These Strange New Minds

“An erudite history of artificial intelligence research… Weaving colorful anecdotes from history and pop culture into threads of philosophy, linguistics and computer science, [Summerfield] unspools how the latest models work by first explaining what didn’t work along the way, and why. It’s an approach that both demystifies ChatGPT and clarifies what made it such a breakthrough.”—The Washington Post“A deep dive into the intersection of human intelligence and artificial intelligence…. This book is an eye-opening exploration of a revolution unfolding before our eyes.”—The New York Journal of Books“A compelling and insightful exploration of large language models (LLMs) and their profound world impact. This work is both a great introduction to artificial intelligence and a thought-provoking analysis of its capabilities and limitations…. A key addition to collections, this is more than just another tech book: it’s a guide to navigating the era of AI with awareness, and the writing encourages readers to think critically about how humans interact with the technology.”—Library Journal“A clear-minded, accessible examination of how AI systems work.”—Kirkus Reviews“Provocative… Summerfield brings some welcome nuance and clarity to discussions of LLMs. In a crowded field of AI primers, this rises to the top.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“An engaging, insightful, and panoramic survey of where we are, why we got here, and what it means. A brilliant guide to the most important technology of our times.”—Mustafa Suleyman, coauthor of The Coming Wave“Witty, brilliant, and deeply thought through – by far the best guide to a newly emerging species with which we will share the planet for the foreseeable future.”—Stuart Russell, author of Human Compatible“As a leading authority in both computational neuroscience and the social impacts of AI, Christopher Summerfield is perfectly situated to explore the meaning and implications of these machines that are so uncannily like—and unlike—ourselves.”—Brian Christian, coauthor of Algorithms to Live By“We are at a unique moment in human history, with powerful general-purpose AI tools available for the first time. But how do these weird tools work? How will they develop? And what does it mean for humanity? Chris Summerfield takes us on a tour of this astonishing new technology, and helps us to understand the issues it raises. You might choose to be alarmed, excited, or indifferent to LLMs, but you should read Chris’s book before you decide.”—Michael Wooldridge, author of A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence“With clarity, insight, and wit, Christopher Summerfield dives beneath the ever-breaking wave of large language models to reveal the deeper principles at play, and the challenges and opportunities these powerful new technologies present. An essential and highly readable guide to thinking about how, and whether, computers can think, what’s coming next, and what we should do about it.”—Anil Seth, author of Being You

Christopher Summerfield has one foot in the field of Cognitive Neuroscience – studying the brains of humans, as Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford – and the other in AI research, helping build intelligent systems as a Staff Research Scientist at the pioneering Google DeepMind. He has won several awards, including the prestigious Cognitive Neuroscience Society Young Investigator Award in 2015. He is regularly invited to give keynote talks across the world. Christopher has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters and his academic book, Natural General Intelligence: How Understanding the Brain Can Help Us Build AI, was widely acclaimed. This is his first book for a general readership.