Now, NNs are the ones getting results at computer vision and natural language, and more. I think most people would say that other ML approaches are computational statistics. The goalpost for AI keeps moving.
If you are truly interested in the math of AI I think PAC Bayes learning is more appropriate and your book is Understanding Machine Learning [1] (not an easy read). A more gentle intro would be Learning From Data [2]. If someone recommends a book/paper it would be awesome, I'm always on the look.
[1] https://www.cs.huji.ac.il/w~shais/UnderstandingMachineLearni... [2] https://work.caltech.edu/telecourse