Scary Smart

The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World

This audiobook is masterfully read by the author, Mo Gawdat.

One of The Sunday Times' Business Books of the Year

Technology is putting our humanity at risk to an unprecedented degree. This book is not for engineers who write the code or the policy makers who claim they can regulate it. This is a book for you. Because, believe it or not, you are the only one that can fix it. – Mo Gawdat

'From a brilliant mind comes a terrifying prediction' – Tim Ash, bestselling author of Unleash Your Primal Brain

Artificial intelligence is smarter than humans. It can process information at lightning speed and remain focused on specific tasks without distraction. AI can see into the future, predicting outcomes and even use sensors to see around physical and virtual corners. So why does AI frequently get it so wrong?

The answer is us. Humans design the algorithms that define the way that AI works, and the processed information reflects an imperfect world. Does that mean we are doomed? In Scary Smart, Mo Gawdat, the internationally bestselling author of Solve for Happy, draws on his considerable expertise to answer this question and to show what we can all do now to teach ourselves and our machines how to live better. With more than thirty years' experience working at the cutting-edge of technology and his former role as chief business officer of Google [X], no one is better placed than Mo Gawdat to explain how the Artificial Intelligence of the future works.

By 2049 AI will be a billion times more intelligent than humans. Scary Smart explains how to fix the current trajectory now, to make sure that the AI of the future can preserve our species. This audiobook offers a blueprint, pointing the way to what we can do to safeguard ourselves, those we love and the planet itself.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Mo Gawdat is my life guru. His writing, his ideas and his generosity in sharing them has changed my life for the better in so many ways. Everything he writes is an enlightening education in how to be human.

A proactive and bold read that provides the shake that humans need to take back our agency over AI, and therefore the fate of the world as we see it. (Dr Camilla Pang, author of Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us About Life, Love and Relationships)

From a brilliant mind comes a terrifying prediction - our puny efforts will not be enough to control the rise of the machines... Mo takes us on a whirlwind exploration of the fast-approaching singularity, and offers a desperate last chance to have a say in the future of humanity. Read this book! (Tim Ash, bestselling author of Unleash Your Primal Brain)

Scary Smart is unlike anything I’ve ever read . . . What Mo does is help us analyze what it means to be human, by looking at what can or cannot happen with the rise of artificial intelligence. (Poppy Jamie, author and founder of Happy Not Perfect)

Our brain fog about artificial intelligence makes it both exciting and terrifying in equal measure, Mo Gawdat is the expert guide you need to help decipher the realities of a complex subject. Mo writes so beautifully that a complex subject reads like a page turner. (Bruce Daisley, Former Twitter VP and bestselling author of The Joy of Work)

As we face the future we can either choose to deny reality and suffer or face reality head on. We can withdraw into our own private worlds and give up on humanity or remain joyful and engaged to do our part to improve our future for our children, grandchildren, and future generations. The choice is ours. I’m choosing to “go with Mo.” (Jed Diamond, PhD, author of The Enlightened Marriage and Twelve Rules for Good Men)

I am so grateful for Mo's work - his ability to distill big ideas, share mind-blowing research and inspire change alongside kindness. His words have had a profound tangible impact on my life. No one ever regrets reading anything Mo Gawdat has written. (Emma Gannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Multi-Hyphen Method and host of award-winning podcast Ctrl Alt Delete)

The call from Mo is loud and clear: this is the greatest responsibility of our lifetimes - to evolve and take full responsibility for how we allow reality, and in this case AI, to echo back to us our inner thoughts and actions. Thank you for giving us this genius catalyst. (John Sanei, Future Strategist, best-selling author and Singularity University faculty member.)

Mo Gawdat shows, in this beautifully written book, the grave threat posed to humanity by failing to live up to our responsibility as AI's parents. He has the wisdom to know that the solution requires learning to love. (Donald Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor)

IMPORTANT BOOK!

This is one of the most important books to consider in 2023 and beyond. It really helps you understand what AI truly is And what it is not and how we need to begin treating it.

We are in charge of what the machines become

It took a while for it to sink in, but Mo Gawdat’s assert that we (the breadth of humanity) are in charge of what AIs become, is not mere wishful thinking. It is literally true. It is a practical reality staring us in the face. The author builds his case by giving a multitude of examples that demonstrate the way that contemporary AIs learn on their own and from their own experience. The basic rules may be programmed in, but it’s the learning and for some the trillions of reinforcement events that define AIs true potential. That’s where we come in. Humans are an essential part of the AI environment. It might not always be that way, but it’s certainly true now and for years to come. How we shape that environment is absolutely critical. Thank you Mr. G for driving that home these points.

The book is highly recommended. It’s not always pleasant and there parts that hurt, but most people who read it say that they come out the other end humbled and wiser, and for the lucky ones a little happier.

Made me rethink everything

Mo convinced me. Now let’s convince AI we can coexist. I want a non dystopian future for all of us.

Excellent work, balancing optimism and pessimism of an undetermined future.

Treating artificial intelligence as an adolescent that requires parental supervision and guard rails is an absolutely brilliant and critical approach as we move forward into unknown territories. 

One of the best books I read in my life!

This book sounds pessimistic at first, but it is full of optimism and has a proper level of technical details to understand for most of the people with or without technical background. I was going through a tough time in my life when I listened to this audiobook and it really helped me to change my view of life, become more optimistic, and stop paying so much attention to the things that were making me sad AND learned A LOT of interesting things and views about the current world and the changes that awaits for us. Combined this with the other Mo's book "Solve for happy" I can happily say that my life (thinking) was turned around 180 degrees and brought back happiness and meaningful moments to me. I owe a lot to Mo and the guy which recommended me to read (listen) to this book.