Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins Hardcover – May 2, 2017

As a chess player (not a great one), I read with interest this book, which covers not only the computer chess revolution, but recent tech updates including AI and computer learning. Kasparov writes eloquently about the subject, and certainly researched the material in depth, which he combined with his personal competition against machines in the world of competitive chess. The author's strong personality definitely comes through in his writing, and that can either be an enhancement or a slight turnoff. Either way, you are guaranteed to learn a great deal on the variety of subjects covered. Recommended.

Deep Thinking is Kasparov's story of his match against Deep Blue and the evolution of playing against chess programs. The book tries to touch on the penetration of AI in society today and the author brings his perspective on the benefits of technology to today's world. This book is largely about the author's experience of the improvements in chess programming, how he faced it psychologically and how he prepared for games in this new era. Much of the book is the author detailing his thought process through these headline matches and his narrative on his behavior and the process broadly. If one has followed the career of Kasparov, this book will be very informative. If one is looking for a book on AI in chess programming, it isn't really about that.The author starts with two goals, to discuss the growth of AI and use of computers in today's society and what it should mean for people given his experience in a job which was directly impacted by it as well as to give an account of the matches he endured against deep blue. The author starts by discussing early AI, the coverage is definitely not comprehensive but it gives the reader a good sense of how computation evolved and early ideas on AI and how to program it. The author discusses early pioneers in computer science and how some viewed chess as an admirable AI project given its complexity. Kasparov gives you a sense of the early computer days and the ideas used to program chess. In particular the easiest and easiest idea was to define an objective function for the computer to maximize in its search that valued chess pieces accurately. The author also discusses how databases were then added so that computers could improve efficiency by looking up positions from these databases. The author spends time on people and pattern recognition and how the mind works. The author's views on the technical subjects are well informed but not the focus. The author then gets into the detailing of his games against deep blue and the developers at IBM. He discusses both matches in great depth and discusses the commentary. It is interesting but probably more interesting to those who followed closely the matches and recall the atmosphere at the time. The author discusses how he focused on avoiding tactical positions where a computer would always be more effective and instead focus on strategic goals which were far harder for a computer to be able to capture in an objective function. One gets a better sense of high level chess and how a world champion thinks. The match against Deep Blue where Kasparov lost is the biggest focus and he discusses various moves and his strategy as well as his thinking on positions which were supposed turning points. Again if one had followed the match I suspect this resonates more but it is entertaining for those who did not. The author then discusses how chess is learned today and the broad use of computers in learning and strategy development. It discusses how computers can aid our development but can also be used as too much of a crutch.All in all Deep Thinking was an entertaining read. It is definitely more for the chess aficionado than those interested in AI. I also think reading the book gets the reader more interested in chess so that also might be a good reason to read it. The techno optimism part of the book is well reasoned but definitely there is far better material out there on how to think about technology and its impact on the future than a book on how a professional chess player was impacted by it but it is a valuable perspective nonetheless. Entertaining if one has the time.

Enjoyed the perspective from someone who has been a user and receiver of AI capability for more years than many have been alive. A unique view.

I got this book because I am big fan of Kasparov and thought it might be interesting to see his take on artificial intelligence. I was pleasantly surprised by his writing and storytelling abilities. I guess I just assumed that 3/4 of his brain was dedicated solely to chess, but he is really well rounded. There is a large section of the book detailing his side of the story against Deep Blue which is fascinating and illuminating. I highly recommend this book!

This book was recommended by a work colleague. It sounded like an interesting title and loosely relevant to the A.I. project we were performing. After three weeks, we both admitted that neither of us could get through it. The writing style is painfully repetitive and mostly Kasparov boasting how smart he is, even when he would lose to a computer. I am still only 1/2 done and struggle to read just one more page. 3 stars is generous.

A fascinating book. The tale of the first epic battle between human and machine, foreshadowing what is to come. It's also a refreshing perspective on AI weaknesses and strengths, and in very concrete terms, thanks to the fact chess provides a clear context for what it means to be strategic versus tactical and creative versus rational (as opposed to more philosophical, political and speculative approaches).