Introduction

We’re living through a revolution. Artificial Intelligence is changing how we operate in the world and how smooth certain processes are. Just think about going on holidays. Multiple services allow you to find the most convenient flights and best hotels, you get personalized suggestions on what you might want to see, you go to the airport via one of the ride-sharing apps. At each of these steps, some AI algorithms are at work for your convenience.

I’ve started writing this book to fill in the gap. There are plenty of resources to learn machine learning and data science for technical people but no overviews, trends, discussion of applications, or anything at a more abstract level. On the other hand, those technical books are inaccessible to business people who don’t want to go into coding themselves and want to stay at a more abstract idea level. The goal of this book is to address both issues and have a book that will be interesting both for data scientists and people with a business background.

That’s why there’s no code in this book, but I wasn’t refraining from explaining certain more technical trends or discussing general toolset for artificial intelligence. The book is intended as a useful guide rather than a novel, that you have to read from the beginning until the end. Chapters are connected, but feel free to skip them whenever you want.

All in all, after reading this book, you’ll know recent business applications of AI, understand how machine learning works and what to expect from it, what’s trending, and how AI transforms every single business. Whether you’re running a business, work at a large enterprise or in the public sector, this book will give you an overview of Artificial Intelligence as it is practiced today. I finish by discussing how we should integrate AI into our society, what are the risks of AI and how we can use AI to our benefit in the future.