The best artificial intelligence books

Who picked these books? Meet our 216 experts.

216 authors created a book list connected to artificial intelligence, and here are their favorite artificial intelligence books.
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The Digital Doctor

By Robert Wachter,

Book cover of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age

Kerrie Holley Author Of AI-First Healthcare: AI Applications in the Business and Clinical Management of Health

From the list on artificial intelligence in health care.

Who am I?

I fell in love with technology when I wrote my first computer program at age 14 when there was no public Internet, no personal computers, no iPhone, no cloud. I have made technical contributions to every era of computing from mainframes, to PCs, Internet, Cloud, and now AI. I was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering. AI currently surpasses my wildest imagination on the art of what’s possible. I'm still passionately working in technology at Google focused on how to live healthier lives. I believe we can make AI the telescope of the future, to helping everyone live long and healthy lives.

Kerrie's book list on artificial intelligence in health care

Discover why each book is one of Kerrie's favorite books.

Why did Kerrie love this book?

I met Dr. Wachter, at the University of California in San Francisco and we were discussing the applicability of technology in a patient’s hospital room to improve care. 

I was introduced to his book and was mesmorized. It was one of my early conversations from a clinician stressing that we need technology, computers to be invisible not irresistible in healthcare.

He writes compelling stories about medical errors which only by the stroke of luck didn’t cause a fatality.  It reminded me of my sister-in-law who was misdiagnosed as being Type 2 diabetes when she was Type 1. 

This misdiagnosis could have proved fatal. The proper use of AI, especially the current wave of generative AI could have made a huge difference.

The Digital Doctor

By Robert Wachter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Digital Doctor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times Science Bestseller from Robert Wachter, Modern Healthcare's #1 Most Influential Physician-Executive in the US

While modern medicine produces miracles, it also delivers care that is too often unsafe, unreliable, unsatisfying, and impossibly expensive. For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare's ills.

But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization - until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital.

Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong.…


Ghost Work

By Mary L. Gray, Siddharth Suri,

Book cover of Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass

James Steinhoff Author Of Automation and Autonomy: Labour, Capital and Machines in the Artificial Intelligence Industry

From the list on what automation is.

Who am I?

I’m an assistant professor in the School of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin. I’m interested in automation because discussions about it often tend towards ridiculous hyperbole or acritical boosterism. Whether it’s killer robots that terminate humanity or “ethical” AI which raises all boats, discussions about the social implications of contemporary machines often neglect to include the critical analysis of the capitalist mode of production. I don’t think the two can be studied in isolation from one another. 

James' book list on what automation is

Discover why each book is one of James' favorite books.

Why did James love this book?

This book, unlike the others, is less about theory and more about the contemporary reality of automation. It thus functions as an interesting test piece for the theoretical works preceding this one. Gray and Suri show that automation is not simply a progressive replacement of human by machine, but rather that each new automation application tends to generate a need for new kinds of labour which cannot (yet) be automated. The empirical work done here is a prime example of understanding what automation really is.

Ghost Work

By Mary L. Gray, Siddharth Suri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghost Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the spirit of Nickel and Dimed, a necessary and revelatory expose of the invisible human workforce that powers the web—and that foreshadows the true future of work.

Hidden beneath the surface of the web, lost in our wrong-headed debates about AI, a new menace is looming. Anthropologist Mary L. Gray and computer scientist Siddharth Suri team up to unveil how services delivered by companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Uber can only function smoothly thanks to the judgment and experience of a vast, invisible human labor force. These people doing "ghost work" make the internet seem smart. They perform…


Computers Ltd.

By David Harel,

Book cover of Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do

Martin Erwig Author Of Once Upon an Algorithm: How Stories Explain Computing

From the list on computer science without coding.

Who am I?

I’m a professor of computer science at Oregon State University. My research focus is on programming languages, but I also work on computer science education and outreach. I grew up in Germany and moved to the United States in 2000. Since computer science is a fairly new and not widely understood discipline, I am interested in explaining its core ideas to the general public. I believe that in order to attract a more diverse set of people to the field we should emphasize that coding is only a small part of computer science.

Martin's book list on computer science without coding

Discover why each book is one of Martin's favorite books.

Why did Martin love this book?

This book provides a brief introduction to the concept of algorithms before discussing the limitations of computation. Specifically, Harel explains undecidable problems (that is, problems for which no algorithm exists) and infeasible problems (that is, problems for which only algorithms are known that have an exponential runtime). I like this book (and its splendid title) because of its focus on the limitations of computation. Harel does a marvelous job in explaining two difficult topics about computation. The understanding of any scientific discipline requires the understanding of its limits, and the limits of computation are as significant as they are surprising.

Computers Ltd.

By David Harel,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Computers Ltd. as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Computers are incredible. They are one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, dramatically and irrevocably changing the way we live. That is the good news. The bad news is that there are still major limitations to computers, serious problems that not even the most powerful computers can solve. The consequences of such limitations can be serious. Too often these limits get overlooked, in the quest for bigger, better, and more powerful computers. In Computers Ltd., David Harel, best-selling author of Algorithmics, explains and illustrates one of the most fundamental, yet under-exposed facets of computers - their inherent…


Advanced Methods and Deep Learning in Computer Vision

By E.R. Davies (editor), Matthew Turk (editor),

Book cover of Advanced Methods and Deep Learning in Computer Vision

Mark S. Nixon Author Of Feature Extraction and Image Processing for Computer Vision

From the list on computer vision from a veteran professor.

Who am I?

It’s been fantastic to work in computer vision, especially when it is used to build biometric systems. I and my 80 odd PhD students have pioneered systems that recognise people by the way they walk, by their ears, and many other new things too. To build the systems, we needed computer vision techniques and architectures, both of which work with complex real-world imagery. That’s what computer vision gives you: a capability to ‘see’ using a computer. I think we can still go a lot further: to give blind people sight, to enable better invasive surgery, to autonomise more of our industrial society, and to give us capabilities we never knew we’d have.

Mark's book list on computer vision from a veteran professor

Discover why each book is one of Mark's favorite books.

Why did Mark love this book?

The advances of deep learning have been awesome, and fast. It’s been hard for the textbooks to keep up, so it’s good to include one that describes the advances and state of art very well. It seems appropriate that it’s edited by two leading researchers who are Roy – who described computer vision systems implementations in a long series of excellent books – and Matt, whose work on face recognition revolutionised and transformed the progress of face recognition in the 1990s. This book gives you an image of where we are now in computer vision, and where we are going. 

Advanced Methods and Deep Learning in Computer Vision

By E.R. Davies (editor), Matthew Turk (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Advanced Methods and Deep Learning in Computer Vision as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Advanced Methods and Deep Learning in Computer Vision presents advanced computer vision methods, emphasizing machine and deep learning techniques that have emerged during the past 5-10 years. The book provides clear explanations of principles and algorithms supported with applications. Topics covered include machine learning, deep learning networks, generative adversarial networks, deep reinforcement learning, self-supervised learning, extraction of robust features, object detection, semantic segmentation, linguistic descriptions of images, visual search, visual tracking, 3D shape retrieval, image inpainting, novelty and anomaly detection.

This book provides easy learning for researchers and practitioners of advanced computer vision methods, but it is also suitable as…


Book cover of Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1)

Shemer Kuznits Author Of Life Reset (New Era Online: Life Reset)

From the list on engaging LitRPG.

Who am I?

I’ve been a huge fan of D&D and RPG games since I’ve been old enough to play them. The idea of grooming a character, growing it in terms of strength and levels until it becomes powerful enough to take on gods always captured my imagination. LitRPG is a relatively new book genre, and reading it (the good ones at least) makes you feel like you’re playing those games yourselves. Following a new protagonist growth and journey, often illustrated by actual numeric values you can easily keep track of (like skills and levels) is so much fun, and I think more people should be aware it exists.

Shemer's book list on engaging LitRPG

Discover why each book is one of Shemer's favorite books.

Why did Shemer love this book?

An excellent Litrpg sci-fi series. The protagonist goes out beyond earth to discover new races and worlds, slowly gain power, and unearth the secret of the ancient race that started it all. He’s just a human, but he’ll change the galaxy in his quest for knowledge.

The best scfi-fi litrpg in my opinion, the character growth is very visible and keeps you glued to the pages as the protagonist struggle to raise himself. Through his eyes, I got to experience unearthing ancient, hidden cultures, find ancient relics, and uncover galactic-wide schemes that blew my mind away.

Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1)

By Cosimo Yap,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An Artificial Intelligence, LitRPG, Cyberpunk adventure.

The Earth is changing. The alien invasion brought social upheaval, advanced technology, and an armada of peacekeeping robots. But Alan, a college student pursuing a now-useless degree, cares little about all of this. He has only one thing on his mind: the Game.

A fully immersive virtual reality, the Game appears to be a major part of the invading civilization. Alan can't wait to play, recklessly diving into the digital universe. Soon though, Alan realizes the Game is anything but simple, and the stakes are higher than he ever imagined.


Alan Turing

By Andrew Hodges,

Book cover of Alan Turing: The Enigma

C.A. Farlow Author Of A Quantum Singularity: Book Three in The Nexus Series

From the list on mixing science, fiction, and adventure.

Who am I?

I grew up in farm country of central Indiana. But spent my summers on an island in northern Ontario with my grandparents. My grandfather was a self-taught naturalist and shared his love and fascination of the world around us with me. I went on to become a geologist and traveled the globe exploring for natural resources. My love of nature and science is the foundation for the science fiction I write. Whether a proven theory, a fantastical hypothesis, or true science fiction, it’s all based on science fact. It allows everyone to learn about a world built in science fiction which one day may exist in science fact.

C.A.'s book list on mixing science, fiction, and adventure

Discover why each book is one of C.A.'s favorite books.

Why did C.A. love this book?

This is a book that is at once a biography, a testament to human genius in the face of imminent danger, and a story of human injustice. Alan Turing had an idea about a ‘universal machine’. A machine, when built at Bletchley Park, allowed the Allies in World War II to crack the German Enigma ciphers. This universal machine laid the foundations for modern computing and all the amazing advances we enjoy today. But at a price for Turing, he fought inner demons about his homosexuality and eventually paid the ultimate price.

I marveled at his genius, cheered his cryptographic successes with each cipher cracked, shouted against the tragedy of his arrest, cried at his untimely death. A death at his own hand at the age of 41. The world lost a genius due to a society’s labelling of homosexuality as a crime.

We still live in this world of…

Alan Turing

By Andrew Hodges,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Alan Turing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) saved the Allies from the Nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decades--all before his suicide at age forty-one. This New York Times-bestselling biography of the founder of computer science, with a new preface by the author that addresses Turing's royal pardon in 2013, is the definitive account of an extraordinary mind and life. Capturing both the inner…


Mind Bullet

By Jeremy Robinson,

Book cover of Mind Bullet

Iris Bolling Author Of S.I.B.s: The Society of Intellectual Beings

From the list on saving mankind from itself using fantasy elements.

Who am I?

I’m a Black woman who writes stories that will give readers an insight into areas of corporate and governmental politics, with a touch of reality, suspense, humor, and romance. Oh, let me add…a touch of fantasy. At times, I will mix the genres simply because that is where the story takes me. Writing is a passion; messaging is a responsibility (I aim to intrigue you!), and humor is my way of balancing the intense topic. I have a degree in Organizational Management, 30 years of working in state agencies, and a vivid imagination to share. I'm enjoying the second chapter of my life by doing what I love…writing stories that entice your mind.  

Iris' book list on saving mankind from itself using fantasy elements

Discover why each book is one of Iris' favorite books.

Why did Iris love this book?

I can appreciate an author who can inject humor into a story that is not traditionally a comedy. In Mind Bullet, we follow the life of an assassin who has the ability to kill with his mind and his artificial intelligence sidekick Bubbles (who frequently asks for a name change throughout the book). Make no mistake, there is plenty of fast-paced, action-packed scenes as Jonas tries to stay one step ahead of the ninjas (yes ninjas!) in between the funny appearances of Bubbles. The mixture of danger and humor is all-consuming as you go along for the ride. This story had me laughing while sitting on the edge of my seat. 

Mind Bullet

By Jeremy Robinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mind Bullet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A telekinetic assassin’s quest to avenge his parents’ murders triggers an all-out war between an eccentric cast of killers, from the New York Times bestselling author of INFINITE and THE DARK.

Jonas kills people…with his mind. He reaches out, focuses for a moment, and feels a snap of pain between his eyes. Then his target falls over dead, a hole in the center of their brains. The cause of death is unknown to all aside from Jonas, and his lone companion: Bubbles, a sarcastic AI with aspirations to be more human, or a serial killer. One of the two. Maybe…


Hackers

By Steven Levy,

Book cover of Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

Jeremy N. Smith Author Of Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called Alien

From the list on hackers and hacking.

Who am I?

Jeremy N. Smith is the author of three acclaimed narrative non-fiction books, including Breaking and Entering, about a female hacker called “Alien” and the birth of our information insecurity age. He has written for The Atlantic, Discover, Slate, and the New York Times, among other outlets, and he and his work have been featured by CNN, NPR, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and Wired. He hosts The Hacker Next Door podcast and lives in Missoula, Montana.

Jeremy's book list on hackers and hacking

Discover why each book is one of Jeremy's favorite books.

Why did Jeremy love this book?

Hackers is a classic account of the computer revolution, centered on the pioneering tinkerers, gamers, social theorists, entrepreneurs, and other explorers who made military and corporate technology personal. These are not hackers in the criminal sense most people understand the term today, but men (and a few women) like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and others far less famous. Their interwoven biographies are brilliantly researched and reported, underpinned by what Levy calls a common “hacker ethic” whose tenets dominate our economy, politics, and culture today.

Hackers

By Steven Levy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hackers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Steven Levy's classic book about the original hackers of the computer revolution is now available in a special 25th anniversary edition, with updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zukerberg, Richard Stallman, and Tim O'Reilly. Hackers traces the exploits of innovators from the research labs in the late 1950s to the rise of the home computer in the mid-1980s. It's a fascinating story of brilliant and eccentric nerds such as Steve Wozniak, Ken Williams, and John Draper who took risks, bent the rules, and took the world in a radical new direction. "Hacker" is often a derogatory…


AI

By Margaret A. Boden,

Book cover of AI: Its Nature and Future

Peter J. Bentley Author Of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Ten Short Lessons

From the list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence.

Who am I?

I’ve been a geeky kid all my life. (I don’t think I’ve quite grown up yet.) Born in the 1970s, my childhood was a wonderful playground of building robots and software. I was awarded one of the early degrees in AI, and a PhD in genetic algorithms. I’ve since spent 25 years exploring how to make computers think, build, invent, compose… and I’ve also spent 20 years writing popular science books. I’m lucky enough to be a Professor in one of the world’s best universities for Computer Science and Machine Learning: UCL, and I guess I’ve written two or three hundred scientific papers over the years. I still think I know nothing at all about real or artificial intelligence, but then does anyone?

Peter's book list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence

Discover why each book is one of Peter's favorite books.

Why did Peter love this book?

Maggie is a force of nature and anyone involved in the philosophy of AI knows (or should know) her extensive work. This book is an easy-to-read and beautifully-written introduction to Artificial Intelligence, which tells some of the recent history while explaining how and why intelligence is much harder to make than many of the pundits seem to think. No nonsense here – a good solid read by a hugely experienced scientist at the top of her field.

AI

By Margaret A. Boden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked AI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us; in our homes, schools and offices, in our cinemas, in art galleries and - not least - on the Internet. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, and linguists in helping to understand the processes of memory, learning, and language from a fresh angle.

As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Margaret A. Boden reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever…


The Integral Trees

By Larry Niven,

Book cover of The Integral Trees: And the Smoke Ring

Peter J. Bentley Author Of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Ten Short Lessons

From the list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence.

Who am I?

I’ve been a geeky kid all my life. (I don’t think I’ve quite grown up yet.) Born in the 1970s, my childhood was a wonderful playground of building robots and software. I was awarded one of the early degrees in AI, and a PhD in genetic algorithms. I’ve since spent 25 years exploring how to make computers think, build, invent, compose… and I’ve also spent 20 years writing popular science books. I’m lucky enough to be a Professor in one of the world’s best universities for Computer Science and Machine Learning: UCL, and I guess I’ve written two or three hundred scientific papers over the years. I still think I know nothing at all about real or artificial intelligence, but then does anyone?

Peter's book list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence

Discover why each book is one of Peter's favorite books.

Why did Peter love this book?

When I’m not developing AI methods (or writing about them) I read. Most of what I read is science fiction. There’s nothing more imaginative than a good science fiction book, and many science fiction stories have inspired us to develop whole new technologies. This one probably won’t do that, but it has such a bizarre mind-bending world that I couldn’t resist recommending it. Niven is great at this kind of thing – the Ringworld books were a favourite of mine as a kid, and frankly, I could recommend another 30 of his books. But Integral Trees is entertaining, a little bizarre, and it even has diagrams to illustrate the underlying concepts at the start – what more could you ask for in a science fiction book?

The Integral Trees

By Larry Niven,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Integral Trees as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Niven has come up with an idea about as far out as one can get. . . . This is certainly classic science fiction—the idea is truly the hero.”—Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

When leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline was prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided (and secretly spied upon) by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. But what they weren’t prepared for was the smoke ring–an immense gaseous envelope that had…


Birth of Intelligence

By Daeyeol Lee,

Book cover of Birth of Intelligence: From RNA to Artificial Intelligence

Gordon M. Shepherd Author Of Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters

From the list on understanding the brain and behavior.

Who am I?

I was stimulated by Norbert Wiener’s “Cybernetics” to study circuits in the brain that control behavior. For my graduate studies, I chose the olfactory bulb for its experimental advantages, which led to constructing the first computer models of brain neurons and microcircuits. Then I got interested in how the smell patterns are activated when we eat food, which led to a new field called Neurogastronomy, which is the neuroscience of the circuits that create the perception of food flavor. Finally, because all animals use their brains to find and eat food, the olfactory system has provided new insights into the evolution of the mammalian brain and the basic organization of the cerebral cortex.

Gordon's book list on understanding the brain and behavior

Discover why each book is one of Gordon's favorite books.

Why did Gordon love this book?

If flavorful food has been a critical element in the evolution of our large brains, how did large brains give rise to our high intelligence?  This is to be found in the circuits of our cerebral cortex and the regions to which it is connected. Daeyeol Lee is one of the leaders in research on how the cerebral cortex generates behavior in monkeys, for its insights into how this occurs in humans.  This is providing new ways to define the neural basis of intelligence based on the application of new single-cell recording techniques in primates and brain scanning techniques in humans.  

With his approach based on a deep understanding of how primates gave rise to humans, Lee asks the critical questions: What is intelligence? How did it evolve from monkeys to humans? Can computers and artificial intelligence ever equal human biological intelligence in all its complexity?   Based on Lee’s research…

Birth of Intelligence

By Daeyeol Lee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Birth of Intelligence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What is intelligence? How did it begin and evolve to human intelligence? Does a high level of biological intelligence require a complex brain? Can man-made machines be truly intelligent? Is AI fundamentally different from human intelligence? In Birth of Intelligence, distinguished neuroscientist Daeyeol Lee tackles these pressing fundamental issues. To better prepare for future society and its technology, including how the use of AI will impact our lives, it
is essential to understand the biological root and limits of human intelligence. After systematically reviewing biological and computational underpinnings of decision making and intelligent behaviors, Birth of Intelligence proposes that true…


Iron Prince

By Bryce O'Connor, Luke Chmilenko,

Book cover of Iron Prince: A Progression Sci-Fi Epic (Warformed: Stormweaver)

Chris Tullbane Author Of See These Bones

From the list on starters in progression fantasy.

Who am I?

As an author, I’m fascinated with the fictional quest for power and the challenges and changes that journey both entails and provokes. Progression fantasy, beyond all the numbers and formalized rankings, is about the character first… not just people growing stronger, but how that growth impacts them on a fundamental level. It's something central to my own fiction, and as I’ve explored the progression fantasy genre, I’ve loved seeing the different ways other authors tackle that same idea. The worlds, people, and magic systems vary wildly between different series in the genre, but that central conflict’s impact on those engaged in it remains uniquely compelling.

Chris' book list on starters in progression fantasy

Discover why each book is one of Chris' favorite books.

Why did Chris love this book?

Iron Prince is unique in this list (and among most progression fantasy books) in that it takes place in the distant future, on one of many planets in a galaxy at war.

Instead of mystical cores or game or system-imposed leveling constructs, individuals are given CADs (combat assistance devices) that largely do the same thing. 

What I love about the book is that the main character, Rei, is the ultimate underdog. He’s done everything he could to achieve success despite his shortcomings, only to get crushed by peers and a governing system that abhors weakness.

His determination to push on is one of my favorite traits in characters, and ensures that we, the audience, remain engaged, even as he learns to leverage his unique gifts. Smart and never boring, I can’t wait for the sequel!

Iron Prince

By Bryce O'Connor, Luke Chmilenko,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Iron Prince as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reidon Ward will become a god. He doesn't know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him.His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the…


Mathematics for Machine Learning

By Marc Peter Deisenroth, A. Aldo Faisal, Cheng Soon Ong

Book cover of Mathematics for Machine Learning

Yuxi (Hayden) Liu Author Of Python Machine Learning By Example: Build intelligent systems using Python, TensorFlow 2, PyTorch, and scikit-learn

From the list on machine learning for beginners.

Who am I?

I have been a machine learning engineer applying my ML expertise in computational advertising, and search domain. I am an author of 8 machine learning books. My first book was ranked the #1 bestseller in its category on Amazon in 2017 and 2018 and was translated into many languages. I am also a ML education enthusiast and used to teach ML courses in Toronto, Canada.  

Yuxi's book list on machine learning for beginners

Discover why each book is one of Yuxi's favorite books.

Why did Yuxi love this book?

The book is a well-curated collection of the essential mathematical concepts that form ML. You may experience a cultural shock jumping to this book from the previous one, because the writing in this book is a bit formal. However, it is the missing but necessary piece for building solid foundations for practical ML. You will find it more valuable combining the intuition behind ML that you gained previously. And the explanations in the book are succinct and from the ML perspectives. For instance, partial derivatives are explained in terms of neural network weight optimization. I wish the concepts in Linear Algebra, Vector Calculus, and Probability courses back in college were introduced this way so I understand better how they are applied.  

Mathematics for Machine Learning

By Marc Peter Deisenroth, A. Aldo Faisal, Cheng Soon Ong

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mathematics for Machine Learning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The fundamental mathematical tools needed to understand machine learning include linear algebra, analytic geometry, matrix decompositions, vector calculus, optimization, probability and statistics. These topics are traditionally taught in disparate courses, making it hard for data science or computer science students, or professionals, to efficiently learn the mathematics. This self-contained textbook bridges the gap between mathematical and machine learning texts, introducing the mathematical concepts with a minimum of prerequisites. It uses these concepts to derive four central machine learning methods: linear regression, principal component analysis, Gaussian mixture models and support vector machines. For students and others with a mathematical background, these…


Telling the Map

By Christopher Rowe,

Book cover of Telling the Map

Michael J. DeLuca Author Of Night Roll

From the list on community-building amid the ruins of capitalism.

Who am I?

I've been in love with ecological writing, the effort to communicate love for and grief over the destruction of the profound beauty of the natural world, since I wrote my first play about rainforest clear-cutting in fifth grade—if not before. In 2016, I started Reckoning, a nonprofit journal of creative writing about environmental justice, because I wanted to encourage others doing this work, to provide an independent platform for it in ways profit-driven traditional publishing wasn't, and to build a community where those writers could share and inspire each other. Seven years later, that community defines me; it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Michael's book list on community-building amid the ruins of capitalism

Discover why each book is one of Michael's favorite books.

Why did Michael love this book?

Christopher Rowe's prose is beautiful, vivid, and engrossing. His vision of a future mid-South dominated by rogue artificial intelligence conceals amid its wild phantasmagoria a surprisingly perceptive tenderness for the ways people cling together as they struggle to adapt and make space for each other in a complex and massively changed world. These stories also communicate an engrossing, evangelical love for bikes and cycling like nothing else I've read.

Telling the Map

By Christopher Rowe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Telling the Map as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are ten stories here including one readers have waited ten long years for: in new novel-la The Border State Rowe revisits the world of his much-lauded story The Voluntary State. Competitive cyclists twins Michael and Maggie have trained all their lives to race internationally. One thing holds them back: their mother who years before crossed the border into Tennessee.

Praise for Christopher Rowe:

"Rowe's stories are the kind of thing you want on a cold, winter's night when the fire starts burning low. Terrific."
Justina Robson (Glorious Angels)

"As good as he is now, he'll keep getting better. Read…


The Punch Escrow

By Tal M. Klein,

Book cover of The Punch Escrow

Jacqui Castle Author Of The Seclusion

From the list on dystopian reads of the past five years.

Who am I?

I love dystopian novels because they allow us to explore our fears and follow those pesky what-ifs floating around our heads to their most extreme conclusions. Often, when I talk to people about dystopian literature, their minds go straight to the classics such as 1984, The Handmaid's Tale, or Fahrenheit 451. While these are timeless and amazing books, there have been so many ground-breaking dystopian novels written in the past five years that you won't want to miss.

Jacqui's book list on dystopian reads of the past five years

Discover why each book is one of Jacqui's favorite books.

Why did Jacqui love this book?

I adored this fast-paced near-future dystopian book by debut author Tal M. Klein. Prepare to be thrown into an innovative world where teleportation is the primary means of travel, and people don't think twice before taking advantage of this convenience. Though, as we soon find out, maybe they should. 

There are so many fun tidbits in this novel such as nanotechnology and genetically engineered mosquitoes that help clean the air. You'll also find plenty of nostalgic references for fans of books such as Ready Player One. Prepare for engaging characters, unique worldbuilding, thought-provoking philosophical questions, and plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

The Punch Escrow

By Tal M. Klein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Punch Escrow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dubbed the “next Ready Player One,” by former Warner Brothers President Greg Silverman, and now in film development at Lionsgate.

"Featuring themes similar to Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, the dense sci-fi feel of a Michael Crichton thriller and clever Douglas Adams-like charm, the book posits an intriguing future that is both inviting and horrific." ―Brian Truitt, USA TODAY

It's the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport―the…


The True Creator of Everything

By Miguel Nicolellis,

Book cover of The True Creator of Everything: How the Human Brain Shaped the Universe as We Know It

Gordon M. Shepherd Author Of Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters

From the list on understanding the brain and behavior.

Who am I?

I was stimulated by Norbert Wiener’s “Cybernetics” to study circuits in the brain that control behavior. For my graduate studies, I chose the olfactory bulb for its experimental advantages, which led to constructing the first computer models of brain neurons and microcircuits. Then I got interested in how the smell patterns are activated when we eat food, which led to a new field called Neurogastronomy, which is the neuroscience of the circuits that create the perception of food flavor. Finally, because all animals use their brains to find and eat food, the olfactory system has provided new insights into the evolution of the mammalian brain and the basic organization of the cerebral cortex.

Gordon's book list on understanding the brain and behavior

Discover why each book is one of Gordon's favorite books.

Why did Gordon love this book?

Many years ago a young neuroscientist asked to visit me; he had just come to the U.S. from Brazil and was seeking advice on a lab he could join to train in the function of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. He soon became spectacularly successful, showing that the brain forms different perceptions and controls different movements by overlapping distributions of cortical neurons that constitute an internal reality of the external world.

Building on this knowledge, Nicolellis has led the way in constructing brain-machine interfaces to enable a patient, for example, to learn to walk after suffering a stroke. In doing so, he has come to realize that everything humans experience in our lives is due to the reality constructed by the brain to represent the reality of the external world. As he expresses it, brain reality is the true creator of everything. Some may find this new view disturbing,…

The True Creator of Everything

By Miguel Nicolellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The True Creator of Everything as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A radically new cosmological view from a groundbreaking neuroscientist who places the human brain at the center of humanity's universe

Renowned neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis introduces a revolutionary new theory of how the human brain evolved to become an organic computer without rival in the known universe. He undertakes the first attempt to explain the entirety of human history, culture, and civilization based on a series of recently uncovered key principles of brain function. This new cosmology is centered around three fundamental properties of the human brain: its insurmountable malleability to adapt and learn; its exquisite ability to allow multiple individuals…


Use of Weapons

By Iain M. Banks,

Book cover of Use of Weapons

G.B. Gordon Author Of Santuario

From the list on sci-fi that triggers deeper thought and reflection.

Who am I?

I'm a linguist by trade with an MA in Intercultural Communications. I'm also an immigrant in my chosen country. You could say I have a fascination for different worlds/cultures in my blood. But those cultures only really come alive with the people that live in them, the way they think, feel, and talk, and especially where their cultures meet, with all the tensions, heartbreaks, love and hate, misunderstandings, fear, and courage that reverberate in those encounters.

G.B.'s book list on sci-fi that triggers deeper thought and reflection

Discover why each book is one of G.B.'s favorite books.

Why did G.B. love this book?

This is a book that asks all the hard moral questions, and isn't shy about not having all the answers, but leaving the reader to try and come up with their own. The worldbuilding is—pardon the pun—out of this world. And if, like me, you can't get enough of it, there are more books set in the same universe.

Use of Weapons

By Iain M. Banks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Use of Weapons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The third Culture novel from the awesome imagination of Iain M. Banks, a modern master of science fiction.

The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action.

The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought.

The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her…


On Intelligence

By Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee,

Book cover of On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines

Howard Bloom Author Of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History

From the list on on changing the way you think.

Who am I?

I’ve been called the Einstein, Newton, Darwin, and Freud of the 21st century by Britain’s Channel 4 TV and the next Stephen Hawking by Gear Magazine. My passion is flying over all the sciences, all of history, and a chunk of the arts and pulling it all together in a new big picture. I’ve called this approach Omnology, the aspiration to omniscience. Sounds crazy, right? But I’ve published scientific papers or lectured at scholarly conferences in twelve different scientific disciplines, from quantum physics and cosmology to evolutionary biology, psychology, information science, and astronautics. And I’ve been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and many more.

Howard's book list on on changing the way you think

Discover why each book is one of Howard's favorite books.

Why did Howard love this book?

The brain is a confusing mess, with all the Latin names of its parts and the machine-gun scatter of research. Jeff Hawkins helps you see what the brain does in a whole new way. A big-picture way. A way in which it all makes sense. Profound and science-changing sense.

On Intelligence

By Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On Intelligence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines

Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself.

Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines.

The brain is not a computer, but…


Plato and the Nerd

By Edward Ashford Lee,

Book cover of Plato and the Nerd: The Creative Partnership of Humans and Technology

Luc de Brabandere Author Of Be Logical, Be Creative, Be Critical: the Art of Thinking in a Digital World

From the list on how using computers influences the way we think.

Who am I?

During my life, I’ve been told that I was not a true engineer, not a true banker, not a true CEO, not a true entrepreneur, not a true teacher… But one day an executive told me: “I want to work with you because you’re not a true consultant.” I then realized it is was a privilege not to be a true something! I like to call myself a corporate philosopher. Fellow of the BCG Henderson Institute, and co-founder of Cartoonbase, I split my time between the worlds of academia and business. I have published several other books on various subjects such as language, mathematics, humor, or fallacies.

Luc's book list on how using computers influences the way we think

Discover why each book is one of Luc's favorite books.

Why did Luc love this book?

Lee covers and connects two of my favorite topics, creativity, and technology. From the facts and truths of technology to the role models play in creativity (looking at how early philosophers suggested modeling thought), he argues that computers are not universal machines and that their power comes from their partnership with humans.

Plato and the Nerd

By Edward Ashford Lee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Plato and the Nerd as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How humans and technology evolve together in a creative partnership.

In this book, Edward Ashford Lee makes a bold claim: that the creators of digital technology have an unsurpassed medium for creativity. Technology has advanced to the point where progress seems limited not by physical constraints but the human imagination. Writing for both literate technologists and numerate humanists, Lee makes a case for engineering—creating technology—as a deeply intellectual and fundamentally creative process. Explaining why digital technology has been so transformative and so liberating, Lee argues that the real power of technology stems from its partnership with humans.

Lee explores the…


Computer Vision

By Richard Szeliski,

Book cover of Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications

Mark S. Nixon Author Of Feature Extraction and Image Processing for Computer Vision

From the list on computer vision from a veteran professor.

Who am I?

It’s been fantastic to work in computer vision, especially when it is used to build biometric systems. I and my 80 odd PhD students have pioneered systems that recognise people by the way they walk, by their ears, and many other new things too. To build the systems, we needed computer vision techniques and architectures, both of which work with complex real-world imagery. That’s what computer vision gives you: a capability to ‘see’ using a computer. I think we can still go a lot further: to give blind people sight, to enable better invasive surgery, to autonomise more of our industrial society, and to give us capabilities we never knew we’d have.

Mark's book list on computer vision from a veteran professor

Discover why each book is one of Mark's favorite books.

Why did Mark love this book?

Richard’s authoritative leading textbook excellently describes the whole field of computer vision. It starts with the sensor, moves to image formation followed by feature extraction and grouping, and then by vision analysis. It’s pragmatic too, with excellent descriptions of applications. And there is a ton of support material. This is a mega textbook describing the whole field of computer vision.

Computer Vision

By Richard Szeliski,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Computer Vision as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications explores the variety of techniques commonly used to analyze and interpret images. It also describes challenging real-world applications where vision is being successfully used, both for specialized applications such as medical imaging, and for fun, consumer-level tasks such as image editing and stitching, which students can apply to their own personal photos and videos.

More than just a source of "recipes," this exceptionally authoritative and comprehensive textbook/reference also takes a scientific approach to basic vision problems, formulating physical models of the imaging process before inverting them to produce descriptions of a scene. These problems are…