The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma

“The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma” by Mustafa Suleyman

“The Coming Wave” is a highly recommended book on Artificial Intelligence (AI). It speaks to the power of the technology and its potential impact on society. The author, Mustafa Suleyman, is brilliant. He has been a founder, a public servant, and a talented author.

This first half of the book describes the potential for AI as a future transformative wave. It describes four potential features:

• Asymmetry ... AI could change the balance of power

• Endless Acceleration ... One Aspect of AI is that it can impact every element of our world.

• More is More ... There will be tremendous scale advantages for those with a lot of data.

• Autonomy vs. Human ... AI will eventually have an impact on jobs and other human activities.

I think these concepts are helpful and allow all of us to grasp the power in this wave of technology.

I found the second half of the book to be profoundly depressing. Suleyman discusses the importance of guard rails to limit the negative impact of AI. He tries to offer solutions. However, in a world where our governments strain to function in the most basic areas ... can they really figure out AI?

It is hard to see the common ground for AI regulation. By the end of the book, my vote was for self-regulation, something the tech industry has been bad at.  Government will get this wrong ... curtailing most of the benefit in the name of risk reduction.

At any rate, this book will give you a good grounding for AI.