The Dark Side of the Enlightenment: Wizards, Alchemists, and Spiritual Seekers in the Age of Reason – John V. Fleming
The enlightenment produced a lot of good ideas, but it also had a whole lot of really terrible ones.
Non-Fiction
If Anyone Builds it Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All – Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares
One can think that AI isn’t going to come alive anytime soon and still think that it is a very bad idea to build an AI
The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do – Erik J. Larson
AI isn’t going to reach the Kurzweilian dream any time soon
Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It – Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow should be required reading for anyone living through the tragedy that is modern times.
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning – Justin E. H. Smith
An argument that we should look at the internet in a slightly different way.
The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? – Michael J. Sandel
Despite the title, the book really highlights a massive and widespread problem in our modern society.
read more The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? – Michael J. Sandel
Word Perfect – Susie Dent
A less coffee table-ish book from Susie Dent
Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World – Parmy Olson
Parmy Olson is talented, but not even she can make the AI race interesting to me.
read more Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World – Parmy Olson
Failures in Polymathy 