Shoshana Zuboff – Surveillance capitalism
There is a tendency in critiques of ‘big tech’ to underestimate the long-term resilliance of mankind; although that does not render the argument invalid.
AI outcomes reflect the thinking of the technochauvinists that built it – which may not be desirable for society
Meridith Broussard – Artificial Unintelligence
Great effort to democratize AI and peel off some layers of mistique that harm public debate (althought the case against technochauvinism seems at times a bit too shallow).
Some of the few women who ruled as pharaohs were depicted with male characteristics
Kara Cooney – When women ruled the world
The book illustrates how difficult it is to avoid speculation when trying to reconstruct a comprehensive narrative from ancient historical records.
Steve Bannon skilfully helped Trump to play to his own strengths and avoid his considerable weaknesses
The level of Trump’s incompetency is not even shocking.
The history of Rome consists of a unique series of revolutionary social and political experiments
Rome was much more of a ‘social welfare state’ than I ever realized; with a people’s tribunes, food for the poor, land redistribution, and pensions for soldiers.
Trump’s campaign was not the train wreck that everyone thought it was
Intriguing account covering Trump’s rise, by an NBC journalist debuting on the campaign trail.
Debt has its origin in inequality, suppression, and war
At first the polemic style is charming, but over-all the writer’s objective to crush the system by his brain power is poorly executed and overlooks too many credible alternative lines of argument.
Our democratic system is not ready to deal with technological innovation
Jamie Bartlett – The people vs Tech
Summary of how tech firms form a risk for democracy, but without a thorough assessment of how technology itself can be applied to improve the democratic process.
Naomi Klein – No is not enough
Solid analysis of politics and mass communication ends in a disappointingly polarized plea for “us v. them”-thinking.
Richard Evans – The pursuit of power
Masterful balance between major developments and impact on human scale.
Cathy O’Neil – Weapons of Math Destruction
Sound Math +Dubious Incentives = Potential Trouble
An overdose of righteous indignation makes the writing less compelling.