As Director of Special Projects for Engineering Education at Carnegie Mellon University, Fred Bortz wrote this book to introduce the concepts of artificial intelligence to young people. "Mind tools" are the things that man has created over the centuries which make it "possible to preserve information and spread it throughout the world." (11) Bortz explains that books and other written materials are mind tools which allow us to reach far beyond the limitations of memory. "Today, as computer systems can hold and process more and more information faster and faster, people are developing new classes of mind tools through a new science called ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. These new mind tools promise to enhance the capabilities of our minds as much as the tools and mechanical devices of the Industrial Revolution extended our physical capabilities." (11)
The first chapters in the book describe what artificial intelligence (AI) is. Using clear and easy to follow examples, Bortz explains how simple programs are developed. He then presents a brief history of AI, going back to the calculating machine invented by John Napier in 1617, Charles Babbages' difference engine in 1821, and Alan Turing's test of machine intelligence in 1950. An interesting feature of the book is an interview with two of the founding fathers of AI, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell. An overview of developments in AI includes knowledge engineering, decision making and expert systems, and descriptive examples of successful programs (CADUCEUS, INTERNIST-1, MYCIN, etc.) A chapter is devoted to the development of a computer that plays chess and the "quest for the Fredkin Prize." (74) Computer vision and hearing, natural language recognition and translation, and future technologies in AI are topics of the final chapters. The book closes with advice for young people interested in a career in AI. Alan Newell: "After you become fascinated with computers, remember that you also have to get broadly educated in other sciences and other things. It is possible to get totally consumed by computers." (108) Herbert Simon: "You don't have to be in computer science to be deeply involved with exciting applications of computers. As a matter of fact, you're going to have a hard time finding a field in which you're not." (108)
Bortz achieves his purpose of providing a clearly written, easy to understand introduction of AI to young people. An author of nonfiction books, asked about her research techniques, replied that she often begins with materials that have been written for young people. Mind Tools is the kind of book she would relish. It is for young people and anyone wanting a clear, introductory explanation of AI. The center of the book contains 16 pages of black and white, full page photographs of important people and machines. A seven page glossary includes such terms as neural networks, fuzzy logic, heuristics, and knowledge engineering. A list of books is recommended by the author with this guidance: "These books were all written for adults, but you can handle at least parts of them, and you can look forward to growing into the rest." (117) The list has nine titles, including The Age of Intelligent Machines by Raymond Kurzweil, Mind Children by Hans Moravec and The Society of the Mind Marvin Minsky. A thorough index is also included.