"This compelling and brilliantly-argued book charts the career of an exceptionally important and visionary figure in the history of artificial intelligence. It establishes the remarkable importance of Margaret Masterman, philosopher and pioneer, theologian and theorist, whose collaborative research and brilliant innovations established the bases for radical models of human and machine language. De Bolla's account completely changes every standard story of the history of AI and its direction of travel. This is a book that needs to be read by anyone concerned with the realities of artificial intelligence, the ways in which it has been designed, and its many possible futures." -- Simon Schaffer, Emeritus Professor of History of Science, University of Cambridge, UK "Where did the idea of machine learning and artificial intelligence come from? One popular answer is Alan Turing, the brilliant Cambridge mathematician. But that is only part of the story: another key figure in this intellectual revolution was Margaret Masterman, a linguist and philosopher who has been written out of the history books thus far. Her tale, finally recorded in vivid style by Pete de Bolla, offers mesmerizing reading - demonstrating the vital role of long-ignored women in the AI revolution, the complexities and contradictions of the entire effort to "make machines think", and the degree to which breakthroughs in AI emerged not just from science but from the humanities as well. This is a vital message for us all at a time when AI is threatening to overturn our world.

A tour de force!" -- Gillian Tett, author of Anthro-Vision (2022) "An original, quirky, unpredictable, utterly fascinating intellectual biography of one Margaret Masterman, whom, no, you've never heard of, even though she was among the great minds of the twentieth century and one of the most brilliant pioneers of what would come to be described as "AI". How horrified she would be at what it's become. Read this for her story, her dash, her genius, but also for the deep and inspiring morality of her mission. What a terrific book." -- Bill Buford, formerly the Literary & Fiction Editor of the New Yorker, is one of its frequent contributors.