Great Starter Content & Resources

Among the thousands of information sources for AI instruction, I've narrowed down the best ones below. What makes them the best is their simplicity. They explain the most important concepts in non-technical terms, so we can understand how the AI engine works before we drive the AI car, as well as understand the ethical and societal implications of it.

Video:

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence - from Simplilearn - There are thousands of intro to AI

videos. This one is the best videos I've seen at building from zero assumed knowledge. If you do anything, stick with the video through minutes 6:45 - 8:18! So much will become clearer. This section shows the relationship between the most used terms and concepts. For example, how data science relates to machine learning, and how AI relies on them both. All of those terms will be explained in following blog posts.

Podcasts:

AI in Business – AI use cases and case studies are the core of this podcast series, highlighting

the latest and best implementations of AI in the enterprise and start-up environments. The Q&A conversation between the hosts and guests is at a practical level, not often veering too far off into the technical weeds.

Interview with Mark Andreesen – This is a long-format plain language discussion of current state and potential futures of AI from a technology visionary. Marc Andreesen is the founder of Mosaic, a popular search engine before Google, and Founder of the venture capital firm, Andreesen Horowitz.

Books:

Artificial Intelligence (Beginners Plus Series) Paperback – Henry Brook, Copyright September

2016, Usborne Publishing Limited. This is a brilliantly conceived picture book explaining AI in its many forms. Please don't be put off by the publish date! The principles of AI explained in this picture book will not change over time. Everything started with the creation of math (specifically, logrithmic equations), which led to computer programs, and evolved into the creation of AI. When you understand the deep history of AI it may be far easier to understand where it is today and where it is going.

Real World AI: A Practical Guide for Responsible Machine Learning Alyssa Simpson Rochwerger

and Wilson Pang, Copyright March 2021 Appen Limited, Lioncrest Publishing. This book is full of actionable business case studies that can be understood even with a rudimentary level of technical understanding. If you have the terms and concepts down before you read the book you'll get even more out of it. Like the book above, the case studies will stand the test of time for at least a few more years. Well tested strategies and frameworks for introducing new technologies into an enterprise still apply with AI.

The Age of AI and Our Human Future Copyright 2021 – A look at humanity’s shared global future with AI. Henry Kissinger (US Secretary of State for Presidents Nixon & Ford), Eric Schmidt (Google CEO/chairman 2001-2015), and Daniel Huttenlocher (Inaugural Dean of MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing).

“AI is not an industry, let alone a single product. In strategic parlance, it is not a 'domain.' It is an enabler of many industries and facets of human life: scientific research, education, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, defense, law enforcement, politics, advertising, art, culture, and more.”

Here again, the big picture doesn't require an intensive study in AI terminology. This book is applies a long-term historical lense to our current situation with AI. When the Gutenburg Press was invented civilization changed forever. When the scientific method was created, humanity changed forever. The same too for modern medicine, computing and other step-changes. Using the history of humanity in similar times as a ruberick, this book looks at future promises and perils of our lives with AI. Much of it centers on how we communicate with one another as individuals and as groups.