Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

In May 1997, the world watched as Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was defeated for the first time by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. It was a watershed moment in the history of technology: machine intelligence had arrived at the point where it could best human intellect.

Chess: A Symbol of Man vs. Machine

It wasn't a coincidence that Kasparov became the symbol of man's fight against the machines. Chess has long been the fulcrum in the development of machine intelligence:

• The hoax automaton 'The Turk' in the 18th century
• Alan Turing's first chess program in 1952

These were early examples of the quest for machines to think like humans—a talent we measured by their ability to beat their creators at chess. As the pre-eminent chessmaster of the 80s and 90s, it was Kasparov's blessing and his curse to play against each generation's strongest computer champions. His contributions advanced the field of machine intelligence significantly.

Learning from Defeat

Like all passionate competitors, Kasparov has taken his defeat and learned from it. Over the twenty years since playing Deep Blue, he has:

• Played both with and against machines
• Learned extensively about the vital relationship between humans and machines
• Devised ways for humans to partner with machines to produce results better than either can achieve alone

Ultimately, Kasparov has become convinced that by embracing the competition between human and machine intelligence, we can spend less time worrying about being replaced and more time thinking of new challenges to conquer.

A Breakthrough Book

In this breakthrough book, Kasparov tells his side of the story of Deep Blue for the first time:

• What it was like to strategize against an implacable, untiring opponent
• The mistakes he made and the reasons the odds were against him

But more than that, Kasparov delves into the story of AI more generally. He shares how he's evolved to embrace it, taking part in an urgent debate with:

• Philosophers worried about human values
• Programmers creating self-learning neural networks
• Engineers of cutting-edge robotics

This is not just a story about chess—it's a story about the future of human creativity and machine intelligence.