AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and Save Our Own

Harding (dir., AI & Geopolitics Project, Univ. of Cambridge) was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in AI in September of 2023. Her debut book examines the potential future of AI by looking at the history and the handling (or mishandling) of three other 20th-century technologies: the space race, in vitro fertilization, and the internet. She also looks at the pivotal roles of various individuals—John F. Kennedy, Baroness Mary Warnock, Al Gore, and others—in the integration of each of these technologies into society and how they’ve been regulated. Her narrative provides considerable historical context for each tech milestone and draws parallels between the institution of regulatory guardrails and the importance of outlining the safe and ethical use of AI. Librarians should note that this book does not delve into the nuts and bolts of artificial intelligence.