by Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher
Introduction. The Age
of AI: And Our Human Future is a
collaborative amalgamation of the ideas of world-renowned historian and former
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as well as businessman Eric Schmidt
and MIT computer scientist Daniel Huttenlocher.
The book was published in October of 2021 and covers the main topic circulating
in forward-thinking intellectual circles: Artificial Intelligence.
Analysis. When considering his life’s work, naturally, Henry
Kissinger approaches the topic of AI through a lens of consideration for how
the revolutionary technology will impact the spheres of World Order, national
security, and global economies. His
understanding of AI is aided by the contributions of Daniel Huttenlocher, who
chimes in about how AI will shape our human experience and the very essence of
identity. Finally, Eric Schmidt speaks
on AI’s projected impacts on the market and workforce. Helpfully, the authors regale the reader with
a brief outline of advances in technology, touching on major shifts in popular
intellectual sentiments which made the idea of AI even possible.
Evaluation. Although each author is uniquely qualified to
speak on the topic of AI, it was evident throughout the book that the authors
do not agree with each other about the ethical implications associated with the
widespread advancement of AI. This causes
some passages to seem unnecessarily cluttered with disclaimers and caveats that
distract from the essence of the main point being analyzed. Further, each author’s style of writing is
dramatically different, resulting in one passage being written in one style and
flow, followed by a passage that delivers the information with a completely
different pace. Simply, I have learned
from this book that a collaborative piece can only be possible through the pacification
and unification efforts of an outstanding editor, which appears to have been
absent here.
Conclusion. Although convoluted and confusing at times,
the overall message of this book is certainly worth the read. Readers who are generally unfamiliar with the
topic of AI will learn a great deal from this book, as it explores the developmental
process, general types of AI, and some of the possible societal, national, and
global implications of the technology. Consequently,
I recommend this book to any reader who is unfamiliar with AI and wants to get
a good foundational understanding of the concept.