How AI Will Change Your Life: A Futurist's Guide to a Super-Smart World

by Patrick Dixon

Genres: Nonfiction, Artificial Intelligence, Science, Business

336 pages, Paperback

Published November 19, 2024

Reviews

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an an introductory, somewhat schematic overview. It is only 7 months old at the time of this review. I read it on a flight from London to DC and it was light enough but engaging enough to hold my attention. This is not a philosophical book. It is very concrete, and considers impacts by 2040 or so. It even suggests a framework for responding to AI personally, institutionally, and governmentally. One might complain about how it did not engage with the ethical, spiritual, philosophical, existential aspects of this epochal, mythic-level shift in civilization we are experiencing due to AI, but this book is precisely, and intentionally, not that. It is a level-headed no nonsense extended pensée thinking through and describing the likely changes AI will bring about in the next decades. I read it quickly, but I'll probably read it again to ponder over some of the more surprising claims, particularly about education (my field).

[Emilia C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, the first page avowed that no part of this book was written by AI, but that is hard to believe. I found it shallow, written with a format strongly reminiscent of ChatGPT (catchy subheadings + a few sentences of detail). They also got their units of energy wrong and I found the author incredibly privileged. Don’t recommend.

[Vinash Gopalakrishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introductory book to AI and good point of reference to understand the scope of AI in our lives. Non technical and very much snippets of AI application and evolving form of AI in the future through the lens of a futurist.

[Rita K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The positives - serves as a functional overview of how AI might impact various industries, several of which the author has expertise in.

The negatives - Nowhere near the level of rigour I was hoping for. I appreciate AI is a new technology and nobody knows what will happen, but I’d been hoping for a thought-provoking. well-researched book. Instead, this is more akin to a voice-dictated, stream-of-consciousness monologue delivered over a glass or three of wine.

I was frequently jarred by “self evident” opinions presented as fact. The author claims AI will only disrupt the world as much as the Internet did, and create just as many jobs. Why should it? This is not self evident at all. The Internet improved global connectivity while AI is on course to perfectly mimic human thought. This is not a valid comparison and presents just one example of the level of consideration.

In another chapter, the author disdains conspiracy theorists, explicitly grouping together flat Earthers and people who think Epstein was murdered. I hardly think that’s a fair comparison, given that there is a non-zero chance the latter is true (and I dont have any strong opinions on the matter) while the Earth is scientifically, verifiably not flat. These details plague the book and made it quite frustrating to read. It simply did not feel well-thought out, which is disappointing when you’re paying to read someone’s thoughts.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable, useful and high level canter / stream of consciousness through likely AI impacts in various areas of life and business. It would have benefited somewhat from a robust list (indeed, any list) of sources, with less heavy lifting done by personal anecdotes and sweeping statements - for example, it’s no longer accepted practice that being forced to change your password regularly makes your account any safer, and it is certainly not meaningless to report cyber data breaches; it’s a legal requirement in certain sectors/jurisdictions, relevant to cyber insurance and generates intel on the attacker for law enforcement bodies.

[Emma Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important read - easy to digest - in turns fascinating, inspiring and terrifying. The author is a futurist and gives us an insight into how AI will affect our future lives - our workplace, healthcare systems, infrastructure and governance. Its easy to feel overwhelmed on reading but in reality these changes are in some cases already with us and in others will creep up and normalise without us noticing. Its good to have some level of understanding of what an AI future will look like and this is a good place to start.

[TanyaStanton]

I’ve been thinking a lot about how AI is reshaping not just creative industries but everyday jobs too. It’s wild how fast things are changing — some roles are evolving while others might disappear completely. I came across this really insightful post on https://skylum.com/blog/jobs-that-wil... that breaks down which jobs are most at risk and why. It’s not all doom and gloom though — the article also points out how new opportunities are emerging for people who adapt and learn new tech skills. Honestly, reading it made me a lot more optimistic about the future of work.

[Sam Diggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very thought provoking but left me feeling almost terrified of an AI future. Pandora’s box is open and there is no going backwards.

Sure, there will be some good in AI but the majority of the “good” presented in favour of AI is profit motivated. Profit at the expense of privacy, safety, war and what makes humans, human.

Besides the tech bros and venture capitalists, who is asking for this?! I hope these predictions turn out wrong.

[Tena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely got through this *cough* AI-written *cough* slop. Overly optimistic author who didn't fail to mention how he owns a yacht thanks to all the companies gobbling up his self-declared prophecies (yawn). Will elaborate later.

[Iain Hamill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting survey of a very hot topic.

Strong on what makes the human involvement unique in fields like leadership/ethics, etc.

One does suspect rather a lot of change is coming though which can’t be accurately scheduled through to 2050 and beyond.

[Adam Maher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - 2050…game changing

[Tasha Dhyani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very timely, very accessible. Reads more like a magazine, take what you find interesting, leave what you don't.

[Claudio Ponzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

good food for thought, however stayed general and vague. I was looking for more depth.

[Jannie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good high-level, non-technical introduction to the topic of AI and possible implications.

[Jon Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the perspective