Search
£12.99
Published
1 September 2026
Paperback
9781917532433
Ebook
9781917532440
Press Release
Coming soon.
By Toby Walsh:

 

Will artificial intelligence usher in a golden age, or are we sowing the seeds of our own destruction? Some scientists have long feared an AI-triggered apocalypse, as ever more ruthless and capable machines elbow us aside. The more extreme doomsayers are even stockpiling supplies in bunkers to prepare for the dystopian future.

Optimists, on the other hand, counter that AI will be a gigantic boon, as has already been seen in science and medicine. They point to the impressive list of AI’s triumphs, such as Google DeepMind’s Nobel-prizewinning work mapping proteins.

Toby Walsh has worked in AI since before most people had a computer. In God AI, he guides us with humour and humanity through the claims and the counter-claims – and helps us make up our own minds about one of the biggest issues of our time.

Old Street Publishing GOD AI: What to Expect When Machines Outsmart Us

Will artificial intelligence usher in a golden age, or are we sowing the seeds of our own destruction? Some scientists have long feared an AI-triggered apocalypse, as ever more ruthless and capable machines elbow us aside. The more extreme doomsayers are even stockpiling supplies in bunkers to prepare for the dystopian future.

Optimists, on the other hand, counter that AI will be a gigantic boon, as has already been seen in science and medicine. They point to the impressive list of AI’s triumphs, such as Google DeepMind’s Nobel-prizewinning work mapping proteins.

Toby Walsh has worked in AI since before most people had a computer. In God AI, he guides us with humour and humanity through the claims and the counter-claims – and helps us make up our own minds about one of the biggest issues of our time.

 12.99
 
 

'A clear, layperson-friendly explanation of how we got to this weird and confusing place… [Walsh] is a very funny writer, which is a delightful bonus'
—Financial Times on The Shortest History of AI

 
 
  • 'An entertaining and thought-provoking introduction to a subject we’ll surely hear more and more about'
    —Darragh McManus, Irish Independent on Sunday on The Shortest History of AI
  • 'Engaging and often wry'
    —Aoife Barry, Irish Independent on The Shortest History of AI
  • 'A book that’s both educational and enjoyable. Deposit it in school libraries—and on the reading piles of politicians, journalists and, indeed, anyone who hopes to understand the revolution' Prospect Magazine
    —Prospect Magazine on The Shortest History of AI
 
 
Toby Walsh

Toby Walsh is a British computer scientist and one of the world’s leading researchers in artificial intelligence. After his undergraduate degree from University of Cambridge, he completed his Ph.D in artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh. He is a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales and chief scientist at its AI institute, UNSW.ai. Walsh has been profiled by The New York Times and is the author of several books about AI for general readers, including Machines Behaving Badly and Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World. His Twitter (X) account was voted in the top ten to follow to keep abreast of developments in AI.