Power and Prediction

The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence

By: Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb

Narrated by: Tom Beyer

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

In their bestselling first book, Prediction Machines, eminent economists Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb explained the simple yet game-changing economics of AI. Now, in Power and Prediction, they go deeper, examining the most basic unit of analysis: the decision. The authors explain that the two key decision-making ingredients are prediction and judgment, and we perform both together in our minds, often without realizing it. The rise of AI is shifting prediction from humans to machines, relieving people from this cognitive load while increasing the speed and accuracy of decisions.

This sets the stage for a flourishing of new decisions and has profound implications for system-level innovation. Redesigning systems of interdependent decisions takes time, but when these new systems emerge, they can be disruptive on a global scale. Decision-making confers power. In industry, power confers profits; in society, power confers control. This process will have winners and losers, and the authors show how businesses can leverage opportunities, as well as protect their positions.

Filled with illuminating insights, rich examples, and practical advice, Power and Prediction is the must-listen guide for any business leader or policymaker on how to make the coming AI disruptions work for you rather than against you.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb (P)2022 Ascent Audio

How AI is changing and can change the world

Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence is an highly engaging book that explores the ways in which artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and work. The authors argue that AI is not just a tool that can be used to automate tasks or improve efficiency; it is a powerful force that can disrupt entire industries and create new ones. How? with the power of prediction leveraged using AI, industries can transform their businesses and create disruption that can be unimaginable. The authors site a variety of examples from different industries and explain how a first mover advantage exists for those who adopt quickly AI in their innovations and products. The beauty of the book is that it explains AI in the most simplest term. AI cannot replace humans, they cannot self perpetuate and cause doomsday as we have been imagining or having been forced to think like that because of movies, but they can make some of the most fundamental things available at our fingertips if leveraged properly.

The authors focus on two primordial concepts of judgement and prediction. How making this prediction faster using AI can help improve human decision speed. Here they stress the shift from point system AIs to system thinking with interdependent systems and how it can help improve decision speed for businesses and improving the livelihood of humans. The businesses that leverage this are going to be the disruptors. The luddites will be left behind (Recall Math teachers striking in the 1980s because calculators are being used in the class and it is not helping students cognitively).

Must read for all CEOs, CTOs and product managers. Get the chatGPT plugin soon in your products and applications.

Discrete functions of AI

The authors provide a great discussion of the distinction between prediction and judgement. I feel better prepared to understand and appropriately use AI.

A business level discussion of AI

This is a business level discussion of AI. It discusses what AI is and what it can and can’t do. It discusses implementation problems and/or challenges that may result from implementation of AI. Recommend.

Inspire system thinking with informative examples

This book is informative and practical. Though AI is a new technology, the authors illustrate the importance and the application of system changes clearly and convincingly by drawing experiences and examples from previous technology evolution.

The concepts, thought processes, and recommendations from this book can easily be applied in areas beyond AI. The ways point change, application change, and system change took place in the past and how we can learn from that to make decisions for now and plan for the future are transferable across different disciplines.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about management and organizational changes.

If you enjoy this book and want more on how we can learn from AI, check out "Algorithms to Live By" by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths (2016). If you are interested in how AI can change our future, check out "AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future" by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan (2021), which illustrates ten predictions on how AI will change the world by telling ten engaging sci-fi stories.

Insightful

As someone who works completely outside the field of AI and computer stuff, I found the content of of this book to be delightfully new, insightful, and relevant.

Great book

Buck was well written covered good topics and touched on some sensitive issues. I recommend it.

Probably better in written format

This book raises so great insights into AI and the authors do an excellent job probing deeper into the realities of the AI revolution (vs the current hype) forces at play.

Unfortunately not enough of the book hit the “cutting room floor”. There was a lot of information repeated and the case studies limited to the same ones used over and over again. An abridged version might be better.

It was also challenging to fallow the verbal diagrams being explained. I’m sure the written format would be easier to digest.

Additional Knowledge of AI

Started reading this book looking for additional insight on using AI and avoiding the pitfalls associated with it. Although I am fairly familiar with AI, I still learned a lot. I had not considered how many products have been using AI and the numerous applications. The book sparked additional ways that AI could be used in my business. There is some redundancy in the book. But the information and some of the AI bias debunking is right on point.

Best. AI Book. Ever.

If you're looking to dive into just one book on AI, let this be your choice! This captivating read is not about constructing your own AI models, but rather delves into a critical aspect: reimagining systems to harness AI's unparalleled power for swift, precise predictions at virtually zero incremental cost once trained. The authors masterfully draw parallels between AI and other transformative technologies like electricity, illuminating the subject matter like a bright light bulb overhead.

This book will challenge your thinking with thought-provoking questions:
-Imagine being able to predict the value of everything produced in a factory. How would you revolutionize the system?
-How would you design a factory from the ground up, powered by AI?
-How can we replace rigid, rule-based processes that fail to consider variability, with AI-powered predictions that were once unattainable?
-How can we make AI predictions accessible, transparent, and comprehensible for all?
-How can we combine human intelligence and AI to make optimal decisions?

Remember, every AI model is ultimately crafted by a human, embedding their opinions and judgments. After several attempts to incorporate AI in my workplace with little success, this book (which I read twice!) inspired me to reframe my approach by focusing on system changes. This shift has led to remarkable progress in both advocating for necessary changes and implementing them.

A heartfelt thank you to the authors for their profound insights and thought leadership in this groundbreaking work.

very informative

it got a bit in the weeds but altogether it was eye opening and gave me many good ideas. it also showed me where people are lacking and how AI may be superior