HOW TO AI

An examination beneath the hood of artificial intelligence and an elaboration of its applications, misconceptions, and history.

How to sift through the AI hype? How can AI be so effective yet still have flaws and hallucinate? How can you use AI to become more productive? Where is the AI field headed? These are the major questions that Mims, a technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal, explores with an expertise that is not only accessible, but entertaining and profound. In enlightening reflections on 24 AI laws, Mims takes us on a winding journey through the inner workings of AI and its topical use cases, with historical breaks along the way, each chapter ending with summaries and definitions. Whether you are a consistent user of AI (or what Mims prefers to call “simulated intelligence”) or are new to the field, he skillfully balances catering to both camps, warning the reader of impending technicalities. The author shares examples that include a lawyer using AI in a deposition, Clorox’s marketing team using AI to generate advertisements, his own experiences becoming more productive, freelancer adaptations, and scientists using AI in their research. Mims moves masterfully across great swaths of human knowledge with curiosity and competency (and is sometimes comedic: “Neuroscience is a pretty shit way to try to understand the human mind”). At the end of this technological foray, Mims concludes that AI is a tool and an assistant that will affect nearly everything, often without us realizing it, to the same degree as the internet. For anyone looking to be on the cutting edge of technology, from understanding AI to improving their lives with it, this book is a must-read.

A significant and pioneering survey of artificial intelligence that is as engaging as it is useful.