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Genius Makers: The Mavericks

By Nick Rogers in Book Reviews —
Genius Makers: The Mavericks
cover: Genius Makers by Cade Metz

Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World is a book that dives deep into the lives and work of key AI pioneers. It highlights the breakthroughs, rivalries, and ethical debates surrounding AI, providing a unique look inside the AI revolution. I couldn't put it down. If you are looking for a perspective on the people who have been doing the work to make all of this magic possible, this is worth a read.

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Cade Metz is a seasoned technology journalist and author, known for his work covering artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the people shaping these fields. Currently a reporter for The New York Times, Metz has become one of the prominent voices explaining complex AI developments and their broader social and ethical implications to the public. His articles often provide insights into the major tech companies (like Google, Facebook, and OpenAI), as well as academic contributions in AI and the personalities driving these advancements.

The book covers five major periods in the development of artificial intelligence through an inside look at the real people who have been working to make the rapid developments we see today.

  • The Early Pioneers and the Foundations of AI (1940s-1960s)
  • The AI Winters and Periods of Dormancy (1970s-2000s)
  • The Emergence of Deep Learning (2006-2010)
  • Major Tech Players Enter the Arena (2011-2015)
  • From AlphaGo and OpenAI to the Explosive Growth in AI Capabilities (2015-2020)

I was in graduate school during the emergence of deep learning period, and I remember witnessing the proliferation of talks and conferences devoted to big data and the possibilities of deep learning first hand. At the time I devoured books by Marvin Minsky, and enjoyed thinking about the long term possibilities of the old perceptron. My research at the time was focussed on genetic algorithms so I had a slightly different lens, but 2007 definitely feels like an important inflection point.

The book paints a great picture of how the influx of spending from major tech players like Google, Facebook and even Baidu have put AI development (and in particular applications of neural networks) into overdrive. It was fascinating to read about the inside stories with Canadian connections like Geoff Hinton at the University of Toronto as they began to get bought up by the tech giants of America.

The book highlights the concerns of academics across the board and tells the amazing story of Deep Mind (founded in 2010) by Denis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman. From the early successes in computer games to the defeat of Fan Hui and Lee Sedol in a game that no one thought a computer could win; the story of AlphaGo is emotional, and caused it's creators question our very place in the universe.

The last 60 years of artificial intelligence development is a fascinating story of persistence in the face of the faithless. The early researchers who installed extra computers in closets before big tech believed enough to fill data centres with the high powered graphics chips that are ubiquitous today deserve a lot of credit and this book paints a great picture of the struggles that led to ChatGPT and AI being household terms. This is a great story told in a very accessible way, I highly recommend checking it out.