Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a university textbook on artificial intelligence, written by Patrick Henry Winston. It was first published in 1977, and the third edition of the book was released in 1992.[1] It was used as the course textbook for MIT course 6.034.[2]
The book is intended to explain how computers reason and perceive, and introduce the field of artificial intelligence. It describes the field, both as a branch of engineering and as a science, providing a computational perspective. Ideas for representing knowledge, using knowledge, and building practical systems are provided. The intended audience includes engineers, computer scientists, psychologists, biologists, linguists, or philosophers.[3]:Back cover[4][5]
Editions
Three editions were published in total (1977,[6] 1984,[7] 1992[1]). The first edition included a section on Lisp programming.[8]:Preface The second edition removed the Lisp section, and added chapters on logic, and learning.[9]:Preface Implementation details for the second edition were provide by the companion book, LISP second edition (Winston and Horn).[10]:Preface The third edition was significantly changed, adding a section on learning, including neural networks. The third edition was also updated to reflect changes in computer performance that had occurred since the second edition was published, and to address artificial intelligence at scale.[3]:Preface
In the early 1980s, it was one of the first Western textbooks on AI to be translated into Chinese and published in China.[11]:41–42
Reception
Cambridge University Press reviewer Tony Owen found the 1984 edition to be complete and suitable for classroom work. In addition, he highlighted the companion book LISP.[12]ACM reviewer Doris Appleby commented that the 2nd and 3rd editions were better suited to those working in fields related to Artificial Intelligence. In this way she felt that Winston had chosen the path of popularizing Artificial Intelligence, making the text more of a general survey. The procedural English methods (half-English, half-program form) used to describe algorithms and programs in the text were regarded as satisfactory. Appleby also highlighted the companion book LISP in her review of the third edition.[4][5]
↑Frost, Shuang L. (2025). "Translating Chinese AI: From 'Humanmade Intelligence' to 'Black Tech'". In Bratton, Benjamin; Greenspan, Anna; Ireland, Amy; Konior, Bogna (eds.). Machine Decision is Not Final: China and the History and Future of Artificial Intelligence. Urbanomic, MIT Press. ISBN9781913029999.
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