Machines That Learn A Primer for Teens Who Will Inhabit a World Reordered

MACHINES THAT LEARN introduces young people to a technology that will undoubtedly make their generation unique in the history of humankind as this evolution in computing takes over more and more roles that humans alone could fill previously. Machines that learn and reason do not represent the invention of a new device. Indeed, what we call Artificial Intelligence is a collective term for computer programs written by humans. But these new programs use the power and speed of
digital computers that have grown bigger and faster over the decades but still do precisely the same operations they have always done. New methods of programming, which we call Artificial Intelligence, now allow such machines to steadily improve their performance, train themselves, and take advantage of their dazzling speed and flawless memory to master tasks only human minds could do previously. Indeed, these machines will do tasks humans alone are not able to accomplish.

Young people today must understand this new technology and use that knowledge as they begin to plan their future and think about what they want to do in their lives. Humans will confront novel opportunities and unfamiliar challenges in this coming era. The whole concept of what constitutes work is changing. What lies ahead could be the golden age of humanity. Or, as some have warned, humans could fail disastrously if they do not manage these new capabilities wisely. We are quite literally at the beginning of a journey and have no idea where we will end up. Today's youth will lead us there.

MACHINES THAT LEARN introduces the core issues, focusing on visual understanding with a spirit of excitement. The book sets the stage without getting lost in the details of the technology. Now is the time to grow knowledge of this burgeoning technology and prepare tomorrow's leaders to successfully use these new tools to improve the quality of life for everyone.

"For more than 250 years the fundamental drivers of economic growth have been technological innovations. The most important of these are what economists call general-purpose technologies - a category that includes the steam engine, electricity, and the internal combustion engine. The most important general-purpose technology of our era is artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning." Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, 2018