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dr.Pep
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Copyright © 2021 Pepijn van der Laan.
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The Silicon Valley philosophy of innovation and disruption undervalues the importance of maintenance and durability

The Silicon Valley philosophy of innovation and disruption undervalues the importance of maintenance and durability

Lee Vinsel, Andrew Russel – The innovation delusion

Funny enough, the polemic narrative applies all the trick of typical innovation literature to promote a maintenance mindset.

To become successful as a startup founder: copy everything you can and only invent what you must

To become successful as a startup founder: copy everything you can and only invent what you must

JimMcKelvey – The innovation stack

The book is exactly what it tries to avoid: being just another entertaining founder story (in this case about Square).

The US is losing out in AI, due to a lack of long-term vision and direction

The US is losing out in AI, due to a lack of long-term vision and direction

Amy Webb – The big nine

The book’s set-up with multiple scenarios for the future works surprisingly well and is especiall concerning for European readers: Europe is almost completely irrelevant in all of Webb’s scenarios.

To unlock creativity, make sure you get the culture right

To unlock creativity, make sure you get the culture right

Ed Catmull – Creativity, Inc.

The best quote is not from the author: “Quality is the best business plan” (John Lasseter, director of Toy Story).

Thanks to the US phone monopoly, Bell labs could produce breakthrough technologies

Thanks to the US phone monopoly, Bell labs could produce breakthrough technologies

Jon Gertner – The idea factory

The fascinating history of Bell labs illustrates how a long-term view is essential for technological progress.

Thanks to technology, it becomes ever easier for fringe movements to topple the establishment

Thanks to technology, it becomes ever easier for fringe movements to topple the establishment

Moises Naim – The end of power

the book, written pre-Trump, pre-Brexit and pre-Cambridge Analytics, underemphasizes the risk of large-scale orchestration of fringe groups to undermine nation states; thereby making the author’s call for stronger institutions feels a bit besides the point.

Even at tech companies where intentions are good, women fight an uphill battle

Even at tech companies where intentions are good, women fight an uphill battle

Emily Chang – Brotopia

The book fits neatly in the trend to call out gender inequality, but unfortunately it has limited practical solutions to offer.

Economically speaking, AI makes prediction a commodity – and nothing more

Economically speaking, AI makes prediction a commodity – and nothing more

Ajay Argawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb – Prediction machines

The authors see AI as just a new option for the division of labor which, although it can have rather dramatic consequences, does not support apocalyptic GAI fearmongering.

Facebook’s content strategy leads to filter bubbles, thereby  destroying the cohesion in society

Facebook’s content strategy leads to filter bubbles, thereby destroying the cohesion in society

Roger McNamee – Zucked

When a a big tech investor like McNamee argues for stricter regulation it makes the argument more convincing.

You are the raw material of capitalists trading in futures on human behavior

You are the raw material of capitalists trading in futures on human behavior

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

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).

As an incumbent, organize disruptive innovation away from your core business

As an incumbent, organize disruptive innovation away from your core business

Clayton Christensen – The innovator’s dilemma

The history of disc drives and mechanical excavators showcases how difficult it is for incumbents to come out on top when technological innovation hits your market.

Make sure you create value, and maintain power over transactions on your platform

Make sure you create value, and maintain power over transactions on your platform

Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Olstyne, Sangeet Choudary – Platform revolution

Remember: there are many ways in which platforms can fail!

Making a great painting is in large part a scientific achievement

Making a great painting is in large part a scientific achievement

Walter Isaacson – Leonardo da Vinci

Isaacson’s narrative falacy (‘Leonardo never finishing what he starts’) is at odds with the public recognition he received in his own day and age.

Internet billionaire brings down internet media outlet through overt legal action

Internet billionaire brings down internet media outlet through overt legal action

Ryan Holiday – Conspiracy

Peter Thiel’s war on Gawker Media shows that money is a decisive factor in the US legal system.

Living ‘gamefully’ is a great way to hack your own brain

Living ‘gamefully’ is a great way to hack your own brain

Jane McGonigal – Superbetter

Elegant guide to putting contrarian thinking into action, which tries a bit too had to show it is scientific.

Our democratic system is not ready to deal with technological innovation

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.

Digitization, network effects, and participation will continue to disrupt many markets

Digitization, network effects, and participation will continue to disrupt many markets

Machine, Platform, Crowd – Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson

Decent summary of developments with some nice examples, but not sufficiently new or surprising to classify as ‘essential reading’.

There is a myriad of ways in which AGI can be scary, but also a whole array of options humanity can pursue to stay on the top of the food chain

There is a myriad of ways in which AGI can be scary, but also a whole array of options humanity can pursue to stay on the top of the food chain

Mike Bostrom – Superintelligence

More thorough and nuanced than most scary-AI-will-take-over-the-world-books, but it still suffers from the same pitfall: over-estimating the importance of superintelligence for evolutionary success (two random examples: cockroaches and Donald Trump).

The applied science of addictive behaviour drives how we interact with technology

The applied science of addictive behaviour drives how we interact with technology

Adam Alter – Irristable

Please note the irony in the fact that Amazon does not offer this book as ebook.

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Copyright © 2021 Pepijn van der Laan.
All rights reserved.