The Hour of the Predator: Encounters with the Autocrats and Tech Billionaires Taking Over the World

by Giuliano da Empoli, Sam Taylor (Translator)

HOW DO YOU DEFEND DEMOCRACY WHEN THE RULES HAVE CHANGED?
Presidents turning into monarchs. Tech tycoons and autocrats intent on global regime change. Armies of cyber trolls.


The old order is at an end. The Hour of the Predator has come.


Former political advisor Giuliano da Empoli takes us on an insider's journey through this new reality, from the Glass Palace of the UN to the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, from top secret meetings to violent power struggles. We encounter dictators and tyrants, strongmen and AI billionaires - geopolitical predators, and the flailing leaders who desperately try to appease them.


Just as in the age of the Borgias or the conquistadors, cynical scheming and brute force increasingly determine the course of international affairs. This is an urgent guide to our new world, and our uncertain future.


PRAISE FOR THE HOUR OF THE PREDATOR


'In a masterful, evocative narrative, he captures the worst aspects of the conquest led by men like Donald Trump and Sam Altman' ― L'Express


'Da Empoli is the chronicler of our troubled times [and] weaves a narrative as compelling as a novel or a Greek tragedy'―Le Monde



'Details with a grim lucidity the many ills afflicting our new world' ― Nouvel Obs


'A dark and dazzling book that lays bare the 'predators' of our age' ― La Tribune


PRAISE FOR THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN


'A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us. Read this book and you will understand the Russian mind-fuck. Read it' ― John Sweeney


'A captivating novel that sails close, perhaps too close, to reality' ― Financial Times, Books of the Year


'His novel has become a guide - devoured by many western politicians - to the mindset of the Kremlin ― Simon Kuper, Lunch with the FT, Financial Times


'You need to be credible, to get into a character's head and present their point of view... But it has to be entertaining, and it has to be convincing. His book succeeds on both measures ― Peter Conradi, Sunday Times


'I doubt I have anywhere seen a cleverer portrayal of the Russian view of power, politics and the world, or a better explanation of how the colourless, secret police bureaucrat Putin swelled into the monstrous, fascinating thing he has become... Take this magical mystery tour of the Kremlin and see if it does not make you think. And what pleasure is greater than that? ― Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail


'A chilling perspective on Putin's Russia... I am a dyed-in-the-wool Russophile, so this novel is right in my sweet spot. It called to mind Emmanuel Carrère's Limonov, the nonfiction of Peter Pomerantsev, the political thrillers of Robert Harris, the documentary films of Adam Curtis, and the cold-hearted logic of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Essays, Audiobook, Society, Technology

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2025

About the author

Giuliano da Empoli è un saggista e consigliere politico italiano e svizzero che vive a Parigi, dove insegna politica comparata a Sciences-Po. Nato in Francia, è cresciuto in diversi paesi europei, si è laureato in Giurisprudenza all'Università La Sapienza di Roma e ottenuto il master in Scienze Politiche all'Institut d'études politiques di Parigi. E'presidente del think tank Volta.

Reviews

[Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geïnformeerd, origineel, verontrustend en dankzij de schat aan details en anekdotes toch ook leuk om te lezen.

[Boudewijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

How social media is quietly dismantling our democracies

Some books leave an impression: not because they give comfort or are interesting, but because they disturb you and make you think. L’ora dei lupi (original Italian title which translates to "The Hour of the Wolves") by Giuliano da Empoli is one of those books. It is a dark and intense story about politics, manipulation by using social media to shape public opinion, spread confusion and chaos to undermine the careful foundations of Western democratic societies—all while serving their own interests.

In 2019 I read The Assault on Reason by Al Gore in which he wrote about the internet as a “marketplace of ideas.” He believed the internet could make the world a better place by spreading knowledge and helping people participate in democracy. After reading L’ora dei lupi, that idea feels very far away. We live in a completely different reality—one where people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg now have so much influence that they actually weaken democracy instead of strengthening it.

After finishing this book I felt uneasy. Da Empoli does not offer any solutions to the problem, rather he shows us that it is already too late. The world is changing, and not for the better. I recommend this book to any Goodreads members who are interested in politics and media. If you want to understand how manipulation works in modern politics, this book will give you a lot to think about.

Note to English readers: I couldn't find this book in an English edition. This might mean this book has not yet been translated or that the English edition hasn't been added to the Goodreads library. I really hope that this book will be translated to English as soon as possible in order to receive the wider audience it deserves.

Update: I have found the English edition: The Hour of the Predator: Encounters with the Autocrats and Tech Billionaires Taking Over the World

Read in Dutch

[Henk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the feeling the author just read Il Principe, some Tolstoy and Goethe and thought, hey, I can also do this based on some brief encounters with world leaders. Nonetheless the last sections on AI are chilling.
We are in a digital Somalia

Feeling rather disjointed for something so short, we start of with the ballet of world leaders meeting each other in the UN. This is coupled to a fracturing world order, moving away from rules and to the right of the strong. Aphorisms and quotes from enlightenment thinkers abound along the way, before we reach an end chapter that gives a chilling look into what a world where the strong eat the weak can mean when it is empowered by AI, or as the author calls it, Authoritarian Intelligence and an amplifier of not just human intelligence but also human stupidity. Already in so much day to day our lives are made shittier by algorithms and profit seeking, just think of self checkout or the impossibility to speak a real human at customer service, making real human to human contact ever rarer.

Notes and aphorisms
Export entropy and chaos outside of your own country; every system needs a scapegoat to function.

Since we do not understand these mysteries, let us pretend that we are organise them

Men are to be treated kindly or be utterly crushed.

The comparison to renaissance, wartorn Italy as a simile of our unipolar fracturing rule-based world order, feels apt.

Chaos is no longer the weapon of the rebels but the banner of those in power.

Knowledge is the enemy of action.

There is nothing more violent than politics.

What is the difference between a man and a genius? Success.

Lawyers have many qualities, but they have never stopped a revolution.

Harris is for they/them. Trump is for you.

To capture power in a modern state you need troops and engineers - Trotski

Profit trumps truth

AI has escaped all regulatory control

We thought of it as an event. We wrong, it was an epoch.

[ancientreader]

So much 5-star insight. Too bad about the crash into 1-star idiocy. Too bad about Henry Kissinger showing up unaccompanied by the words "war criminal." Recommended with multiple caveats; full review TK.
---------

OK, here goes.

I was amused, early on, because I detected traces of what I think of as Gallic habits of thought. In looking over my highlights I can't identify any specific passage which gave me that impression -- a philosophizing atmosphere, then? But then the sharp insights!

About architecture, how a long hallway can be an exercise or demonstration of power:

"... the New Reich Chancellery built for Hitler by Albert Speer consisted essentially of a corridor almost five hundred feet in length that visitors had to walk through before reaching the office with blood-red walls where the Führer awaited them.

Distance, inaccessibility: the more remote the individual, the greater the power of the abstract symbol over the physical body."

About how politics, as "the continuation of war by other means," attracts "people who find meaning in life only when they are in conflict." But here was an early stumble, as da Empoli associates the high-testosterone atmosphere of the (almost entirely male) UN with the physical confrontations that he says frequently take place in the corridors, and implicitly therefore links aggression with maleness. I could go into a whole thing about what behaviors are defined out of "aggression" and how that leads to the gender-essentialist perception of women as "nicer" than men, but I'll spare you.

Besides, da Empoli then recovered well enough that I found myself highlighting a high percentage of the text.

- Putin's ex-spin-doctor arguing that empires are subject to the laws of entropy and so sustain themselves by exporting chaos: hence, for example, the invasion of Ukraine. Is this literally true? Is there a way to understand it metaphorically? Take "chaos" to signify, more or less, "disorder" -- that is, from a dictator's, or wannabe dictator's, point of view, dissent -- and consider the regimentation that comes with putting your country on a war footing. Now think about a certain head of state beating the drum about Venezuela.

- Are career diplomats an endangered species? Da Empoli remarks that formerly, about three quarters of the US diplomatic service was constituted of career diplomats, the rest being political appointees; since You Know Who's ascent, that ratio has been reversed. In Europe too, he says, "anyone who calls for a diplomatic effort is doomed to public scorn." Well. Nations exist. There is conflict among nations. Is that conflict to be verbal, or is it to be kinetic? Diplomats = elites making backroom deals, but what's the alternative? (Yes, I know, Murray Bookchin, but we're not implementing his species of anarchy any time soon, are we.)

See, you can pick apart this sort of thing all you want, but there's plenty worth picking apart. Even better value are da Empoli's sketches of Putin, Mohammed bin Salman, Nayib Bukele, and the AI-forward techbro oligarchs like Sam Altman. He comes to some terrifyingly credible conclusions about the AI-ification of work and information and the immeasurable power wielded by the predators of his title.

And he very nearly lost me halfway through, when he suddenly had a reactionary centrist seizure and blamed the Democrats' "increasingly extremist crusade for minority rights, which led them [to] adopt positions way to the left of most of their own supporters."

No need to guess which "minorities" he's talking about: it's trans people and immigrants, just the way it always is. My vicious anger warred with my vicious satisfaction at recalling that none of the big Democratic winners in this month's elections threw either group under the bus. And never mind that, especially with respect to trans people, da Empoli is missing a huge swath of the political record, to wit that "the public" was getting more supportive of trans people right up until the point where the Republicans purposefully ginned up hostility by, basically, lying like rugs, as is their wont.

And now I'm out of steam, though I haven't even gotten to Henry the K's extended cameo and why it's repugnant to talk about him as a political animal without so much as alluding to the fact that this particular political animal did much of his politics by way of war crimes. The tl;dr for this review is that "The Hour of the Predator" supplies plenty of food for thought; you just have to keep yourself from throwing it across the room at times. Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Jovi Ene · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Vechea lume a creat niște ziduri de apărare: respectul independenței anumitor instituții, drepturile omului și ale minorităților sau evitarea tensiunilor internaționale. Nimic din toate acestea nu mai are vreo valoare în vremea prădătorilor.”

Giuliano da Empoli identifică mai multe forme de prădători ai zilelor noastre, dintre care două categorii mi se par importante și, poate, cele mai primejdioase: prima este cea a pseudo-dictatorilor moderni, mulți dintre ei aleși prin alegeri democratice, dar care instaurează asupra acestor țări o formă de autocrație bazată pe legi și pe constrângeri, discriminări sau chiar violență. Sunt destule exemple aici, de la Bukele, președintele Salvadorului, până la Donald Trump, dar se poate extrapola și la Mohammed bin Salman, cel care a preluat puterea printr-o adevărată lovitură de stat împotriva trecutului, care a avut loc la un hotel de lux din Riad.
A doua categorie de prădători amenință însă să cucerească întreaga lume, printr-un mod mult mai parșiv și mai incisiv: este vorba despre oamenii care dețin marile imperii tehnologice ale prezentului (de la Google la Meta, de la X la OpenAI), tocmai pentru că ei nu se mai supun niciunei reguli, tocmai pentru că ai devenit suprastatali. În plus, au creat (și-au dorit să creeze, de altfel) o dependență din ce în ce mai mare de rețelele sociale, iar ascensiunea inteligenței artificiale duce aceste imperii pe culmile succesului. Numai că bula se poate sparge la un moment dat, chiar AI-ul putând să devină mai puternic decât creatorii săi.
O carte-semnal pentru ceea ce reprezintă acum lumea politicii și a puterii.

„În politică nu doare numai prăbușirea. Adevărul este că suferi tot timpul. Trebuie să fii făcut pentru așa ceva. Precum peștii aceia abisali care s-au obișnuit să trăiască sub presiunea a mii de tone de apă.”

„Orice ar zice populiștii, politica e o meserie dintre cele mai dificile. E o activitate în care ești în permanență expus riscului de a fi ridicol, de a părea un imbecil, mai ales atunci când nu ești.”

„La fel ca și borgienii, IA se hrănește cu haos și extrage din el surpriza. Deocamdată, capacitatea sa de acțiune este, de bună seamă, limitată, dar viitoarea generație de aplicații, capabile să execute diverse sarcini în mod autonom, se profilează deja la orizont. Precum borgienii, IA nu se sinchisește nici de reguli, nici de proceduri. Nimeni, nici măcar cei care au conceput-o, nu știe cum ia ea decizii. Singurul lucru care contează este rezultatul - succesul, ar zice Milei - indiferent în ce mod ajungem la el. Puterea IA nu are nimic democratic și nici transparent.”

„Întrucât am frecventat mediul politic, am acumulat o anumită experiență despre prostia naturală. Iar atunci când reflectăm la viitorul inteligenței artificiale, suntem obligați să admitem că ea nu va spori doar inteligența omenească, ci și neghiobia noastră.”

PS: Tot nu înțeleg de ce cărțile lui Giuliano da Empoli apar la Fiction, deși sunt non-ficțiune pură...

[J TC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giuliano da Empoli - A Hora dos Predadores

De Giuliano da Empoli já tinha lido dois livros – “O Mago do Kremlin” e “Os Engenheiros do Caos”. São dois livros magníficos. O Primeiro, é uma biografia não autorizada de Valislav Surkov, enquanto o segundo é uma abordagem muito na linha da Hora dos Predadores – de que forma o que apelidamos de “machine learning” são ferramentas que reduzem as relações humanas a uma base de um tudo ou nada, uma linguagem binária tão adequada aos “donos da certezas”, uma linguagem facilmente manipula para os fins porque se baseia em precepções e por iso rapidamente validada ou descartada.
Foi com voracidade que comecei a leitura mas também foi com igual ímpeto que me bateu a desilusão. É que, ao contrário dos dois anteriores, este pequeno opúsculo é uma compliação de textos desconexos, alguns sem grande fio condutor, e mais grave, recorrentemente encontramos dentro de um mesmo capítulo paragrafos sem ligação, como se faltassem partes, ou fossem peças de outros andamentos. Resumindo, é um livro pouco cuidado e por isso falhado. Isoladamente não atinge o objectivo, nem este é fácil de antecipar. Não fora já ter lido os Engenheiros do Caos, esse sim um livro que recomendo, e ficaria sem perceber muito do que por aqui é dito ou insinuado.

Todo o texto desenvolve-se em torno de uma ideia central - vivemos numa era em que o poder é dominado não por instituições ou ideologias, mas por “predadores” que manipulam informação, tecnologia e emoção. São predadores porque têm os sentidos apurados, têm os equipamentos adequados aos fins, têm estratégias refinadas, e comportamentos adequados aos objetivos. São pacientes e têm um sentido de timing perfeito. Tal como os seus homólogos do reino animal, estes predadores sociais têm uma inteligência estratégica cínica, são racionais, calculistas e frios. São amorais, guiam-se apenas por critérios de eficácia na conquista e manutenção de um poder que veem como um espetáculo, que montam com os media e redes sociais numa performance narrativa orientada para uma imagem pública sedutora ou temida. Usam, dominam direta ou por interpostos colaboradores a tecnologia dos algoritmos, dos dados e a inteligência artificial. Manipulam a perceção pública por meios digitais. Não ocupam cargos formais ou marcam presença nos centros das decisões, mas influenciam silenciosamente nos bastidores. Vivem da instabilidade que sempre sabem aproveitar em benefício próprio, criam ou aproveitam o colapso das instituições tradicionais (ONU, partidos, imprensa, justiça) para expandir seu controle. Uns são mais carismáticos e surgem como figuras públicas de apelo magnético, outros preferem operar nos bastidores. Mas todos têm algo em comum, não hesitam em mudar de discurso, aliados ou ferramentas, desde que o resultado os favoreça e nisso são bem pragmáticos, a sua bussola é o poder e não a coerência.
Estes predadores existem num mundo que já não obedece às antigas regras do convívio internacional. Estimulam um mundo de caos que dominam e que se apresenta mais adequado às sua pretensões. Dominam o jogo digital, os algoritmos e os dados, usam narrativas e a desinformação como armas geopolíticas. Individualmente são carismáticos, muitas vezes manipulam na sombra, são indiferentes à ética e veem o caos como uma oportunidade e não como problema.
Para Giuliano da Empoli, estes predadores de hoje não diferem muito dos Bórgia dos fins da idade Média que nos são apresentados como estrategas exímios, amorais, impermeáveis à verdade e orientados apenas pelos fins e as consequências.
Estes predadores do século XXI, são não apenas os que controlam os média e as redes sociais, mas também os magos dos algoritmos, que agora surgem sempre junto ao poder numa corte “Felliniana” de personagens excêntricos.
Neste mundo dominado pelos algoritmos, o caos fica instalado muna atmosfera muito semelhante ao “Castelo” de Kafka, algo que sabemos presente no meio de nós, mas que não conseguimos nem identificar nem definir adequadamente. Desta nossa indefinição sobrevem um caos que esses engenheiros manipulam de acordo com as suas mais intimas conveniências.
Neste aspecto Giuliano da Empoli é desmentido pelos acontecimentos mais recentes.
No recente diferendo entre Tumo e Elon Musk percebe-se bem de que forma as personalidades narcisicas usam essa corte exótica dos algoritmos e que acredita no que vende, e de que forma os usam para os seus objetivos - o poder pelo poder e uma auto-estima patológica. Esses sim os verdadeiros predadores, algo que Empoli intuiu no primeiro livro e aqui lhe escapa.
De qualquer forma, este é um excelente tema para um livro, uma ideia sólida e que se pode desenvolver, pena a forma como foi executada.

[Wim Oosterlinck]

Sommige boeken gooien je gedachten overhoop. Ze planten een beeld in je brein dat je de wereld anders doet bekijken, en dat nooit meer weggaat. Je kan niet meer terug. Het uur van de wolven is zo’n boek.

Schrijver Giuliano da Empoli is adviseur geweest van de Italiaanse eerste minister Matteo Renzi. Hij vertelt in dit boek verhalen over machthebbers, politieke ontmoetingen die hij heeft meegemaakt, of scènes achter de schermen van de internationale politiek.

Zoals het verhaal van de Saoedische prins Mohammed bin Salman, die de toenmalige gezagsdragers van zijn land uitnodigde in een sjiek hotel en niet losliet tot hij honderden miljarden uit hen had geranseld om nieuwe prestigeprojecten mee te betalen. Giuliano da Empoli vertelt vol spot en stevige taal, vol historische vergelijkingen en beelden die je niet loslaten.

Via de verhalen van machthebbers in elkaars gezelschap, laat Het uur van de wolven een verschuiving van de macht zien. Hoe de leiders van de bedrijven die nu AI ontwikkelen, de macht in de wereld genadeloos aan het overnemen zijn. En hoe de politici ernaar staan te kijken en enkel proberen om een graantje mee te pikken van hun populariteit. De westerse politici hebben zich onderworpen aan de conquistadoresvan de tech.

Het uur van de wolven is een diep pessimistisch boek: de wereld gaat eraan, de chaos en de autocraten nemen het over van de voormalige politieke rede, en onze politici helpen met volle kracht mee aan de ondergang. Giuliano da Empoli formuleert geen oplossingen, hij vertelt gewoon, met passionele dramatiek, zoals de titel al doet vermoeden. Geweldig om te lezen. Aanrader.

[Alice TUET · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5⭐️
Si quelqu’un trouve le fil conducteur de ce livre, vous m’appelez ? J’étais perdue…Analyse intéressante, un peu flippante, c’est bien écrit mais j’avoue que j’ai lu en pensant à autre chose.

[Astrid Courtay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre brilliant par sa capacité à peindre le paysage politique actuel, que l’auteur compare à l’époque des Borgia, ainsi que les grands enjeux qui attendent notre civilisation, face à la montée en puissance de l’IA.
Da Empoli à le talent des grands conteurs, et parvient à capturer en peu de mots, à l’aide d’images puissantes, des concepts que d’autres mettent des centaines de pages à décrire. Un bel exercice de synthèse, en somme, qui se démarque du bruit ambiant par sa clairvoyance et la simplicité.

[Werner Van Horebeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een ontnuchterend, onthutsend boek. Eerder las ik "De Kremlinfluisteraar" waarmee hij bewees hoe goed geïnformeerd hij wel was, hoe stevig geconnecteerd in het centrum van de macht. Een privilege om je aan zo'n exclusieve bron te kunnen laven.



Maar wat hij te vertellen heeft, is behalve razend interessant ook rete verontrustend. Overnight (post 9/11?) zijn we in een ander tijdsgewricht terechtgekomen, waar - om het met Macchiavelli te zeggen - de 'Borgianen' het hebben overgenomen - de machtswellustelingen, de actiegerichte en op chaos drijvende krachten – van de 'advocaten'. En die en wij zijn daar niet op voorbereid, hebben geen clue hoe ze moeten dealen met de Trumps, Bukele's, de Mohammed bin Salmans van deze wereld. Voeg daar de ongebreidelde ambitie van tech nerds als Zuckerberg, Musk en Sam Altman aan toe en onze maatschappij bevindt zich in een mum van tijd in een kafkaiaanse clusterf*ck, "het uur van de woven" dus. Vanuit kleine, accidentele anekdotes die hij vanop de eerste rij meemaakt in het pluche van de macht, weet hij nauwkeurig de rode draden bloot te leggen van wat er speelt en wat er ons nog te wachten staat. Beangstigende lectuur, best in kleinere porties tot je te nemen om niet in een complete depressie te eindigen. Na lezing kan je alvast nooit meer zeggen dat "wir es nicht gewusst haben", maar om te begrijpen of en wat je eraan kan doen, lees je best meteen ook Tommy Wieringa's "Optimisme zonder hoop". Succes.

[Reyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In recent years, interviews with Giuliano da Empoli often begin with praise for the Italian-Swiss essayist’s rise to fame – not just among a broader audience, but particularly among contemporary politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron. I have yet to read his debut novel, The Wizard of the Kremlin (2022), but if it’s anything like his 2025 book, The Hour of the Predator, in which Da Empoli explores modern power politics, I’m sold.

Da Empoli begins with the story of the Aztec king Montezuma, who hesitates between resisting the Spanish as invaders or welcoming them as gods. Today’s governments face a similar choice, the author argues – only this time, the intruders are Big Tech. And politicians tend to fall into the same trap. In the following chapters, Da Empoli outlines the current political landscape, where warmongering rhetoric has replaced diplomacy as the path to success. Excesses show where violence can lead. The author recounts recent abuses of power which would not seem out of place in The Godfather – or perhaps more fittingly, in The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, to whom Da Empoli frequently refers. Look at history, he urges us – the age of the Borgias is more relevant than ever.

In the final chapters, Da Empoli links current political developments to the rise of Big Tech. He warns against the emergence of ‘AI popes’, for whom ‘human autonomy’ is an empty phrase, who turn data into unchecked power and thrive on disorder to dismantle established institutions. Despite their utopian promises, citizens may find themselves in a situation reminiscent of Franz Kafka’s The Castle , where power remains inaccessible to ordinary people.

Da Empoli’s writing is sharp, enriched with anecdotes and historical as well as personal references, making it a pleasure to read. His take on the political landscape is one to keep an eye on. If you’re interested in the dos, donts and social consequences of AI and digital technologies, I recommend Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard and Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia.

[Tom Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant little book, from the author of The Wizard of the Kremlin, cuts through our troubled times to deliver a concise and engaging guide to life on the precipice.

Drawing parallels with the Borgias and the Conquistadors - and the experiences of Kafka's K - da Empoli paints a picture of the great power shift happening in our societies and the dismembering of our democracies.

As a former political aide in France and Italy, he takes us into the traditional centres of power - Davos, the UN General Assembly - and shows how unprepared they are for the wave that has already crashed on top of them.

Terrifying, enlightening, and utterly riveting, this is essential reading for our current moment.

[Marthe M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wauww

Het essay opent chaotisch: de auteur slingert je van diplomatische vergaderingen in de achterkamers van de VN-hoofdzetel, naar martelkamers in the Ritz-Carlton — zonder dat er in eerste instantie een duidelijke leidraad lijkt te zijn. Geleidelijk drijft de auteur de snelheid op, en komt de centrale these steeds duidelijker - en dreigender - naar voren: Da Empoli zet scherp uiteen hoe de recente ontwikkelingen in het politieke systeem en de technologische vooruitgang, die voor gewone stervelingen slechts als achtergrondsruis lijken, een fatale dreiging vormen voor ons wereldsysteem.
De schrijver zijn persoonlijke ervaringen, historische vergelijkingen en de manier waarop hij zijn verhaal literair en gelaagd construeert maken het een uiterst indrukwekkend boek!

[Marius Citește · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eseu geopolitic și totodată pamflet politic, cartea lui da Empoli oferă o analiza asupra lumii de azi, făcând paralele cu familia Borgia și conchistadorii spanioli, cartea lui da Empoli creionează o imagine a marilor schimbări ale puterii care are loc în societățile noastre precum și a erodarii democrațiilor clasice așa cum le știm. Trăim într-o „vreme a prădătorilor”, unde controlul e mai subtil, dar la fel de periculos ca autoritarismul deschis.
"Vremea prădătorilor" este o privire în culisele unei lumi aflate într-o continuă transformare, unde regulile tradiționale ale puterii și elitele au fost eliminate și înlocuite de zgomot, haos și lăcomie.
Din New York, Riyadh, ONU și saloanele elitei tehnologice… da Empoli examinează locurile în care se joacă acum soarta lumii. El observă cu o luciditate cruntă, lideri autocratici care prosperă datorită haosului, miliardari din domeniul tehnologiei care plutesc deasupra realității și inteligența artificială care este scăpată de sub control, toate figuri ale unei puteri care nu mai caută să convingă, ci să zdrobească.

O carte actuală, de neratat, pentru a înțelege ce ni se întâmplă.

[René Paquin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironie ou lucidité, ce livre donne froid dans le dos!

[Vincent Lequenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lecture nécessaire tant Da Empoli excelle à nous faire comprendre le fonctionnement de notre monde et ceux qui sont censés nous gouverner. En revanche, la dernière partie sur l’IA est moins aboutie, brouillonne et insuffisamment maîtrisée.

[Frey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je suis vaguement (bcp) inquiète de l’avenir, géopolitique notamment, mais aussi de l’évolution très négative des mœurs (la remontée de tous les mots en -phobie, misogynie, agressions, racisme et compagnie). Du coup, j’évite de lire trop d’articles ou de livres sur le sujet à la suite pour ne pas tomber dans une spirale de « pk la vi ». De Da Empoli, j’avais lu son précédent roman sur l’éminence propagandiste du Kremlin, et j’étais partie sur cette idée (oui je ne lis toujours pas les 4e de couverture) – quelque chose inspiré de sa connaissance géopolitique mais juste suffisamment romancé pour que ça ait une idée qu’on s’en éloigne. Alors pour le coup, pas vraiment, c’est une analyse assez dure et sarcastique de la géopolitique actuelle aux mains des génies de la tech’, ces mascu’ fascistes qui courent partout avec leur argent avec l’air de bambins armés d’un couteau et d’un doigt sur le gros bouton rouge de la fin du monde. Et, en vrai, ça m’a un peu rassurée, ou tout du moins, ça ne m’a pas encore plombée. Je ne sais pas si c’est le mordant et l’écriture de l’auteur ou juste une acceptation un peu résignée et triste d’être une statistique abstraite pour des ados vicieux.

[Pierre Barthélemy]

Ne pas inclure l’ouvrage dans la collection « Essais » de Gallimard est de la publicité mensongère. Ce n’est pas du tout un roman, mais un recueil de reflexions disparates de l’auteur sur les dérives contemporaines des démocraties libérales, et sur l’influence des géants de la tech sur celles-ci.
Quelques éléments intéressants mais l’ensemble est superficiel, et manque de rigueur scientifique et de structure.

[Romain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les prédateurs sont les autocrates, les nouveaux populistes et les patrons de la tech – il les appelle aussi les borgiens. Leur heure est arrivée, ils sont en train de mettre leurs mains sur les démocraties libérales qui avaient émergé aux quatre coins du globe.

L’heure des prédateurs n’est, au fond, qu’un retour à la normale. L’anomalie ayant plutôt été la courte période pendant laquelle on a pensé pouvoir brider la quête sanglante du pouvoir par un système de règles.

Pour servir sa thèse, Giuliano da Empoli effectue d’habiles aller-retours entre des anecdotes et la théorie qu’il présente. Ce mélange fonctionne très bien et les deux composantes s’alimentent mutuellement. Ayant exercé de hautes fonctions en politique auprès des puissants de ce monde, il était aux premières loges. Il base sont récit sur son expérience, mais raconte aussi des moments de sidération comme la purge du Ritz-Carlton organisée par Mohammed ben Salmane (MBS) ou le spectaculaire démantèlement des gangs au Salvador à mettre au crédit de son charismatique président Nayib Bukele. Ces affaires sont tellement exceptionnelles que l’on ne se lasse pas de les entendre.

La réponse de Bukele fut radicale: remplacer le Code pénal par un manuel de tatouage illustré.

Dans ce petit livre, il dit beaucoup de choses avec une grande acuité et offre un parfait résumé des bouleversements qui sont à l’oeuvre. En tant qu’intellectuel il déplore la victoire de la force sur le droit et la diplomatie, du chaos sur les règles, de l’avidité sur la solidarité et de la violence, sous toutes ses formes, sur l’intelligence.

Si l’ancien monde supposait des garde-fous – le respect de l’indépendance de certaines institutions, les droits de l’homme et des minorités, l’attention portée aux répercussions internationales –, tout cela n’a plus la moindre valeur à l’heure des prédateurs.

On ne peut que partager son constat et sa consternation face à une telle lame de fond qui semble en passe de tout balayer sur son passage.

Également publié sur mon blog.

[Paul Villéger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mi-chemin entre essai et fable géopolitique, da Empoli dresse un portrait glaçant d'un monde qui glisse vers le chaos. Dense, brillant et inquiétant. fuck les autocrates borgiens et les seigneurs de la tech !!!

[Sofia Yebio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meget interessant essay!!! fremtiden er dyster ifølge Giuliano, og du skal ikke regne med at finde løsningen på problemet i bogen:o
Nu tror jeg hellere, at jeg må finde noget feel good læsning

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Etonnant ; je n'avais aucune idée. La plume de Giuliano da Empoli est vive, choquante, épurée, et tellement drôle. Mais le tone léger ne masque pas la basse de ses observations, qui forment le vrai cœur d'ici.

Regardez, dis da Empoli en voix douce et sardonique. Titans de la technologie et nouveaux fascistes se bousculent parmi les avides de pouvoir, comme chacun peut le constater ; maintenant, ils détiennent bel et bien le pouvoir. Trump. Bukele. MSG. Aussi Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos. Son idée centrale est que dans le chaos, les prédateurs deviennent puissants par leurs rapacités et leurs volontés de prendre les chemins pleins de violence, de cupidité, et de choc pur et simple, même quand la technologie a monté le température et basse nos capacités de nous comprendre. Le temps d'avocats est passe avec lequel on peut compter sur des lois, les réglementations, la conviction de l'ordre. Ici nous nous voyons horrifies. Un peu d'histoire, en puis encore quelques réflexions cultivées pour approfondir l'expérience. Il ne faut pas être trop déprimer, après tous, il y a la vie encore de vivre. Bien.

Je le recommanderais sans hésitation.

[An-Minh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, though a bit superficial and manichean as a reader who's way too into politics, digital technologies and the politics of digital technologies.

Very interesting take on power politics in the modern world, chaos, the Borgia's - gives food for thought. Unpretentious on what the author sets to convey, though he still sounded a bit pretentious and unstructured with a series of anecdotes of meetings and fréquentations. A sense of underdeveloped.

Still worth the quick read.

[Emil Erstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi vurdering her: https://www.panoramanyheter.no/emil-a...

[Pieter Serrien · Rating 3 out of 5]

intrigerende, bittere en soms wat kort door de bocht getuigenis van een ervaren diplomaat en denker

[Rudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het boek slaagt erin luchtig te zijn , maar ook diepgaand, een mooie combinatie ,
Bv luchtig over de verschillende klederdracht van staatshoofden bij vergaderingen van de VN , maar ook diepgaande over de gang van zaken ,
Er zijn vele mensen die niet graag lezen , en informatie op andere manieren verzamelen of zich met meer lichamelijke activiteiten bezighouden , mensen kunnen zich op verschillende manieren goed bezig houden , en net als bv met muziek vind ik eigenlijk alles naar eigen smaak even goed , ….
Maar ergens vind ik het jammer dat ik dan bv de informatie in het boek niet kan delen met niet lezers zoals bv een stuk fruit of een koekje ,of toch niet zo snel , de informatie smaakt niet echt bitter maar bij momenten wel wat verontrustend , een inkijk bij sommige plaatsen waar toch wel beslissingen genomen worden die bij ieder wat invloed hebben ,
Wat mij doet nadenken hoe weegt een algoritme voor en nadelen tegen elkaar af , ? Hoe doet een mens dit ? ….de een waarschijnlijk wat anders dan de andere maar ieder zou / zal waarschijnlijk ook de eigen voor en nadelen in rekening brengen , ….. waar zou een algoritme dan prioriteiten stellen ,

5 sterren een vlot geschreven boek over de stand van zaken bij wereld politiek/ bedrijfsleven

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

De auteur vertelt niet bijster veel over zichzelf, wat best nederig is, gezien hij zich in de hoogste echelons begeeft en regelmatig moet omgaan met politici en machthebbers die juist een bijzonder hoge dunk van zichzelf hebben.

Hij schetst de karaktertrekken van types als MbS (leider van Saoedi-Arabië) die als een onvervalste machiavellist zijn tegenstanders (zoals journalist Khashoggi) uit de weg ruimt.

Uiteraard krijgen we ook een schets van Trump:

"Eigenlijk is Trump niet meer dan het zoveelste voorbeeld van een van de onwrikbare principes van de politiek die voor iedereen zonneklaar zijn: er bestaat vrijwel geen verband tussen intellectueel vermogen en politieke intelligentie. Op aarde wemelt het van de zeer intelligente personen, zelfs onder specialisten, politicologen en deskundigen, die geen fluit begrijpen van politiek, terwijl een functionele analfabeet als Trump een vorm van genialiteit kan bereiken in de manier waarop hij erin slaagt de tijdsgeest te doen weerklinken."

Over regels en vrijheid:

"Alleen het resultaat telt. Of zoals Javier Milei het treffend uitdrukt: "Wat is het verschil tussen een gek en een genie? Succes". Dat is het credo van de borghianen dat vandaag wordt gedeeld met het grootste gedeelte van de bevolking dat regels niet meer ziet als een garantie voor vrijheid. En die meerderheid is begonnen regels te beschouwen als één reusachtige bedriegerij, om niet te zeggen een complot van de elites om de 'gewone man' te onderdrukken."

Over polariseren:

"Het principe blijft overal hetzelfde. Drie eenvoudige operaties: gevoelige thema's aankaarten, onderwerpen dus die de publieke opinie verdelen; op al die fronten de meest extreme standpunten pushen en flink laten botsen; die confrontatie voor het brede publiek fors uitmeten om de sfeer steeds heter te poken."

Over sociale media:

"De platforms presenteren zich als een etalage waarin de mensen de wereld kunnen zien zoals die is, ontdaan van de vooroordelen van de elites die de traditionele media in handen hebben, maar het zijn slechts lachspiegels op de kermis die de werkelijkheid zo vervormen dat ze onherkenbaar wordt, om die realiteit aan te passen aan de verwachtingen en vooroordelen van ieder van ons."

Niet alleen Trump heeft de boter gegeten:

"Al dertig jaar, vanaf halverwege de jaren negentig tot vandaag, gaan de Amerikaanse Democraten door de knieën voor de techondernemers, die daardoor van vriendelijke nerds met een zekere vorm van asperger die een universeel broederschap beloofden, hebben kunnen veranderen in ijzingwekkende molochs - nog altijd met asperger - die verwikkeld zijn in een genadeloze oorlog om planetaire en intergalactische suprematie."

Dit is best een ontnuchterend boek dat de gevaren van populisme en A.I. zeer helder uitlegt. Als je de internationale politiek, de staat van de wereld en onze toekomst beter wil begrijpen, biedt dit boek alvast een helpende hand.

[Diederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Net als de God van Kierkegaard kan AI niet gedacht worden in louter rationele termen. De enige manier om een relatie aan te gaan met AI is een geloofsbelijdenis afleggen. De grote belofte van AI is dat ze voor ons zal zorgen, zelfs als we er niets van snappen. Technologen zien het probleem niet.

Aangezien ze zich noch voor geschiedenis noch voor filosofie interesseren, beseffen ze niet dat hun propositie neerkomt op een terugkeer naar de tijd van voor de Verlichting, naar een toverachtige, onbegrijpelijke wereld geleid door AI - waartoewordt gebeden zoals tot de goden in de Oudheid.”

[Martine]

Je ne donne pas d’étoile à ce livre parce que je ne sais pas trop quoi en penser. Peut-être parce que la politique ne m’intéresse pas tant que ça et que je n’y comprends pas grand chose. Bref, je ne comprends pas l’engouement autour de ce livre. Certes, l’avenir est inquiétant. L’intelligence artificielle qui fait ses premiers pas dans notre monde, pourra être dévastatrice, surtout quand on constate qui la contrôle….

[Michiel Vandenberghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een heldere en beeldend geschreven analyse over hoe autocraten en techbro’s sloopkogels afvuren op de liberale democratie en multilaterale samenwerking. Da Empoli koppelt zijn observaties aan historische anekdotes en inzichten. Het is geen aanrader voor wie gemoedsrust zoekt.