Overview

A clear-eyed guide to what artificial intelligence really does - and where it goes wrong. Artificial intelligence now shapes decisions in boardrooms, classrooms, courtrooms, and everyday life. Promises of productivity, automation, and transformation are everywhere - yet a striking proportion of AI projects fail, often in costly or dangerous ways. Generative AI systems hallucinate, inherit bias from their training data, and are frequently deployed where they do not belong. In Beyond The Hype, industry analyst Andy Hayler explains how AI actually works, from its historical roots to today's large language models. He breaks down different flavours of AI, showing why some approaches succeed while others collapse, and why generative AI in particular brings unique limitations alongside genuine opportunities. Drawing on real-world case studies across finance, healthcare, law, education, defence, creative industries, and more, the book examines where AI delivers value - and where it creates new risks. It explores hallucinations, deepfakes, data quality, model drift, regulation, ethics, environmental impact, and the economics of AI adoption, including why so many initiatives fail to deliver returns. Written for executives, technologists, and curious readers alike, Beyond The Hype provides a grounded, evidence-based framework for understanding AI without exaggeration or fear. It is a practical roadmap for making better decisions in a world increasingly shaped by machine intelligence.

Full Product Details

9781919241920

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Andy Hayler has delivered the realist's guide we needed: a comprehensive, insightful and refreshing survey of AI's genuine promise and its very real limitations. This is the book to share with someone who wants to understand what AI actually does, why it often fails and where it helps."" -Donald Farmer, Globally recognised analytics innovator; ex-Microsoft, now TreeHive CEO

Author Information

Andy Hayler is an established software industry authority, advising corporations, software companies, and venture capital firms. He founded software vendor Kalido, which became the world's fastest-growing business intelligence company in 2001 and later pioneered early multi-domain master data management systems.He began his career at Esso before moving into senior technology leadership roles at Shell UK and Shell International. He later founded a global information management consultancy that grew to more than 300 staff. Since 2007, he has been an independent industry analyst, CEO, and co-founder of analyst firm The Information Difference Ltd, and a frequent speaker at international conferences.In recent years, his work has focused intensively on artificial intelligence, examining its real-world capabilities, risks, and failures. He is also a restaurant critic and the author of The London Transport Restaurant Guide.

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