the way that AI works and how it’s revolutionized our society, including a fascinating little section on how automated elevators first became a thing. The technology was available early on, but nobody wanted to get into one unless there was a human operator. Then elevator operators went on strike and public perception changed, and Kasparov says that something similar is happening when it comes to our approach to self-driving cars.
Still, if you’re picking up this book because you’re interested in artificial intelligence, there are definitely better ones to go for. You’re better off going with this if you’re interested specifically in chess, especially because the bulk of this book basically involves going over the lead up to the big competition between Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue.
I’m glad that I read it, but I don’t think I would have picked it up if I’d known what I know about it now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it should certainly give you pause for thought. Other than that, there’s some cool stuff on machine learning and natural language processing, as well as a well-deserved shoutout for Alan Turing. So not bad.
