Best Books on Artificial Intelligence To Read Now

The boom in artificial intelligence has resulted in a swirling debate about the dangers of generative AI, the role of regulation, and the impact of this technology on democracy, free markets, and the workplace. More than ever, it's essential to stay in-the-know about how AI systems are being developed and implemented. Here are the best books to keep you informed about this brave new world, including a practical guide to working with AI, a new exposé of the impact of AI in the workplace, and a manifesto on making AI serve the public good.

21 books

What direction is AI taking us? A pair of industry thought-leaders debate whether we are headed towards paradise or disaster

Our Next Reality: How the AI-Powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World

Alvin Wang Graylin

This new release from two veterans of the tech industry, which includes an introduction from speculative sci-fi legend Neal Stephenson, provides a data-driven analysis and debate of the potential outcomes for a future AI-dominated world. With additional contributions from other industry and academic leaders, the book tries to answer the question of whether we are headed towards a utopia or dystopia, while providing thoughtful guidance about how we can achieve the best possible outcomes in this uncertain future world.

Hardcover, 2024

$29.95$14.98 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A moving memoir praised widely by business and policy leaders - including Barack Obama

The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI

Fei-Fei Li

This memoir from computer scientist Fei-Fei Li traces her journey from her childhood in China to her teenage years in New Jersey, and eventually to her role as one of the key players in the advancement of artificial intelligence. Along the way, Li provides an enlightening explanation of the AI itself, plus intimate details about the life of a scientist at the center of one of the world’s most profound technological developments.

Reid Hoffman & John Thornhill

Hardcover, 2023

$30.99$15.49 + Free shipping50% off your first book

The CEO and co-founder of global education phenomenon Khan Academy is bullish on AI’s power to transform learning

Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing)

Salman Khan

Bill Gates gave this one a resounding thumb’s up. The billionaire bookworm was effusive with praises for the book on X, writing, “If you're passionate about education, you need to read this book. Sal offers a compelling vision for harnessing AI to expand opportunity for all.”

Hardcover, 2024

$30.00$15.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A practical guide to making the most of AI

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Ethan Mollick

This 2024 release from Wharton professor and author of the popular One Useful Thing newsletter, Ethan Mollick, provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of AI and its best uses, without evangelizing about its potential to transform your business or society.

Hardcover, 2024

$30.00$15.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year

Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines

Joy Buolamwini

While working with face-tracking technology in graduate school, Buolamwini discovered that the software she used could not recognize her “dark-skinned” face, unless she donned a white Halloween mask overtop. This moment served as a catalyst for her interest in the algorithmic biases prevalent in tech, and especially in artificial intelligence. Unmasking AI is an attempt to advocate for more inclusive technologies and the latest contribution to the expanding realm of AI-wary literature.

Tracy Chou 🌻 & Brian Merchant

Out of stock

A prominent computer science makes a provocative case for humanizing AI

As If Human: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

Nigel Shadbolt

This May 2024 release from two Oxford professors argues that in order to avert the worst case scenarios of artificial intelligence development we must treat AI as if it were human, despite it lacking the essential qualities of human life.

Hardcover, 2024

$28.00$14.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A humanist manifesto for the age of AI

AI Needs You: How We Can Change Ai's Future and Save Our Own

Verity Harding

This book from Verity Harding, the director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the University of Cambridge and a TIME “most influential person” of 2023, draws on lessons learned from some of the most consequential technological developments of the twentieth century, in order to empower readers (and leaders) to ensure that the function of AI will always be to promote the societal good. Kirkus Reviews said, "Harding’s optimism is tempered by experience and knowledge, and her arguments are compelling and engaging."

Hardcover, 2024

$24.95$12.48 + Free shipping50% off your first book

What if AI tools used for hiring and firing employees get it wrong?

The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now

Hilke Schellmann

In this book, Emmy‑award winning journalist, Hilke Schellmann offers an incisive look into the ways AI is already being used to transform the world of work, by changing the way employers hire, fire, and monitor employees.

Hardcover, 2024

$30.00$15.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A prescient guide to understanding the future of AI

Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future

Jeremy Kahn

This book from Fortune Magazine’s award-winning journalist, Jeremy Kahn, provides an illuminating look at AI’s near and distant future. Kahn makes bold predictions about where the technology is heading and the industries that will be most impacted, while also providing a guide for managing the inevitable ensuing chaos that this disruption will produce.

Hardcover, 2024

$29.99$14.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book

A renowned economist doesn’t believe the hype when it comes to AI’s impact on the macroeconomy

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

Daron Acemoglu

Looking at tech progress throughout history, two MIT economists argue that the technical progress of AI alone will not help humanity. They argue that jobs and democracy will be undermined by automation unless we have strong leaders operating with a strong vision for human prosperity.

Nouriel Roubini & Michael Clemens

Out of stock