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).
Please note the irony in the fact that Amazon does not offer this book as ebook.
Enjoyable, yet somewhat theoretical, meandering between fundamental truisms and gross simplicications, leaving the reader with one key question: ‘Where does it pay off to act contrarian?’
Strongly opiniated view on the future of humanity, mostly valuable due to the emphasis on the role of humans in steering development of technology and AI.
Recent move of Disney to boycot Netflixs proves that incumbents are starting to realize the new reality.
Masterful balance between major developments and impact on human scale.
Do not read the Dutch translation: Henk Popken did a crappy job.
Some well chosen case studies; but with too little explanation on ‘what’ they did and too many stories about how they did it.
The designer behind Steve Jobs has greatly contributed to Apple’s successful revival.
Still surprising how many Apple products were flawed (overpriced, transparent, with wheel navigation, monitorless, …)
Align your IT department with your corporate objectives.
It seems to be impossible to write a book about IT without referring to ‘frameworks’ (= a solution a little bit more specific than a thought, but far less concrete than a plan).
Remark: Fascinating narrative on how agriculture spread across the globe.
Essential concepts from computer sciences intuitively explained for non-techies.
Prioritize long term accelerating growth over short-term gains.
Diamandis’ Abundance concept applied to companies. The book peaks early on: the howto guide is not sufficiently specific.
En contagiously enthusiastic account of all you can do with laser cutters,milling machines, 3D printers, AutoCAD software, and the like – and how cheap it is.
The writers’ enthusiasm seems at some points somewhat naive, considering the scope of vested interests in target markets.
Refreshingly nuanced expose on a polarizing topic. Particularly useful if you happen to be a nation state.
Exponentially growing advancements in technology will help us resolve major world problems
Contagiously optimistic view on the opportunities we have to shape our own future and that of humanity.
First and foremost, read the optimistic case studies on the evolution of technology, from the printing press to the vacuum tube.
Nice anecdotes, but a bit too much like…
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