Why Machines Learn

The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI

By: Anil Ananthaswamy

Narrated by: Rene Ruiz

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A rich, narrative explanation of the mathematics that has brought us machine learning and the ongoing explosion of artificial intelligence

Machine learning systems are making life-altering decisions for us: approving mortgage loans, determining whether a tumor is cancerous, or deciding whether someone gets bail. They now influence developments and discoveries in chemistry, biology, and physics—the study of genomes, extra-solar planets, even the intricacies of quantum systems. And all this before large language models such as ChatGPT came on the scene.

We are living through a revolution in machine learning-powered AI that shows no signs of slowing down. This technology is based on relatively simple mathematical ideas, some of which go back centuries, including linear algebra and calculus, the stuff of seventeenth and eighteenth-century mathematics. It took the birth and advancement of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see today. In this enlightening book, Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental math behind machine learning, while suggesting intriguing links between artificial and natural intelligence. Might the same math underpin them both?

As Ananthaswamy resonantly concludes, to make safe and effective use of artificial intelligence, we need to understand its profound capabilities and limitations, the clues to which lie in the math that makes machine learning possible.

*This audiobook contains a PDF of equations, graphs, and illustrations.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Anil Ananthaswamy (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An inspiring introduction to the mathematics of AI.”—Arthur I. Miller, author of The Artist in the Machine: The World of AI-Powered Creativity

“Some books about the development of neural networks describe the underlying mathematics while others describe the social history. This book presents the mathematics in the context of the social history. It is a masterpiece. The author is very good at explaining the mathematics in a way that makes it available to people with only a rudimentary knowledge of the field, but he is also a very good writer who brings the social history to life.”—Geoffrey Hinton, deep learning pioneer, Turing Award winner, former VP at Google, and Professor Emeritus at University of Toronto

“After just a few minutes of reading Why Machines Learn, you’ll feel your own synaptic weights getting updated. By the end you will have achieved your own version of deep learning—with deep pleasure and insight along the way.”—Steven Strogatz, New York Times bestselling author of Infinite Powers and professor of mathematics at Cornell University

A great listen, but a physical book is pre appropriate

I enjoyed all the technical details and history. When the times came to look at a pdf, I wish I also had the physical copy.

Totally inappropriate for audio

This is a technical book with many equations and graphs. It should never have been converted to audio. It may very well be a fine book to read but it is not suited for listening unless you want to sit in front of a computer and look at the associated pdf file while listening - not for me. Wish I could return.