This book demystifies artificial intelligence by bridging the gap between complex technical algorithms and their practical functions. It demonstrates to readers that AI is not magic but an understandable and ethically navigable technology. Guided by the experience of fifty-year AI educator and researcher Prof. George Luger, the text traces the philosophical, mathematical, and engineering origins of AI, explores the major paradigms -- from symbolic reasoning to neural networks and deep learning -- and addresses crucial ethical and societal implications facing modern AI practitioners and users.
Through accessible narratives, historical context, and explicit analysis of human versus machine cognition,
Artificial Intelligence: The Reality and the Myth enables informed decision-making about the uses and limitations of AI. The book emphasizing transparent, responsible practice in today's technology-driven world. Key chapters cover practical and ethical challenges, the myth of superintelligence, and the evolution of AI's foundational theories, making this work essential for students, educators, professionals, and anyone eager to engage intelligently and constructively with artificial intelligence.
George Luger is professor emeritus in the Computer Science Department of the University of New Mexico. George has worked in the AI field for over 50 years, presenting his first research paper in 1973 at the IJCAI conference at Stanford University. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. After lecturing at Penn for a year, he began a five year postdoctoral fellowship at the Artificial Intelligence Department of the University of Edinburgh. He became a faculty member at UNM in 1979. His AI textbooks have been through 7 editions and are translated into Russian, Chinese, and a number of other languages. His research has been funded by the British Research Council, The Royal Society, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, The US Departments of Energy and Defense, and by NATO.
