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£9.99
Published
13 January 2026
Paperback
9781917532112
Ebook
9781917532129
Press Release
Coming soon.
By Toby Walsh:

 

‘If your brain tends to seize up with fear or incomprehension at the mention of AI, this concise and entertaining history is for you’ Sydney Morning Herald

Since Alan Turing asked ‘Can machines think?’ artificial intelligence has grown from a pipe dream into a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this journey, from Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to Deep Blue’s shocking defeat of chess world champion Garry Kasparov and the recent barnstorming emergence of ChatGPT.

This expert, illuminating book distils AI into six key ideas, equipping readers to understand where we’ve been – and where we may be headed.

Old Street Publishing The Shortest History of AI

‘If your brain tends to seize up with fear or incomprehension at the mention of AI, this concise and entertaining history is for you’ Sydney Morning Herald

Since Alan Turing asked ‘Can machines think?’ artificial intelligence has grown from a pipe dream into a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this journey, from Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to Deep Blue’s shocking defeat of chess world champion Garry Kasparov and the recent barnstorming emergence of ChatGPT.

This expert, illuminating book distils AI into six key ideas, equipping readers to understand where we’ve been – and where we may be headed.

 9.99
 
 

‘One of the world’s brightest minds takes on one of the world’s biggest topics’
—Adam Spencer

 
 
  • ‘Entertaining and concise… explains where we began and where we now find ourselves’
    —Kirkus
  • 'Essential reading… This history of AI in six simple ideas is so informative and easy to digest’
    —Karl Kruszelnicki
  • 'A cogent account of AI’s evolution from a once specialised technology to a ubiquitous feature of daily life’
    —The Saturday Paper
 
 
Toby Walsh