Hodder Childrens Books What is AI? The curious kids guide to artificial intelligence.

I ordered "What is AI?" for my son, and it's been a fantastic addition to our bookshelf. At just £7.35, it’s a solid investment in helping him understand a topic that’s going to be pretty crucial for his generation. I work in IT, so I thought it would be great to introduce him to the basics of artificial intelligence early on. The book does a great job of breaking down complex concepts into easy-to-understand pieces. My son particularly enjoyed learning about historical figures like Charles Babbage, which led us to explore more about these pioneers together. It’s clear that the book managed to spark his curiosity, which is always a win in my eyes. The illustrations are fun and engaging, keeping my son interested from start to finish. The book covers a range of topics from the history of computing to modern applications, without overwhelming young readers. Pros: 😊 Simple and easy to understand 😊 Engaging illustrations 😊 Covers both history and modern applications 😊 Sparks curiosity and further research Cons: 😕 Doesn’t cover the latest AI technologies in depth 😕 Might be too basic for older kids or those with some knowledge

Very well illustrated colorful and positive book with a simple story for both kids and adults. It helps us to protect us from the misinformation that is spreading everywhere regarding AI.

Ok

Written for children, this is an engaging and colourful introduction to A.I. It's high level and doesn't get into the detail on how the systems work but provides a good grounding for children to then explore further if interested. The main criticism is that it doesn't explain or introduce the latest wave of AI known as generative AI. Children will increasingly be introduced to real time agents that can speak, listen and see and generate videos/images/songs. As images and videos are becoming hard to tell apart from human made content, children will need to be much more aware that what they see on social media or in printed media might not be real.

I gave this to my wife who is 63 and she thought it was brilliant! She hates technology but loves her iPhone, so she's been hearing all the AI debate as "blablablabla", particularly as a lot of the people shouting the most are also badly informed, so this is a nice, simple, balanced look at what AI actually is. It's obviously aimed at children, and it's great for that, but don't be limited by that.