Mitch Olson
This is near science fiction postulating on the consequences of the birth of Artificial General Intelligence (computer-based intelligence equivalent to human intelligence) and how this will probably be a very short term step on the path to Artificial Super Intelligence at which point humans are no longer the ruling species.
Nicely formulated exploration of this playing out shaped as a thriller.
I generally feel somewhat dirty when reading thrillers. The genre as a whole is generally targeted at the lowest common denominator of the reading public. But this book redeems itself with ideas that are thought provoking and relevant to our times.
Some original ideas & perspectives on habits in the first part of the book.
He spells out some principles and pitfalls of creating habits but doesn't speak much to the process of creating a habit.
The second half is specific habit suggestions & personally didn't get value from this, possibly because I already have most of them.
This is more of a 3.5 stars vs 4. The author paints an interesting and novel world with a story that draws you in. I had already lined up the next 2 books by the time I was half way through. But from 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through the trajectory of the story and its inevitable ending are set and so ultimately I was disappointed in the book.
A powerful insight into the political right and its rise over the last forty years. I came away feeling somewhat less hopeful about humanity as the presence and momentum of Conservatism became clearer through reading this book. Recommended to all, especially lefties like me.
The only disappointing aspect of the book as a whole is that the author somewhat lazily cobbles the book from previously written essays over the years sandwiched between an opening and closing chapter. As such it lacks a certain coherence and elegance that a more wilful effort might have made. In spite of this I am grateful to the author for writing this important book.
Whilst I don't identify with being a Christian I was really interested to read this book to see what the author had to say about making Christianity more relevant to the challenges of life in the 21st Century. Some really interesting ideas in this book, & whilst it speaks to some useful ideas that the author has I don't see these being readily translated into Christianity as a whole.
Disappointing in the whole. I had high hopes for this book as I hoped his book Out of Control. Like What Technology Wants I found this is a disappointing read. Spends lots of time pontificating on a future technological world he imagines. But there is little insight from the book in terms of how you might leverage his 12 forces in your own life and for your own business. Meh
