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Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Learn About Game Theory and AI?
xmojox writes "I would like to learn more about Artificial Intelligence and Game Theory. I know these are both large areas of study; however, my main interest is in how these affect decisions in the world. This would include politicians, business people, and general society. I'm not looking for a career or anything; this is just a personal interest of mine. Where are good places to start in these areas for somebody new to them? I'm aware of the Stanford on-line classes, but those don't work with my current schedule."
Grab a copy of Russell and Norvig. It's a nice survey, and a fairly easy read.
Read Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, 3rd edition. It's supposedly the most-used AI textbook in the world.
It's weak on the biologically inspired methods (genetic algorithms, neural networks, fuzzy logic), but very solid in "Good Old Fashioned AI" (GOFAI) and some of the decision-making procedures from other fields such as economics.
If you don't have a background in CS, you'll need to work through a book on discrete math first.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
www.ai-class.org, by Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig
Good game theory books I keep on my shelf:
Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology, and Social Science (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Lecture Notes)
by Joshua Epstein
Westview Press
ISBN: 9780201419887
(if you know enough math for partial differential equations, this book is a must-have, since it's directly applicable to mathematically modelling open source software projects)
The Evolution of Cooperation
by Robert Axelrod and William D. Hamilton
Paper: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.147.9644&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Book: ISBN 0-465-02122-2
Perspectives on Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems
Basic Books
ISBN: 9780195162929
The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration
by Robert Axelrod
Princeton University Press
ISBN 978-0691015675
Game Theory and the Social Contract, Vol. 1: Playing Fair
by Ken Binmore
MIT Press
ISBN 978-0262023634
Game Theory and the Social Contract, Vol. 2: Just Playing (Economic Learning and Social Evolution)
by Ken Binmore
MIT Press
ISBN 978-0262024440
Analyzing Policy: Choices, Conflicts, and Practice
by Michael C. Munger
W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 978-0393973990
Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up (Complex Adaptive Systems
by Joshua M. Epstein, Robert L. Axtell
MIT Press
ISBN 978-0262550253
See also:
http://www.santafe.edu/
http://www.youtube.com/user/santafeinst
The Brookings Institute is also active in this area (it was their math that led most of the U.S. Cold War policy and kept everyone out of a nuclear exchange with the Soviets).
-- Terry
Read Avinash Dixit's Thinking Strategically to get started. It's a great book which does not use much math and can make for light reading and a great start.