P.W. Singer's Blog

Chapter 1 in Wired magazine
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-ar-som...

Reads all the more telling in wake of recent events

"A Fact-Based Fantasy

With Drones, Robots,

and Rioting on the Washington Mall"

Excited to share excerpt from #BurnInBook
@thedailybeast

You met our new heroes and witness one of our bad guy's ten attacks on DC of the future

https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-fact-...

Hope you give the rest of the book a read. More on it at: burninbook.com/reviews/

So I've got a new book coming out on May 26...I'll be posting more on it soon (all the reviews are at: https://www.burninbook.com/reviews/)

But, for now, I wanted to share a link to Bookshop, a great new site that supports local bookstores that have been hit hard by Coronavirus.

If you buy with them, 75% of their profits go to your local store.

https://bookshop.org/books/burn-in-a-...

Stay well!

We're starting to get the early reviews and blurbs for Burn-In and the feedback has been very exciting. I'm pasting them below.

You can check out more on the book at the website: www.BurnInBook.com

We are also posting there everything from discussion questions to a music playlist of songs linked to the book scenes and themes.

Early reviews of Burn-In:


“A visionary new form of storytelling—a rollercoaster ride of science fiction blended with science fact.”—Damon Lindelof, writer/creator of Lost, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Watchmen

“Burn-In is a white-knuckle adventure into our maximum probability future. I found surprises on every page, with each startlingly real depiction of new technology and its human impact. This near-future was crafted by experts, and it shows.”—Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse

“Their seamless blend of detailed research and rapid-fire storytelling make Singer and Cole the perfect tour guides for our world’s future conflicts.”—Max Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of World War Z and Devolution

“It is hard for fiction to keep up with reality these days, but it can help us visualize the potential futures ahead of us in a meaningful way that non-fiction cannot. Burn-In brilliantly uses near-future technology to ponder pressing matters of tech, politics, and the human relationship with our increasingly intelligent machines. Read it and you’ll not only be entertained, but better able to understand the flood of AI headlines without fear or fantasy. Burn-In is the rare techno-thriller that takes tech seriously!”—Garry Kasparov, Former World Chess Champion, author of Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

“A compulsively readable story that also brilliantly explains how our near-future world will look and work. Singer and Cole have woven a gripping detective yarn about a hunt for the terrorists of tomorrow, using the best research from the brightest minds of today.”—Peter Bergen, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

“Timely, prescient, and meticulously researched, Burn-In tells a deeply humane and nuanced story about our changing relationship with AI and warns of dangers to our free society all too few have started to grapple with. This is the near-future thriller you’ve been looking for: a captivating story filled with moving characters as well as profound insights.”—Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories

“A near-future SF thriller starring an FBI agent and one damn smart robot...lots of clever details...a great premise for a series...just keep those suckers away from Putin.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Wrapped in this propulsive thriller is a fascinating analysis of our possible near-future, where promises of a techno-utopia veer into surveillance-state nightmare. Cole and Singer brilliantly and terrifyingly imagine a realistic intersection of terrorism, technology, and policing.”—Phil Klay, National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment

“August Cole and Peter Singer have done it again, with a searing look at the intersection of advanced technology, brutal domestic politics, and an utterly uncertain geopolitical future. This is a book that charts perfectly the dangerous course into which we sail—and, similar to medieval sailing charts, on the distant margins it says clearly: ‘there be monsters here.’ Buckle up for Burn-In.”—Admiral James Stavridis (ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO

“Burn-In will wake you up and shake you up. Just as they did in Ghost Fleet, Singer and Cole give us a vivid look-ahead into the near-future. Like the best science fiction, Burn-In is a human story, with great characters and a terrific plot that unfolds in a ‘just-beyond-tomorrow’ world of emerging technology. I whipped through the book, mesmerized by its glimpse into a future where intelligence—human, augmented, and artificial—all blend together in a continuous battle to understand what’s the real truth. So much to think about after reading it!”—Admiral John Richardson (ret.), former Chief of Naval Operations

“Don’t miss Burn-In! Singer and Cole have combined their expert knowledge of imminent technologies to create a riveting day-after-tomorrow thriller exploring our increasingly uneasy alliance with smart machines and the networked world that enables them. Burn-In captures the imagination, even as it takes a hard look at the challenges ahead.”—Linda Nagata, author of The Red trilogy and The Last Good Man

“I loved Burn-In so much that I've already read it twice. This suspenseful, forward-looking novel prophesizes titanic disruptions soon to come from the marriage of humanity and technology. Most of all, it provides a clear-eyed view of both the highs and lows of humanity's rapid plunge into a world of AI, robotics, and other advanced tech, and the impact that will have on families, society, politics and security. Singer and Cole project the logical outcomes of today’s rapidly evolving technological revolution in ways that make Burn-In both heartening and terrifying—sometimes at the same time. This book will definitely make you think.”—Lt. General Edward Cardon (ret.), Former Commander, U. S. Army Cyber Command

“Singer and Cole have done it again. Exciting, interesting, and disturbing, Burn-In shows how the inevitable evolution of AI and intelligent machines can and will change our world. There will be both good and bad in this onrushing future, and our entire society—not just our political leaders—will need to understand and confront it. So enjoy this great read, but at the same time consider its implications both for our daily lives and our humanity.”—General Robert Neller (USMC, ret.), 37th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps

“Another winner from Singer and Cole. Burn-In is a great story and a well written mystery/adventure novel, but most importantly it provides a view of the world in which we will soon be living, where data, networks, remote sensing, autonomy, robotics, and AI are totally integrated into every aspect of our day to day lives. It explores that nexus between people and technology—our greatest challenge in living in this new world—and makes you stop and think, even as you become immersed in a great book.”—Admiral Michael S. Rogers (ret), Former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; Former Director, National Security Agency

“Through the eyes of its heroine, Agent Lara Keegan, Burn In is a page-turning story that challenges us to consider the social and societal implications of the game-changing AI technologies that are just over the horizon, and how we as people relate to our mechanical creations. Authors Singer and Cole have once again brought the future into our present, bringing us the book we need to start wrapping our minds around the issues that will dominate our near future.”— Kathleen J. McInnis, author of The Heart of War: Misadventures in the Pentagon

“The only thing America has to fear is America itself. Cole and Singer are among the few willing to engage with the futuristic storytelling potential afforded by contemporary reality.”—Madeline Ashby, author of Company Town and co-author of How to Future

“Burn-In is a high octane (and carefully researched!) exploration of what could happen if America loses its edge at the forefront of the AI revolution.”—Jamie Metzl, futurist and bestselling author of Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity

“A speculative work about a dark tomorrow, Burn-In brims with the vibrancy of real, layered human conflict. P.W. Singer and August Cole understand that stories of moral tribulation transcend space and time, and imbue this bold, splendid story with it. There's more life and imagination in this novel about the robot future than most books of today will ever manage.”—Matt Gallagher, author of Empire City and Youngblood

“Burn-In is a profound look into an all too believable future, brilliantly weaving together a moving narrative that challenges readers with its mix of robots, AI, and politics. The action is stirring, the characters are all too relatable, but it’s the questions about humanity that will leave their mark, burning their way into your brain and leaving you breathlessly wanting more.”—Peter Tieryas, author of Mecha Samurai Empire


“A near-future SF thriller starring an FBI agent and one damn smart robot…Lots of clever details…A great premise for a series. Just keep those suckers away from Putin.” – Kirkus


"The authors energetically carry on the tradition of this genre’s giants - Isaac Asimov (I, Robot) and Robert Heinlein (Starship Troopers) to name a few. In this stirring encore to Ghost Fleet, however, they break new ground in their description of the nexus between human and robot. Singer and Cole clearly use their own proximity to recent innovations in big tech to tell the story – and they succeed in doing so. Burn-In puts the promise and peril of AI firmly in our grasp such that readers will undoubtedly ask their own questions about the future long after putting the book down...Singer and Cole clearly understand how to make the unintelligible understandable, and in Burn-In they deliver the best of contemporary science fiction. Defense professionals, policymakers and American citizens alike would do well to pick up a copy."

-Prism
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Journals/PRISM/

Check out my upcoming book, out in May. "Burn-In: A Novel of the REAL Robotic Revolution" is a new kind of book, blending the thrills and chills of a technothriller with the insights of nonfiction research. If you enjoyed Ghost Fleet or just want to learn more about the future of work, life, and security, it is for you.

You can learn more about it at https://www.burninbook.com/

and pre-buy at
https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Novel-Rea...

or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burn...

LikeWar has been named an Amazon Best Book of the Month!

"LikeWar is sober, deeply researched, and still compulsively readable. Comparisons to On War and The Art of War are apt..."
https://www.amazon.com/LikeWar-Weapon...

You can check out all the reviews at:
https://www.likewarbook.com/reviews-2/

LikeWar should be required reading for everyone living in a democracy and all who aspire to.—BookList (starred review)

“LikeWar is an engaging and startling work.” —Vice-Motherboard

“LikeWar is a magical combination of history, technology, and early warning wrapped in a compelling narrative of how today’s information space can threaten the truth, our polity, and our security. It’s a page turner, too, chock full of deep insights and fascinating detail. Sun Tzu tells us to know ourselves, our enemy and our battle space and LikeWar delivers on all three.”—General Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA and NSA, author of The Assault on Intelligence

“Online technology has outrun our social intuitions about its power. In vivid prose, Singer and Brooking offer insight into the ways that social media can be used to manipulate beliefs and attitudes for self-serving purposes.” —Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the internet, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

“Much as Clausewitz did for conventional war, LikeWar lays out the new 21st century principles of war. Mixing fascinating stories and the front edge of research, it explains the twilight battlegrounds of politics and war on social media—a frightening future where truth is the first casualty, and our fundamental values are deeply at danger. I loved it.”—Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy (Ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO

“LikeWar is the definitive work on the information revolution—its early origins, growth, and many complex implications. It weaves this broad-tapestry in a way that explains, compels, and provokes thought all at once. A fascinating, informative must-read.”—Lt. Gen. James Clapper, USAF (ret.) Former Director of National Intelligence

“A great read…A must read for the intelligence community…A compelling story of the opportunities and risks of social media that every intelligence analyst must appreciate, as publicly available information will increasingly dominate how we read or misread the operational and strategic environment.”—Lieutenant General Robert Ashley, US Army; Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency

“A timely, urgent look at a world of electronic sheep—and wolves aplenty, too.”—Kirkus

“Although the book is titled Like War, it isn’t so much about warfare as about how social media is affecting society broadly: how we consume information, why social media is so addictive, how it has been capitalized on by social movements, celebrities, politicians, terrorists, and states. It’s worth reading for the history of the Internet alone, which bounces along as vignettes about individuals that personalize the story (they clearly apply the elements of effective social media they identify: narrative, emotion, authenticity, community, and inundation)…A valuable primer on where social media came from and how its currently being used. It also has some useful suggestions for taming its effects.”—War on the Rocks

“My films have specialized in realistic horror. LikeWar is scary as hell, as it shows how people can be manipulated online to make our worst fears come true.”—Jason Blum, producer of The Purge and Get Out

“This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of every corporate strategist and government leader.”—OODA-Loop

“…an important read for those in the national security field and anyone who has a smartphone and spends any amount of time during the day checking their social media accounts.”—From the Green

“Through a series of vivid vignettes, LikeWar shows how the internet has become a new battlefield in the 21st century, in ways that blur the line between war and peace and make each of us a potential target of postmodern conflict.”—Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History, Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University

“…few grasp the real threat Americans face on their favorite social networks in the course of their daily experiences. Through amusing vignettes and plenty of pop-culture references, the authors take us on a wild ride featuring everything from reality TV stars to Russian missiles. My take? Like and share.”—Task and Purpose

“The internet has fundamentally reshaped the way humans interact; by extension, it has reshaped the way humans wage war. This book is timely, but the takeaways are timeless.”—Ian Bremmer, Founder of the Eurasia Group, and New York Times best-selling author of Us. vs. Them

“In LikeWar, Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking incisively document how the use of social media and information operations are fundamentally changing the dynamics of global conflict and competition, while threatening the foundations of democracy. While the 2016 elections showed the power of social media and its manipulation by our adversaries, Singer and Brooking provide a wakeup call to the wider challenges facing us, requiring that all Americans adapt and respond.”—Senator Mark Warner (VA), Ranking Member-Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

“LikeWar is the best, most comprehensive book to appear on a phenomenon that has turned into the greatest threat to electoral democracy since the 18th Century.”—Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former President of Estonia, co-chair, World Economic Forum Global Futures Council

“Singer and Brooking have produced a compulsively readable and insightful account of what social media is doing to our democracy and to our relations with each other. If it were fiction, their description of the battleground the Internet has become would be scary. As reality, it is terrifying.”—Professor Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator and Director of Government Communications Headquarters

Just an update on LikeWar, out Oct 2. Some of the early blurbs/reviews are in. You can check them all out at likewarbook.com along with song list, discussion guide etc.


"LikeWar should be required reading for everyone living in a democracy and all who aspire to."—BookList (starred review)

“LikeWar is a magical combination of history, technology, and early warning wrapped in a compelling narrative of how today’s information space can threaten the truth, our polity, and our security. It’s a page turner, too, chock full of deep insights and fascinating detail. Sun Tzu tells us to know ourselves, our enemy and our battle space and LikeWar delivers on all three.”—General Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA and NSA, author of The Assault on Intelligence

“Online technology has outrun our social intuitions about its power. In vivid prose, Singer and Brooking offer insight into the ways that social media can be used to manipulate beliefs and attitudes for self-serving purposes.” —Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the internet, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

“Much as Clausewitz did for conventional war, LikeWar lays out the new 21st century principles of war. Mixing fascinating stories and the front edge of research, it explains the twilight battlegrounds of politics and war on social media—a frightening future where truth is the first casualty, and our fundamental values are deeply at danger. I loved it.”—Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy (Ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO

“A timely, urgent look at a world of electronic sheep—and wolves aplenty, too.”—Kirkus

“My films have specialized in realistic horror. LikeWar is scary as hell, as it shows how people can be manipulated online to make our worst fears come true.”—Jason Blum, producer of The Purge and Get Out

“Through a series of vivid vignettes, LikeWar shows how the internet has become a new battlefield in the 21st century, in ways that blur the line between war and peace and make each of us a potential target of postmodern conflict.”—Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History, Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University

“…few grasp the real threat Americans face on their favorite social networks in the course of their daily experiences. Through amusing vignettes and plenty of pop-culture references, the authors take us on a wild ride featuring everything from reality TV stars to Russian missiles. My take? Like and share.”—Task and Purpose

“The internet has fundamentally reshaped the way humans interact; by extension, it has reshaped the way humans wage war. This book is timely, but the takeaways are timeless.”—Ian Bremmer, Founder of the Eurasia Group, and New York Times best-selling author of Us. vs. Them

“In LikeWar, Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking incisively document how the use of social media and information operations are fundamentally changing the dynamics of global conflict and competition, while threatening the foundations of democracy. While the 2016 elections showed the power of social media and its manipulation by our adversaries, Singer and Brooking provide a wakeup call to the wider challenges facing us, requiring that all Americans adapt and respond.”—Senator Mark Warner (VA), Ranking Member-Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

“LikeWar is the best, most comprehensive book to appear on a phenomenon that has turned into the greatest threat to electoral democracy since the 18th Century.”—Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former President of Estonia, co-chair, World Economic Forum Global Futures Council

“Singer and Brooking have produced a compulsively readable and insightful account of what social media is doing to our democracy and to our relations with each other. If it were fiction, their description of the battleground the Internet has become would be scary. As reality, it is terrifying.”—Professor Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator and Director of Government Communications Headquarters

I'll have a new book out on Oct. 2. Check it out and I hope you enjoy!

LikeWar looks at how social media has changed news, politics, and war and, in turn, news, politics, and war changed the Internet for the rest of us. So it ranges from Trump’s very first tweet to ISIS, Russian ops, citizen journalists, alt-right, Taylor Swift, etc. trying to use the collection to make sense of bigger trends at play. Similarly, the interviews for it ranged from extremist group recruiters and tech execs to Mike Flynn (pre-indictment). More on it here: https://www.amazon.com/LikeWar-Weapon...

The early reviews have also been kind, and wonderfully diverse:

“LikeWar is a magical combination of history, technology, and early warning wrapped in a compelling narrative of how today’s information space can threaten the truth, our polity, and our security. It’s a page turner, too, chock full of deep insights and fascinating detail. Sun Tzu tells us to know ourselves, our enemy and our battle space and LikeWar delivers on all three.”—General Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA and NSA, author of The Assault on Intelligence

“Online technology has outrun our social intuitions about its power. In vivid prose, Singer and Brooking offer insight into the ways that social media can be used to manipulate beliefs and attitudes for self-serving purposes.” —Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the internet, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

“Much as Clausewitz did for conventional war, LikeWar lays out the new 21st century principles of war. Mixing fascinating stories and the front edge of research, it explains the twilight battlegrounds of politics and war on social media—a frightening future where truth is the first casualty, and our fundamental values are deeply at danger. I loved it."—Admiral James Stavridis, US Navy (Ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO

“My films have specialized in realistic horror. LikeWar is scary as hell, as it shows how people can be manipulated online to make our worst fears come true.”—Jason Blum, producer of The Purge and Get Out

“Through a series of vivid vignettes, LikeWar shows how the internet has become a new battlefield in the 21st century, in ways that blur the line between war and peace and make each of us a potential target of postmodern conflict.”—Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History, Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University

“The internet has fundamentally reshaped the way humans interact; by extension, it has reshaped the way humans wage war. This book is timely, but the takeaways are timeless.”—Ian Bremmer, Founder of the Eurasia Group, and New York Times best-selling author of Us. vs. Them

“In LikeWar, Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking incisively document how the use of social media and information operations are fundamentally changing the dynamics of global conflict and competition, while threatening the foundations of democracy. While the 2016 elections showed the power of social media and its manipulation by our adversaries, Singer and Brooking provide a wakeup call to the wider challenges facing us, requiring that all Americans adapt and respond.”—Senator Mark Warner (VA), Ranking Member-Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

“LikeWar is the best, most comprehensive book to appear on a phenomenon that has turned into the greatest threat to electoral democracy since the 18th Century.”—Toomas Hendrik Ilves, former President of Estonia, co-chair, World Economic Forum Global Futures Council

“Singer and Brooking have produced a compulsively readable and insightful account of what social media is doing to our democracy and to our relations with each other. If it were fiction, their description of the battleground the Internet has become would be scary. As reality, it is terrifying.”—Professor Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator and Director of Government Communications Headquarters

Check out the new video trailer for Ghost Fleet
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/24/...

and also this excerpt and review
http://io9.com/how-ghost-fleet-nails-...

Book comes out on June 30, so very much appreciate your help in spreading the word about it on social media.

Thanks!
PWSGhost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War

'If you’ve been looking for a smart update to Tom Clancy, this is for you'
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/08/g...

Tom Clancy fans will relish Singer and Cole’s first novel, a chilling vision of what might happen in a world war... Singer, a military strategist, and Cole, a former defense-industry analyst for the Wall Street Journal, easily wed their knowledge to a fast-moving plot and characters who make an impression.
Publishers Weekly
http://www.publishersweekly.com/97805...

Check out more at ghostfleetbook.com