Interesting that I always used Andreessen's: Why software is eating the world? [1] as a temper to AI hype. You can replace "blockchain" with "distributed database" or "AI" with "software" and look at the result for if the use of AI or blockchain was just buzzword lingo or actually semantically relevant.<p>But now they have a chapter: "Giving Your Software AI Superpowers", which breaks this technique hard.<p>AI's history, to me, starts with Operational Research:<p>> Employing techniques from other mathematical sciences, such as mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization, operations research arrives at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Because of its emphasis on human-technology interaction and because of its focus on practical applications, operations research has overlap with other disciplines, notably industrial engineering and operations management, and draws on psychology and organization science. Operations research is often concerned with determining the maximum (of profit, performance, or yield) or minimum (of loss, risk, or cost) of some real-world objective. Originating in military efforts before World War II, its techniques have grown to concern problems in a variety of industries.<p>Later authorities were just (in part) rebranding OR for Darpa/Iarpa grant money.<p>I like this executive summary though: It is good reading for managers and CEO's who may not be familiar with AI and its possibilities. For practitioners it is mostly fluff though and any intro course will give a better overview. A real playbook has yet to be written.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460" rel="nofollow">https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903480904576512...</a>