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Summary: exciting, accessible, and mystically significant
Review: Almost didn't buy this book last Friday night because I didn't think I'd find time to read it. A quick skim seemed to indicate it was more than a "leisure read". My wife convinced me to buy it anyway. Today is Sunday ... I couldn't put it down!Aside from the engaging narrative and concise explanations, I'd say my favorite part of the book is the straightforward way in which it triumphs the >>MYSTIC SIGNFICANCE<< of the very idea. It astounds me that no one, not even the author, has any clue how Blondie24 learned what she did. While the results speak for themselves, the very idea is a mind-blowing. This is groundbreaking work. I've long said that a "cognitive revolution" is on the horizon, one that will make the "internet revolution" look like small potatoes. If you want to understand the road this revolution will take, read this book.
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Summary: A personal quest for the deeper meaning of AI
Review: An absorbing and enchanting tale of a personal quest for the deeper meaning of AI: the discovery of how intelligence itself arises. Fogel seizes the challenge by capturing the evolutionary process and shaping it to breed a checkers expert from an artificial neural net. Scientists, humanists, and artists will appreciate his inspiring wit and clarity of thought in narrating the growth of Blondie24, a synthetic sentience born inside a desktop PC.
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Summary: Artificial Intelligence mixed with Genuine Entertainment...
Review: An amazing account of how a computer program taught itself to become an expert at the game of checkers. Author Fogel cleverly walks the reader through an entertaining account of how computers can be programmed to simulate actual evolutionary learning. In simple terms, the brilliant author and his associate designed and developed actual computer code that effectively taught itself through simulated experience - by actually playing the game of checkers against itself while learning and evolving its own knowledge. If one of the book's goals is to educate the reader as to the many misconceptions regarding "Artificial Intelligence", then score one for team Fogel. As a professional software developer, I was especially impressed with the design and development process described and utilized to develop the necessary algorithms. Although it may sound very technical, the story is quite engaging and very easy to follow. While being entertained, I also learned a great deal about the current state-of-the-art perspectives regarding AI. ...and then the story kicks in. Once the groundwork is completed during the first part of the book, the reader is taken on a delightful trip with Blondie24 in action. Even the casual reader will get caught up in this fascinating account. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the future, as "Intelligent" machines will certainly be a part of it. In short, a truly great read...
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Summary: Excellent overview of a new paradigm
Review: An excellent laymans' guide to a 'new' paradigm - I've bought two copies already (one given away). Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov but only after a multi-year effort involving special hardware and was a program that was specifically designed to play chess. Blondie24 'evolved itself' using non-special hardware (Pentium 400MHz) and in a matter of months beats 99% of all human players - WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT DRAUGHTS. Part 1 of the book is an overview of the two philosophies of AI embedded in Deep Blue and Blondie24 respectively. The argument is well made that Hal2001 could never be programmed in a conventional fashion. Part 2 is the story of Blondie's creation - if anything here the most impressive item is the author's enthusiasm which is contagious. Three qualifications: 1) on a technical quibble front Blondie24 is actually a co-evolved board valuation function which can only play draughts as it is embedded in a conventionally programmed mini-maxing game playing program. However one can hardly quibble with an author who includes an appendix of criticisms of his contentions! 2) at a more fundamental level Blondie24 is not a learning program (as far as I can see it learns nothing from its games) but rather the output of a learning system. This may be an interesting area for future study as, having evolved a 'good solution' it seems a pity to then 'waste' its future experiences. 3) like most highly skilled people Fogel makes it look easier than it is. If, sucked in by enthusiasm, one is tempted to try for oneself such an approach one finds a great number of pitfalls - it ain't as easy as he makes it look :-) Overall no hesitation in suggesting that you buy this book if you have a lively, wide-ranging mind. If you liked reading about any of Chaos, Complexity, ALife etc as new paradigms then you have to buy this one. MRB
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Summary: An intriguing read..
Review: Anyone slightly interested in Evolutionary Computing and Neural Networks (Genetic Algorithms, Neuroevolution, etc.) is probably already familiar with David Fogel, or his father. This book is an exciting (dare I say adventurous!) read for anyone in the field of EC. However, I think the biggest achievement here is the crossover value of this book. It appears to me that it should be readable and highly interesting to a broad spectrum of people, including those even only slightly interested in Artificial Intelligence, high technology, and chess, checkers, and other "deep" games (bridge?). This is mainly because the text is arranged in a unique way such that the muddy details of Blondie24 are easily skipped over (as they are in their own appendix). Dr. Fogel's clear, flowing, enjoyable writing style is also fabulous. Great for everyone!
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Summary: Excellent book
Review: As an undergraduate computer science major, I found this book both intriguing and easy to understand. Fogel goes through his entire thought process during the developement of a world class checkers player... and a computer. I learned wuite a bit about the basics of neural netwroks and how they can be applied in the future. This is an excellent bok for anyone with interest in AI, but little experience in it.
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Summary: Super! Well Written and Extremly Interesting.
Review: Besides the fact that the book was well written, easy to follow, and very interesting, I also enjoyed the obvious excitement that the author (and the programmer) had for there project. Made me want to learn all I can about evolutionary computing.
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Summary: Something Much More Interesting And Elegant
Review: Blondie24 is a fascinating and informative book that will be absolutely engrossing for anyone with an interest in artificial intelligence and computers. Although Master-level checkers programs have been around for a while, they have all used brute force to achieve their goals. The Blondie24 project represents the first serious attempt since Samuel's experiments in the 1950s to do something much more interesting and elegant: create a checkers program that can learn on its own. This book is easily accessible for the uninitiated, and I guarantee that you'll be swept along. Gil Dodgen, author of the highly acclaimed computer program, World Championship Checkers
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Summary: a MUST read
Review: Blondie24 is an amazing book. Never before have I read a book that has been so informative, enjoyable, and thought provoking. The most amazing thing about this book, is you do not need to be an AI or Compiter Science P.HD to understand it. Fogel writes in a clear and enjoyably flowing manner, avoiding technical jargon which often bogs down a reader unfamiliar with the specific subject. He makes AI accesible! He explains using real world examples whats involved. The book is his story. The story of how and why he decided to use AI to develope an intelligent checkers program. Is it possible for a computer program to learn checkers by itself with only a minimal explantion of the rules? To teach itself how to win? To get good enough to beat a human expert without any prior instruction of technique, or sample games to learn from? Essentially Blondie24 is about Fogels journey of discovery. I found myself not wanting to stop reading as the book progressed. You read on excitedly following his progress from month to month, actually spurring him on. This book was so good, I actually wanted his efforts to succeed. I wanted the checkers program to be good enough to beat a human expert. I have never read a science book before where I found myself 'digging' for the machine to win. But Blondie24 is no tech reference. It's a story. A true story.
If you have an interest in Science or even Science fiction! you should read this book. You will not be disappointed. Fogel gives a fascinating introduction to Artifical intelligence. Why have we not created 'HAL' from the movie '2001' yet? Perhaps we are tackling the problem the wrong way he suggests. Blondie24 is a 'learning computer' which tries to tackle AI the right way.
If your a Science major, or someone studying AI, you also will not be disappointed. Fogel goes into sufficient detail explaining the backround and idea to evolutionary computation (genetic algorithms). He also explains Neural networks, and how they are used in AI and indeed the computer industry. As I say, if you are not a science major you will still have no problem grasping these principals as they are explained so beautifully.
Read this book. Enjoy it. Its a marvellous story charting one of the greatest successes in the field of modern AI.
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Summary: An important step for AI
Review: David has produced an important, and inspirational book. AI has received a bad press in the past. Many claims were hyped and the promise never delivered. David has shown that the claims of AI are sometimes true. The book first introduces the history of computer checkers, based on hand-coded solutions developed by expert players. The second half of the book describes the process of developing the artificial neural network player, Blondie24, through a process of evolution. The player that evolved had no human expertise to rely on and learned to play the game through trial and error only. This enthralling book demonstrates that evolution is a powerful force in the search for intelligence. You soon start to believe once you have lost a game to Blondie24.
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