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Indian Express

Oprah Winfrey's pick and 5 more must-read books on AI

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes nearly every facet of our lives, from transportation to healthcare to creative work, the literary world has stepped up with compelling explorations, warnings, and provocations. At the center of this summer's AI discourse is Culpability by Bruce Holsinger, a searing novel that has earned iconic television personality Oprah Winfrey's endorsement as her book club pick. The book forces readers to confront the real-world consequences of autonomous machines such as self-driving cars. But Holsinger's is just one voice in a growing literary chorus. From Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun to Ethan Mollick's pragmatic Co-Intelligence, we bring to you six books that approach AI from a wide range of angles: philosophical, political, economic, and personal. Publisher: Spiegel & Grau Pages: 380 Kindle (available in India): ₹2,218 American author Bruce Holsinger's book is Winfrey's book club pick for the month. It received a ringing endorsement from her: 'If you were looking for the summer read, this is it,' Winfrey said. 'I picked it because it is so prescient. It is prescient. It is right now. And it is also the future.' Holsinger's novel explores the urgent issue of artificial intelligence and moral responsibility. It explores the fallout after a self-driving minivan kills an elderly couple. It forces readers, especially those in the USA, where not all states regulate use of autonomous cars, to confront this nightmare scenario, which may happen to anybody. Holsinger interrogates what accountability means in the age of autonomous machines. I leave you with Winfrey's word of caution: 'Do not under any circumstances cut to the end. Because the end is gonna shock you no matter what.' Publisher: Faber & Faber Pages: 320 pages Paperback: Rs 382 From the pen of Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun is a poignant exploration of love, sacrifice, and artificial intelligence. Set in a dystopian future United States, the story is told from the perspective of Klara, a solar-powered Artificial Friend (AF) designed to provide companionship to children. Klara is purchased by a teenager who has been genetically 'lifted' for enhanced intellectual ability, a common but risky procedure in this futuristic society. Isolated and home-schooled, Josie forms a deep bond with Klara. Blending science fiction with moral philosophy, Klara and the Sun raises several unsettling questions about the possibilities of artificial intelligence and whether it can develop an emotional quotient. The novel was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: Rs 274 Paperback: Rs 740 The AI Con is a scathing takedown of AI hype and exploitation. Bender and Hanna dismiss the idea that artificial intelligence is an benevolent force. They argue it is a tech bauble enriching a few while replacing real labour with synthetic media machines, which work like plagiarism engines. From LLMs that hallucinate citations to chatbots replacing unionising workers, The AI Con calls out the industry's exploitative underbelly. This is a definitive work in the field of AI as Bender, who has featured in the TIME100 AI list of most influential people in AI, is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington. Her work, including the touchstone 'Stochastic Parrots' paper, brings a linguistic perspective to how large language models work and why the illusion they produce is so compelling. He co-author Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute and a former senior research scientist on Google's Ethical AI team. Publisher: Bodley Head Pages: 432 Paperback: Rs 638 In his 2005 bestseller, the American computer scientist predicted that computers would reach human-level intelligence by 2029, and that humans would merge with computers and become superhuman around 2045. He called the futuristic phenomenon 'the Singularity'. With AI becoming part and parcel of life, a part of his prophecy has already come true, and so in 2024 he updated his prophecy. A culmination of six decades of work, the book delves into ideas that may seem as radical as the concept of artificial intelligence in the 90s. Some futuristic ideas he explores are rebuilding the world with nanobots (a hypothetical small self-propelled machine that can reproduce), life extension beyond 120 years, and connecting our brains to the cloud to name a few. Publisher: WH Allen Pages: 256 pages Paperback: Rs 671 This book by Wharton professor Ethan Mollick is a practical guide to 'living and working with AI.' Mollick contends that AI should not be treated as a threat, but as a new co-worker. Co-intelligence draws on real-world case studies to show how generative AI tools can be partners in education, creativity, and productivity. Mollick urges readers to master this relationship: to learn with AI, not from it. This should not be mistaken as a how-to manual. The book will guide us on how to reshape our lives to accommodate the tools that are now shaping the world. Publisher: Princeton University Press Pages: 352 Paperback: ₹398 The book cuts through the noise and explains what AI can and cannot do. This is best suited to those who are overwhelmed with the product hype created through AI. Again, two of TIME's most influential voices in AI clarify areas where AI works, where it fails, and where it is dangerously oversold. From education to hiring to criminal justice, AI Snake Oil explains why many AI claims are exaggerated, and how to spot them. The authors draw are attention from the distraction of Aargue we should worry less about AI itself and more about the unaccountable power behind it.