Humans dream of super-intelligent machines. But what happens if we actually succeed?

FROM THE BBC REITH LECTURER 2021

'The most important book I have read in quite some time' Daniel Kahneman; 'A must-read' Max Tegmark; 'The book we've all been waiting for' Sam Harris

Humans dream of super-intelligent machines. But what happens if we actually succeed?

Creating superior intelligence would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, according to the world's pre-eminent AI expert, it could also be the last.

In this groundbreaking book, Stuart Russell sets out why he has come to consider his own discipline an existential threat to humanity, and how we can change course before it's too late. In brilliant and lucid prose, he explains how AI actually works and its enormous capacity to improve our lives - and why we must never lose control of machines more powerful than we are. Russell contends that we can avert the worst threats by reshaping the foundations of AI to guarantee that machines pursue our objectives, not theirs. Profound, urgent and visionary, Human Compatible is the one book everyone needs to read to understand a future that is coming sooner than we think.

LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES & McKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Thought-provoking' Financial Times

'Fascinating and significant' Sunday Times

'The most important book on AI this year' Guardian

"Surely the most important book on AI this year." - The Guardian, Book of the Day

"A brilliantly clear and fascinating exposition of the history of computing thus far, and how very difficult true AI will be to build." - The Spectator

"Fascinating and significant." - The Sunday Times

"Worth reading Human Compatible by Stuart Russell (he's great!) about future AI risks and solutions." - Twitter

"A thought-provoking and highly readable account of the past, present and future of AI . . . Russell deploys a bracing intellectual rigour . . . but a laconic style and dry humour keep his book accessible to the lay reader." - The Financial Times

"It's asking a lot of a book about the potential end of civilisation to be strewn with humour and wry asides, but this is what Russell manages . . . it's worth sticking with, for the sake of the species." - The Guardian

"An excellent, nuanced history." - The Telegraph, Best New Science Books for Christmas

"Russell is an assiduous and conscientious scholar ... [he] provides a wealth of information. This is one of those intellectual voyages where both the journey and the destination matter." - The Literary Review

"This is the most important book I have read in quite some time. It lucidly explains how the coming age of artificial super-intelligence threatens human control. Crucially, it also introduces a novel solution and a reason for hope." - Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize and author of 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'

"Of the many books published this year on artificial intelligence, this is probably the best. Stimulating and scary stuff." - The Financial Times

"A must-read: this intellectual tour-de-force by one of AI's true pioneers not only explains the risks of ever more powerful artificial intelligence in a captivating and persuasive way, but also proposes a concrete and promising solution." - Professor Max Tegmark, MIT, author of 'Life 3.0'

"Stuart Russell, one of the most important AI scientists of the last 25 years, may have written the most important book about AI so far, on one of the most important questions of the 21st century: How to build AI to be compatible with us. The book proposes a novel and intriguing solution for this problem, while offering many thought-provoking ideas and insights about AI along the way. An accessible and engaging must-read for the developers of AI and the users of AI - that is, for all of us." - Chairman and director of McKinsey Global Institute

"The man set on stopping the machines taking over." - The Telegraph

"A strong case for planning for the day when machines can outsmart us." - Kirkus Review