The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us and affect all aspects of our lives. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, and linguists in helping to understand the processes of memory, learning, and language from a fresh angle. As a concept, Artificial Intelligence has fuelled and sharpened the philosophical debates concerning the nature of the mind, intelligence, and the uniqueness of human beings. Artificial Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction considers the history of Artificial Intelligence, its successes, its limitations, and its future goals. It also reviews the philosophical and technological challenges raised by Artificial Intelligence, considering whether programs could ever be really intelligent, creative, or even conscious.

1. What is artificial intelligence? 2. General intelligence as the Holy Grail 3. Language, creativity, emotion 4. Artificial neural networks 5. Robots and artificial life 6. But is it intelligence, really? 7. The Singularity