This is my reading list from March 2024.
Power & Progress – Daron Acemoglu – I listened to the audiobook. Power & Progress is a compelling history of invention that leads to prosperity, the curation of power, and the need to ask for permission. AI will be no different if we don’t make it open-source for all. Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta control the internet as we know it. They have inserted themselves as the gate-keeper. If you want to play, you must do so through one or all of them. It’s time for a change.
Human Compatible – Stuart Russell – I happened to listen to this book on the heels of Power & Progress, and it blew my mind. The assertion I make above is spelled out brilliantly in Human Compatible. AI poses risks that are too numerous to mention, many of which we can’t know. My encouragement to you is to read deeply about AI. Read deeply from different disciplines. Be aware. Not cynical, but aware. Reading.
Generative Artificial Intelligence—Jerry Kaplan If you can’t tell, I’m on a kick to understand the more profound implications of Artificial Intelligence—not the technical side of AI but rather the potential impact it will have on society. I got a kick out of this book because the author lists his email in the pages with an invitation to email him. I did, and he responded. I’m not sure why I think it’s cool, but I do.
Supercommunicator – Charles Duhigg This book started out slow for me. Not sure if I was in a weird place when I started to listen or it just didn’t have a good hook. I powered through it, however, because I’ve been training a lot lately, training for long-distance runs. Supercommunicators was a distant second to Mr. Duhigg’s prior works (The Power of Habit is my favorite), but worth picking up.
