The evolution of intelligence: Best books, podcasts on the world of AI

In 1950, Alan Turing, who later came to be known as the father of theoretical computer science, published the seminal paper – Computing Machinery and Intelligence – which considered the question: “Can machines think?”.

His Turing Test was the first serious proposal in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. But it was a few years later, at a 1956 summer workshop at Dartmouth College in the US, widely considered the birth of AI, that marked the formal inception of “Artificial Intelligence” as an academic discipline.

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Since then, as computing evolved, the field has experienced several hype cycles along with more than one AI winter. But the recent wave of generative AI marks a definitive turning point in the journey. This has led to the evaluation of the potential impact of AI – for individuals, societies, businesses, economies, and governments – as well as kickstarted conversations around ethics and responsible AI.

Here’s a selection of books and podcasts that will help you gain a better perspective into this existential innovation of our times.

Read

The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI

Ray Kurzweil | Viking

According to Bill Gates, Ray Kurzweil is the best person at predicting the future of artificial intelligence. Afterall, he is one of the greatest inventors of our time and his predictions about technological advancements in the previous edition of this book in 2005 have largely come true.

But this is an entirely new book. The Singularity is Nearer is a visionary – and mostly an optimistic – book that explores how this exponential growth of technology will transform humanity in the decades to come.

The book assesses his 1999 prediction that AI will reach human level intelligence – superintelligence – by 2029 and by 2045, we will be able to connect our brains directly with AI – singularity – expanding our consciousness in ways we can barely imagine. Grounded in decades of meticulous research with data and persuasive logic, the book is the culmination of Kurzweil’s six decades of research on AI, and crowning contribution to this domain.

Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence

Kate Crawford | Yale University Press

It’s neither artificial, nor quite intelligent. Atlas of AI is an important correction to much of the hype surrounding AI. An Australian research professor and a senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research, Crawford is a leading scholar of the social implications of AI.

The book isn’t a technology dissertation but a political perspective on how AI is reshaping the world. It is about the ethics of AI along with criticism of Big Tech for exploitation of natural resources and human labour, building datasets without consent, and training AI systems on incorrect or biased data.

The book reveals the hidden costs of artificial intelligence – from natural resources to low-wage labour – with complex conundrums around privacy, equality, and freedom. Crawford explains how the AI revolution is driving the society towards undemocratic governance and increased inequity.

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma

Mustafa Suleyman & Michael Bhaskar | Crown

Mustafa Suleyman is the CEO of Microsoft AI and has previously co-founded DeepMind, one of the world's leading AI companies.

The Coming Wave is an excellent and accessible guide as we approach the age of powerful, fast-developing new technologies and details the threats these technological forces will pose to the global order and the nation-state, despite the immense prosperity they might enable.

The groundbreaking book focuses on AI and biotechnology trying to fold the two into a ‘wave’ that will have a huge impact on society and governments. It confronts the most essential challenge of our age – if it is possible to contain the threat of AI while we have the chance. There are containment solutions, even though they might just be utopian dream. It’s a deeply researched and pragmatically argued effort that is also a highly accessible and important read around this existential dilemma.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Ethan Mollick | Portfolio

Co-Intelligence captures the essence of our evolving relationship with AI. Mollick is a professor of management at Wharton, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation, and is one of the most prominent and provocative voices on the practical aspects of generative AI.

The book is a blueprint and a lucid and practical guide to navigating the revolution that is unfolding right now. It also acts as an authoritative catalyst for mastering the skills and elevating the capabilities of any team or business.

He explores AI’s profound impact on business and education and offers a comprehensive guide to current trends and future expectations in AI. It is a definitive playbook, with lucid explanations and practical examples of AI in action, to harness the technology’s evolving capabilities for building a more intelligent and humane future.

Listen

Machine Learning Street Talk

MLST is about intellectual curiosity around advanced AI, cognitive science, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind. Co-hosts Tim Scarfe (past stints in Microsoft and founded several tech startups) and Keith Duggar (past stints at IBM Research, Wall Street, and Microsoft) – both PhDs – engage in fascinating discussions and indulge in in-depth analysis with preeminent figures in the field of AI.

Scarfe kicked this off as a weekend project in 2021 during the pandemic but is doing it full-time now, considering the show is one of the top AI podcasts on Spotify. The podcast used to be slightly more engineering-focussed in its early days but has been more theoretical in the recent past.

Eye on AI

Eye on AI is a biweekly podcast hosted by New York Times correspondent Craig S. Smith where he talks about how AI is changing our world. For every episode, Craig talks to some of the people making a difference in the space, prominent AI researchers and such, asking questions that listeners might be interested in.

I’d particularly recommend episode #201 with Danny Halawi where Craig and his guest, a PhD student at UC Berkeley, dive into the world of AI forecasting – using large language models (LLMs) to predict future events with accuracy, rivalling human forecasters and prediction markets.

Me, Myself, and AI

The idea of this podcast is to answer the question – Why do only 10% of companies succeed with AI? Created by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and MIT Sloan Management Review and hosted by Sam Ransbotham (Boston College) and Shervin Khodabandeh (BCG), this podcast series on AI in business covers strategy, deployment, human-and-machine collaboration, and scaling.

Each episode features a discussion with a leading practitioner achieving big wins with AI in their organizations who share actionable insights about the same. Do check out the conversation with Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer in the episode titled ‘AI Hype and Scepticism’, where he debunks some myths about the hype around AI and predicts that the most promising future for the technology is in education.

Bonus: Watch

AI Tipping Point

In this Curiosity Stream documentary, top experts talk about AI and its potential impact on the world – both good and bad – including the perceived threat to humanity and as a force for good to solve some of the biggest challenges we face.

AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries, but the documentary calls upon the stakeholders to consider the ethical implications of this technology and to ensure that AI is developed and used in a way that benefits all of humanity. It is crucial to have open conversations about AI, it insists.

AI supremacy: The artificial intelligence battle between China, USA and Europe

A DW production, this documentary explores the global race for supremacy in AI among China, the United States, and Europe. The 90-minute-long feature highlights the rapid advancements in AI and underscores the economic and geopolitical implications of this technological race, with countries vying for dominance in AI research and development.

It features interviews with experts, researchers, and industry leaders who discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and delve into the ethical considerations surrounding AI, raising concerns about potential job displacement, privacy issues, and the impact on society.

Abhishek Baxi is a technology journalist and digital consultant. He posts @baxiabhishek

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