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New in the Shortest History Series

The Shortest History series condenses thousands of years into gripping, fast-paced reads. These books are your key to understanding global headlines through the lens of the past, the present, and the future. 

The image features a series of book covers from 'The Shortest History Series.' On the right is a large book cover of 'The Shortest History of AI' by Toby Walsh, which highlights topics like 'Robots Versus AI,' 'The Artificial Brain,' 'The Birth of Chatbots,' and 'Where is AI Going?' Surrounding this are smaller covers of various titles in the series, including histories of sex, democracy, Israel and Palestine, music, the Soviet Union, the crown, war, the universe, migration, China, economics, India, ancient Rome, and Japan. Each book cover features distinct typography and thematic imagery related to its subject.


New in the Shortest History Series:


A FASCINATING DEMYSTIFICATION OF AI: WHAT IT IS, ISN’T AND WHAT IT COULD BECOME

In The Shortest History of AI, Toby Walsh takes us through the journey behind AI’s ‘overnight success’ to show how its recent skyrocketing popularity has been decades in the making. AI has been a part of our lives for centuries – from the first mechanical computer in 1837 to today’s chatbots, robots and self-driving cars.

But how did machines meant to follow simple instructions, read and do math become smart enough to write Shakespeare-style poetry, beat world champions at chess, and offer viable solutions to humanity’s problems? What lies in store for AI? Is it going to graduate to take over more complex jobs? If so, what might happen to our work, society, governance, healthcare – and life as we know it?

This brief history slices through the wild claims, myths and speculated threats to explain AI technology, its challenges, capabilities and how it is likely to shape the world in the future.

The entire Shortest History series!