I saw the rise of the PC revolution in the 1980s from the inside as a young, motivated salesperson who was riding the dream of raw ambition. I even attended a goal-setting course that forced me into looking at what I really wanted in life.
Acting on those goals meant that I ended up selling personal computers by the truckloads to my government clients. Was it the goal-setting or was it just good timing? I am still not sure, but my commissions were heady for a twenty-something as I was delivering these machines in the hundreds every month.
It was the first wild west of tech trends, soon followed by the next wave as these machines started to be connected. That was the local networking within offices and companies followed by the global networking. That was the internet.
In the 2000s we saw the rise of social media supercharged by the smartphone and we all became publishers. We shared photos of our families—even our cats and dogs. These platforms are now trillion dollar global companies.
In 2022, ChatGPT was launched (the human face of AI) and it has eclipsed all of these tech revolutions in less than 2 years. 100 million users in just 2 months. We are now at a new frontier. The AI revolution.
The 10 best AI books I have read this year
Charlie Munger was well-known for his voracious reading appetite. The joke amongst his family was that he was “2 legs sticking out of a book.” I don’t think my reading habits are far behind — I too sit on my ass for the first half of the day reading and taking notes.
Here are a few books I’ve read this year that explore the current changes and the many questions they raise about the future. How do we use it? Will it steal our jobs and bring on a dystopian future? Or is it a future where humanity achieves a utopia we’ve only ever dreamed of?
1. “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom
I interviewed Nick Bostrom this year on my podcast “The Jeff Bullas Show” and it was a delightful insight into what a polymath professor from Oxford had to say about AI.
In that discussion, we talked about its possible dystopian threat and its utopian promise. The first book we discussed “Superintelligence” was dark but his new book “Deep Utopia” looked at what an augmented human would look like with AI and god-like superpowers.Nick Bostrom’s “Superintelligence” explores the potential outcomes and risks associated with the development of artificial superintelligence (ASI). Bostrom argues that once ASI surpasses human cognitive abilities, it could either solve humanity’s greatest problems or pose existential threats. Key concepts include the control problem (how to control entities smarter than ourselves) and the orthogonality thesis (intelligence can pursue any goal). The book stresses the importance of safety research to ensure future superintelligences pursue goals aligned with human values.
Key takeaways:
- The importance of preparing for and mitigating the risks of ASI.
- The need for robust safety measures to align ASI goals with human values.
- The potential transformative impact of ASI on society.
2. “Nexus – A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” by Yuval Noah Harari
Yuval Harari is concerned about AI – In his book, he talks about information and truth. He delves into how more information is not more wisdom and more information does not produce truth. Here is what Amazon has to say about his book:
“Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power.”
3.”Impromptu : Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI“ by Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman is the founder of LinkedIn that he sold to Microsoft in 2016 for $26.2 billion. His thoughts about AI are very congruent with my philosophy, in that it is a partner and co-pilot to amplify our humanity. An enhancement and not a replacement.
“Hoffman doesn’t just write about ChatGPT, in this book he interacts and writes with GPT-4, letting readers see the technology’s capabilities — its strengths and limitations alike. Using GPT-4 as his “author’s co-pilot,” His conversation with AI takes us on a journey to the future, where AI is not a threat, but a partner. A partner that can help us unlock our full potential as human beings”.
4. “AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order” by Kai-Fu Lee
AI requires vast capital investments to train the LLM’s (Large Language Models) and also host the computers in data centers that power the ChatBots such as ChatGPT. Most of the $10 billion invested by Microsoft in Open Ai is raw computer power.
The AI game is for the corporations and countries with deep pockets and that includes China, the USA and Silicon Valley’s mega global corporations such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia.
Kai-Fu Lee’s “AI Superpowers” explores the rapid rise of AI technologies in China and its implications for the global balance of power in technology. Lee, an expert in AI and venture capital, details how China transitioned from a copycat culture to a hub of innovation, largely driven by aggressive investment and government support.
He predicts that AI will cause major disruptions in job markets, and suggests that countries need to prepare socially and economically for these changes. The book also discusses the differences in AI development approaches between the U.S. and China, forecasting a future where both could lead in different aspects of AI technology.Key takeaways:
- Insight into China’s rise as a major player in AI, rivaling Silicon Valley.
- Predictions of significant socio-economic disruptions due to AI advancements.
- Recommendations for preparing for an AI-d
5. “The AI Accelerator: How to 10X Your Productivity, Clone Your Smartest Employees, and Monetize Your IP in the New Ai-Economy” by Michael Koenigs
While books like Nexus are more philosophical, this book is all practical and tactical.
“AI Accelerator” by Michael Koenigs provides practical insights into leveraging AI tools for business growth and innovation. The book outlines methodologies for integrating AI into existing business processes and developing new AI-driven products. Koenigs emphasizes the importance of understanding AI capabilities and setting up an organizational structure that can adapt and evolve with technological advances.
Key takeaways:
- Strategies for implementing AI to enhance productivity and innovation.
- Importance of organizational adaptability in the AI era.
- Techniques for harnessing AI to create competitive advantages.
6. “How AI Thinks: How we built it, how it can help us, and how we can control it” by Nigel Toon
Nigel Toon’s “How AI Thinks” delves into the inner workings of artificial intelligence, explaining complex concepts in machine learning and neural networks in an accessible manner.
The book explores how AI processes information and makes decisions, drawing parallels to human cognitive processes. Toon also discusses ethical considerations and the future implications of AI’s evolving capabilities.Key takeaways:
- Insight into the decision-making processes of AI.
- Comparison of AI cognitive processes with human thinking.
- Discussion of ethical considerations in AI development.
7. “The Age of AI: And Our Human Future” by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher
From tactical to geopolitical — the focus of this book is more about the big picture. But perspective is everything.
This book examines the impact of AI on human society, discussing its potential to transform political institutions, philosophy, and ethics.
The authors, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, argue that AI challenges our fundamental understandings of human decision-making and morality. The book calls for urgent international cooperation to manage these changes responsibly.Key takeaways:
- AI’s profound impact on political, philosophical, and ethical realms.
- The need for international cooperation to manage AI’s societal impact.
- Challenges to traditional concepts of human decision-making and morality.
8. “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World” by Parmy Olson
Parmy Olson’s “Supremacy” explores the geopolitical dynamics influenced by advancements in technology, focusing particularly on cyber warfare and AI. The book provides a detailed analysis of how nations are leveraging AI for national security and the accompanying risks and ethical dilemmas. Olson discusses the arms race in AI technologies among superpowers, highlighting the need for global norms and regulations.
Key takeaways:
- Analysis of AI’s role in modern geopolitical conflicts.
- Discussion on the ethical dilemmas and risks of AI in national security.
- The importance of establishing global norms for AI usage.
9. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman
Mustafa Sulyman was one of the co-founders of Deep Mind that was sold to Google for $650 million in 2014. This book touches on the following as revealed in the introduction on Amazon.
“The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies. In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how these forces will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order.
As our fragile governments sleepwalk into disaster, we face an existential dilemma: unprecedented harm on one side, the threat of overbearing surveillance on the other. Can we forge a narrow path between catastrophe and dystopia? Is it possible to contain the threat of AI?”10. “Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World” by Nick Bostrum
This book, newly released this year, explores a vision of the future that presents challenging possibilities. It touches on the complex task of integrating “man and machine” and raises important questions about what it means to be human in this evolving landscape.
- These questions include:
- What is the point of human existence?
- What gives meaning to life?
- What do we do all day if the “AI Oracle” can do all the work?
It is a utopian vision but maybe not what we have imagined in the past or today.
The bottom line
Books on AI often become outdated before they even hit the shelves. However, taking a deep dive into the history, the rise of AI, and the hands-on experiences of its pioneers offers valuable perspective. Coupled with the philosophical discussions found in some of these works, this exploration is essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the technology.
Some AI books that are tactical will have shorter shelf lives, such as the book “AI Accelerator” but are relevant and useful right at this moment in time. The last book on this list “Deep Utopia” is maybe the wildest ride in its imagination and possibilities.
But I am not sure I want that version of utopia.
The post The Future Is Now—And These 10 AI Books Will Help You Understand It appeared first on jeffbullas.com.
* This article was originally published here
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