The hosts highlighted the textbook’s evolution from its first 1995 edition to the recent fourth edition, emphasizing how it reflects the rapid changes in AI. They noted the authors’ influence on major AI systems and the shift from focusing solely on algorithms to leveraging abundant data and clear objectives. The discussion conveyed strong endorsement of the book as a foundational resource for understanding modern AI.
Episode: Peter Norvig: Transforming AI Into the Ultimate Hu...
The hosts discussed the textbook that Peter Norvig coauthored with Stuart Russell, noting its first edition appeared in 1995 and that it is now in its fourth edition, reflecting the evolution of the field.
I know that you wrote a book about AI with Stuart Russell in 1995. You wrote a textbook, the first edition of Artificial Intelligence.
We did the first edition in 95, and we're up to the fourth edition, which we did a year or two ago. And there definitely are changes. And first of all, we think we did the book because we saw changes even back in 1995.
In the second edition we thought more like, okay, you still got to know all the cool algorithms, but if you had a choice, you're probably better off getting better data rather than getting better algorithms.
Now we have plenty of data and plenty of algorithms. The key to future progress is deciding what you want to build and defining the right objective.
He's not only authored major AI textbooks and established software tools, but also implemented numerous successful AI systems, including the Google search engine.