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.

‘Walsh is a guide you can trust … with a warmth and humour to his tone that makes reading his words comforting’ AOIFE BARRY, IRISH INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'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

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.