Artificial Intelligence for Humans

Have you ever wondered what Artificial Intelligence really is? Not the science fiction version with rogue robots, but the real, invisible force that's already shaping your world?

From the app that deposits your check to the online store that knows exactly what you want, AI is no longer a distant dream-it's a part of our daily lives. Yet for most of us, it remains a mysterious black box, a source of both wonder and fear. How did we get here? And where are we heading?

Artificial Intelligence for Humans is the answer you've been looking for. Author and AI professor César Rennó-Costa takes you on a panoramic and accessible journey through the fascinating history of artificial intelligence, written for a general audience with no technical background required.

Forget dense equations and impenetrable jargon. This book tells the story of AI through its big ideas, its brilliant pioneers, its forgotten heroes, and the epic philosophical debates that have driven the field for decades.

Inside, you'll discover:

• The Birth of the Big Idea: Travel back to the 1956 Dartmouth workshop where the term "Artificial Intelligence" was born and a handful of brilliant minds set out to build a "thinking machine".
• The Great Philosophical Divides: Understand the clash between two visions of intelligence: one based on pure logic and rules (Symbolic AI) and another inspired by the brain's ability to learn from experience (Connectionism).
• The "AI Winters" and Springs: Learn about the cycles of hype and disillusionment, when funding dried up and the field nearly vanished, only to be reborn with new breakthroughs.
• The Revolutions That Changed Everything: Follow the evolution from rule based "expert systems" to the modern era of Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and the Generative AI that powers tools like ChatGPT.
• The People Behind the Machines: Meet the key figures-from Alan Turing and John McCarthy to Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun-and learn about the rivalries and collaborations that shaped the technology we use today.