Top 10 Artificial Intelligence Books

This Top 10 list has been inspired by Joel at the Kaizone, a  content portal for lean books, blog posts and some fantastic resources. To take a look at his full list of the top 100 lean & OpEx blogs, click here.

For a selection of case studies, White Papers, reports, presentations & more, why not take a look at our original BTOES Insights content, or our excellent premium contributor content? Or for some wider reading, take a look at the Top 10 Operational Excellence Books.

Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

By Stuart Russell & Peter Norvig

"The most comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the theory and practice of artificial intelligence

The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind

By Marvin Minsky

"In this mind-expanding book, scientific pioneer Marvin Minsky continues his groundbreaking research, offering a fascinating new model for how our minds work. He argues persuasively that emotions, intuitions, and feelings are not distinct things, but different ways of thinking.

By examining these different forms of mind activity, Minsky says, we can explain why our thought sometimes takes the form of carefully reasoned analysis and at other times turns to emotion. He shows how our minds progress from simple, instinctive kinds of thought to more complex forms, such as consciousness or self-awareness. And he argues that because we tend to see our thinking as fragmented, we fail to appreciate what powerful thinkers we really are. Indeed, says Minsky, if thinking can be understood as the step-by-step process that it is, then we can build machines -- artificial intelligences -- that not only can assist with our thinking by thinking as we do but have the potential to be as conscious as we are."

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

By Philip C. Jackson Jr.

"Can computers think? Can they use reason to develop their own concepts, solve complex problems, play games, understand our languages? This comprehensive survey of artificial intelligence ― the study of how computers can be made to act intelligently ― explores these and other fascinating questions. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence presents an introduction to the science of reasoning processes in computers, and the research approaches and results of the past two decades. You'll find lucid, easy-to-read coverage of problem-solving methods, representation and models, game playing, automated understanding of natural languages, heuristic search theory, robot systems, heuristic scene analysis and specific artificial-intelligence accomplishments. Related subjects are also included: predicate-calculus theorem proving, machine architecture, psychological simulation, automatic programming, novel software techniques, industrial automation and much more."

Machine Learning

By Tom M. Mitchell

"This book covers the field of machine learning, which is the study of algorithms that allow computer programs to automatically improve through experience. The book is intended to support upper level undergraduate and introductory level graduate courses in machine learning."

Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach

By Russell 

"However, it's big for a reason. This book is filled with every possible thing you might want to know in the field of AI. It is all-encompassing from what I've seen. It also explains things very well in my opinion. Things are clear. You can clearly go through it, and although the math might need some note-taking, the book generally makes it easy for you to understand with examples. If you want to start delving into AI, machine learning, etc, but feel daunted about all the different crazy terms they use (adverserial networks, loss functions, overfitting, etc.), this is a good book to introduce to all this. It certainly did for me (Chapter 18: Machine Learning)."

Applied Artificial Intelligence: A Handbook For Business Leaders

By Mariya Yao, Adelyn Zhou & Marlene Jia

"This is an excellent resource for business owners like myself who are interested in AI, but weren't quite sure how it will change the nature of our work. 'Applied Artificial Intelligence' is keen to note that artificial intelligence is only as good as it's programming. And that programming is inherently biased based on the views of the programmer. To this end, AI programs can produce inconsistent results, even when implemented correctly. I'm not sure if the solution to this is better programming or better understanding of our customers. Since AI talent is scarce, it will take time before these methods will be adapted on a large scale. I agree with the quote about the challenges of AI: "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed." - William Gibson. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a handle on how AI is shaping the business landscape today.."

Artificial Intelligence Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction

By Tom Taulli

"Artificial intelligence touches nearly every part of your day. While you may initially assume that technology such as smart speakers and digital assistants are the extent of it, AI has in fact rapidly become a general-purpose technology, reverberating across industries including transportation, healthcare, financial services, and many more. In our modern era, an understanding of AI and its possibilities for your organization is essential for growth and success.

Artificial Intelligence Basics has arrived to equip you with a fundamental, timely grasp of AI and its impact. Author Tom Taulli provides an engaging, non-technical introduction to important concepts such as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), robotics, and more. In addition to guiding you through real-world case studies and practical implementation steps, Taulli uses his expertise to expand on the bigger questions that surround AI. These include societal trends, ethics, and future impact AI will have on world governments, company structures, and daily life."

T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power

By Michael Kanaan

"In a fast-paced world dominated by information overload, it is all too common an occurrence when professionals across specialties engage in conversations which have them second-guessing their understanding of hot buzzwords and often talking past one another. The result, as Kanaan remarks, is “too many confusions are never clarified and too many more are created.” (p. 5) Artificial Intelligence, or AI, while currently a trending discussion topic is more than a buzzword, it represents a key concept of technology that is increasingly ingrained into our daily lives. It is therefore incumbent upon each of us to ensure we understand what AI is, how it affects us today, and what it will mean for the world of tomorrow. Thankfully, T-Minus AI provides answers to these questions, and in a way that is both approachable and easily digestible."