Deep Thinking

Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

By: Garry Kasparov, Mig Greengard

Narrated by: Bob Brown

Garry Kasparov's 1997 chess match against the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue was a watershed moment in the history of technology. It was the dawn of a new era in artificial intelligence: a machine capable of beating the reigning human champion at this most cerebral game.

That moment was more than a century in the making, and in this breakthrough book, Kasparov reveals his astonishing side of the story for the first time. He describes how it felt to strategize against an implacable, untiring opponent with the whole world watching, and recounts the history of machine intelligence through the microcosm of chess, considered by generations of scientific pioneers to be a key to unlocking the secrets of human and machine cognition. Kasparov uses his unrivaled experience to look into the future of intelligent machines and sees it bright with possibility. As many critics decry artificial intelligence as a menace, particularly to human jobs, Kasparov shows how humanity can rise to new heights with the help of our most extraordinary creations, rather than fear them. Deep Thinking is a tightly argued case for technological progress, from the man who stood at its precipice with his own career at stake.

Critic reviews

"The great Garry Kasparov takes on the key economic issue of our time: how we can thrive as humans in a world of thinking machines. This important and optimistic book explains what we as humans are uniquely qualified to do. Instead or wringing our hands about robots, we should all read this book and embrace the future."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Calibri}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of The Innovators

"Garry Kasparov's perspectives on artificial intelligence are borne of personal experience - and despite that, are optimistic, wise and compelling. It's one thing for the giants of Silicon Valley to tell us our future is bright; it is another thing to hear it from the man who squared off with the world's most powerful computer, with the whole world watching, and his very identity at stake."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Calibri}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of Smarter Faster Better

"From the man at the epi-center of one the ten defining moments of the 20th century, a fascinating and insightful overview of how computers came to surpass humans at chess, and what it means for mankind. Deeply research and clearly exposited, it is also a revealing portrait of what it is like to a real-life John Henry pitted against the steam hammer."—Ken Rogoff, bestselling author of This Time is Different

"A highly human exploration of artificial intelligence, its exciting possibilities and inherent limits."
—Max Levchin, cofounder of PayPal, CEO of Affirm, and Silicon Valley angel investor

"Intelligent, absorbing...Thoughtful reading for anyone interested in human and machine cognition and a must for chess fans."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"As Kasparov recounts in arresting detail what it felt like to compete cognitively with a machine, he extrapolates his experience into an optimistic perspective on how computerized intelligence can enhance rather than overwhelm human brainpower, and instead of only eliminating jobs and opportunities, can actually generate them."
—Booklist

"Kasparov includes enough detail to satisfy chess enthusiasts, while providing a thrilling narrative for the casual reader. Deep Thinking delivers a rare balance of analysis and narrative, weaving commentary about technological progress with an inside look at one of the most important chess matches ever played."—Demis Hassabis, Nature

Insightful beyond chess.

this book dives into our relationship with technology, and AI in particular. It speaks to themes of personal, as well as societal developments, and it sheds light on an interesting historical event.

If you like chess, AI, Technology, or even just the human condition, you will appreciate this book.

Fascinating story

Fascinating story of the chess grandmaster who marked the end of human vs AI battle

Good, but more chess than I expected

I find Garry Kasparov to be personally compelling; his personality came through even though he didn’t narrate the book. I enjoyed the book and found it thought provoking, even though there was more chess debrief than I expected. If I had purchased it with that expectation, I probably would have given 5 stars.

wonderful chess case study in ai

Gary Kasparov should have read this whole book, his introduction in his own voice is great. the main reader was a distraction from an excellent book. for a person studying AI this book is an excellent focused case study in one of the classic AI problems: chess. this may be more about Chess than a survey of AI technology, in part that is because the AI technology that is discussed in this book in a context of real chess AI history is not the popular deep learning or other machine learning type of system that most AI books exclusively talk about. I would say this book does give a good survey of historical AI technology for the case of chess, including notes that are very important for the history of computer science that are not often mentioned in other texts.
highly recommended.

This is a Chess Book

Would you consider the audio edition of Deep Thinking to be better than the print version?

Interesting book, but mostly about the Chess...not Machine Intelligence. I'm not really a chess guy, but love some of Kasparov's other books on Russia, etc. Not what I was looking for, but a decent listen.

Any additional comments?

Interesting book, but mostly about the Chess...not Machine Intelligence. I'm not really a chess guy, but love some of Kasparov's other books on Russia, etc. Not what I was looking for, but a decent listen.