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Toby Walsh will be in conversation with Andrew Leigh on his new book The Shortest History of AI, everything you need to know about the origins and future of artificial intelligence through the examination of six key ideas. 

Artificial intelligence’s collision with human creativity is one of the most important stories of our time. With the accelerating impact of AI, so much of what we understand about being human is being re-written.

Since Alan Turing first posed the question, ‘Can machines think?’, artificial intelligence has evolved from a speculative idea to a transformative force. The Shortest History of AI traces this evolution, from Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to IBM’s groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT. It also explores AI’s cultural journey, touching on classics such as Frankenstein, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Revealing how many ‘overnight’ successes were decades in the making, this accessible and illuminating book equips readers to understand where we’ve been – and where we’re headed with AI.

‘This history of AI in six simple ideas is so informative and easy to digest. Essential reading’—Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in Artificial Intelligence. He is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and leads a research group at Data61, Australia’s Centre of Excellence for ICT Research. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Science and has been elected a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of AI for his contributions to AI research, and has won the prestigious Humboldt research award. He has previously held research positions in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Sweden. 

Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Before being elected in 2010, Andrew was a Professor of Economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. Andrew is the author of several books, most recently Battlers and Billionaires: The Updated Story of Inequality in Australia.

The vote of thanks will be given by James Smithies , Professor of Digital Humanities & Director of the HASS Digital Research Hub. Director, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

Books are available for signing from 5.30pm and again after the event.

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

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