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4 essential reads about the (sometimes scary) future of AI

There probably won’t be gun-toting, red-eyed robots stalking the streets. But AI is already changing our politics, our economies, and even how we use everyday technologies.

4 essential reads about the (sometimes scary) future of AI

[Images: Mathew Schwartz/Unsplash; Rawpixel]

BY Lydia Dishman1 minute read

When it comes to artificial intelligence, there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Is it going to take over the world? If a number of tech experts and futurists are to be believed, it certainly could—but not in the way you might expect.

No, there probably won’t be gun-toting, red-eyed robots stalking the streets at night. But artificial intelligence is already changing our politics, our economies, and even how we use everyday technologies. To find out what’s coming next, crack open the four exciting (and scary) books below.

Download the Next Big Idea App for “Book Bite” summaries of hundreds of new nonfiction books like these.

‘The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back’

By Jacob Ward

This eye-opening narrative journey into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence reveals the dangerous ways AI is exploiting the unconscious habits of our minds—and the real threat it poses to humanity. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jacob Ward, in the Next Big Idea app.

‘Trustworthy AI: A Business Guide for Navigating Trust and Ethics in AI’

By Beena Ammanath

The founder of Humans for AI delivers a straightforward and structured way to think about trust and ethics in AI, and offers practical guidelines for organizations developing or using artificial intelligence solutions. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Beena Ammanath, in the Next Big Idea app.

‘The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI’

By Ben Buchanan and Andrew Imbrie

Combining an incisive understanding of technology with shrewd geopolitical analysis, two AI policy experts show how artificial intelligence can work for democracy. With the right approach, technology need not favor tyranny. Listen to the audio version—read by MIT Press Editorial Director Gita Manaktala—in the Next Big Idea app.

‘AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future’

By Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan

In ten gripping short stories, a former president of Google China teams up with a celebrated novelist to imagine our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by artificial intelligence. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Kai-Fu Lee, in the Next Big Idea app.

This article originally appeared on Next Big Idea Club and is reprinted with permission.


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lydia Dishman is the senior editor for Growth & Engagement for fastcompany.com. She has written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others More


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