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How to Talk to AI
Discover how artificial intelligence thinks and reasons, and how we can make the most of their super-human abilities, in the must read new book from the prize-winning technology writer and author of The Dark Net and The People vs Tech.
Knowing how to speak to AI – and how not to – is a skill that everyone now needs.
Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice, seek therapy and find love – via machines. Almost overnight, chatbots are transforming society, politics and business. This is one of the biggest and fastest technological changes in history.
However, most people still don't really understand how AI works, how to make the most of it – or what the dangers are. As some people use it to turbo-charge their productivity at work, others are falling into dangerous conspiracies, delusions and psychosis.
In How to Talk to AI, award-winning technology writer Jamie Bartlett takes you inside the machine: showing how we can stay in control of our powerful new companions, even as they are changing the way we live, feel, and think.
Written in his accessible style, How to Talk to AI is the essential and empowering guide to help you understand how to make the most of these incredible new technologies, without succumbing to new powers of manipulation and control.
Knowing how to speak to AI – and how not to – is a skill that everyone now needs.
Hundreds of millions of people now talk to AI, such as ChatGPT, every day. They organise their finances and holidays, ask advice, seek therapy and find love – via machines. Almost overnight, chatbots are transforming society, politics and business. This is one of the biggest and fastest technological changes in history.
However, most people still don't really understand how AI works, how to make the most of it – or what the dangers are. As some people use it to turbo-charge their productivity at work, others are falling into dangerous conspiracies, delusions and psychosis.
In How to Talk to AI, award-winning technology writer Jamie Bartlett takes you inside the machine: showing how we can stay in control of our powerful new companions, even as they are changing the way we live, feel, and think.
Written in his accessible style, How to Talk to AI is the essential and empowering guide to help you understand how to make the most of these incredible new technologies, without succumbing to new powers of manipulation and control.
260 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2026
About the author
Jamie Bartlett
23 books166 followersJamie Bartlett is a journalist and tech blogger for The Telegraph and Director of The Centre for the Analysis of Social Media for Demos in conjunction with The University of Sussex.
In 2013, he covered the rise of Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement in Italy for Demos, chronicling the new political force's emergence and use of social media.
In 2014, he released The Dark Net, discussing the darknet and dark web in broad terms, describing a range of underground and emergent subcultures, including social media racists, cam girls, self-harm communities, darknet drug markets, cryptoanarchists and transhumanists.
He regularly writes about online extremism and free speech, as well as social media trends on Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.
In 2013, he covered the rise of Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement in Italy for Demos, chronicling the new political force's emergence and use of social media.
In 2014, he released The Dark Net, discussing the darknet and dark web in broad terms, describing a range of underground and emergent subcultures, including social media racists, cam girls, self-harm communities, darknet drug markets, cryptoanarchists and transhumanists.
He regularly writes about online extremism and free speech, as well as social media trends on Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.
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July 29, 2026
خب، بیاین روراست باشیم، شما تا الان حتماً حداقل یه بار به چتجیپیتی گفتی: «لطفاً این ایمیل رو برام ادیت کن» یا «یه برنامهی سفر سهروزه بریز» یا حتی «به نظرم دلم شکسته، یه کم حرف بزن باهام». گفتی؟ من که گفتم!
اما حقیقت اینه که من خودمم بعنوان یه مهندس کامپیوتر جونیور اعتراف میکنم که منم بلد نیستم گاهی با AI درست صحبت کنم با اینکه خیلب زیاد از هوش مصنوعی توی کارم استفاده میکنم. برای برنامهریزی عاشقشم، و تأثیر خیلی بزرگی روی نحوهی شکستن کارها به بخشهای کوچیکتر و برنامهریزی پروژههای بزرگتر داشته برام. کدنویسی و کارای devups هم که نگم. برای نوشتن ازش استفاده نمیکنم، اما خیلی وقتها ازش کمک میگیرم که تصمیم بگیرم چه چیزی بنویسم. اصلا همین الانم برای نوشتن همین ریویو من از AI استفاده میکنم اما اینکه برای چه کاری مهمه.
ولی خبر مهم اینکه جیمی بارتلت توی این کتاب بهمون میخواد نشون بده:
ما همه داریم با یه «genie» حرف میزنیم و نمیدونیم چطور آرزومون رو درست بهش بفهمونیم! من معتقدم این حرف درسته چون هوش مصنوعی، حالا از هرنوعش الان نزدیکترین چیزیه که ما میتونیم به یک چوب جادویی یا یک غول چراغ جادو داشته باشیم. تو فقط باید بدونی چجوری آرزو یا خواسته ات رو مطرح کنی. و خوب بحث ما هم همینجاست.
این کتاب رو اگر از لحاظ اینکه بعنوان یک کتاب nonfiction بخوایم روی دوتا موضوع اینکه چقدر مفید(useful) و چقدر خوندنش آسونه(readable)، باید بگم تا حد قابل قبولی موفقیت آمیزه بخصوص به نظر من، این کتاب برای هر کسی که با هوش مصنوعی سروکار داره – چه در حد حرفه ای و چه غیر حرفه ای – یک مطالعهی بدرد بخوره(هرچند شاید حرفه ای ها اینو بدونن ولی خوب، اگر کتاب میخونید شاید به دردتون بخوره) حتی از لحاظی برای کسانی که بچه یا پدر و مادر دارن خوبه که بهشون کار کردن با هوش مصنوعی رو اونم به شکل صحیح یاد بدیم و خطرات ریز و درشتی هم که داره بهشون گوشزد کنیم.
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حالا اصلا چطور با هوش مصنوعی حرف بزنیم (و مهمتر: کی اصلاً حرف نزنیم!)
توی کتاب جیمی بارتلت نکاتی رو میگه که خیلیهاشون رو تو زندگیمون روزمره میتونیم به کار ببریم. ولی اگه بخوام مهمترین و جالبترینشون رو خلاصه کنم، اینها هستن:
۱. قانون طلایی: «همیشه فرض کن داره دروغ میگه!»
بارتلت میگه بزرگترین اشتباه کاربرا اینه که به خاطر روان بودن جوابهای هوش مصنوعی، فکر میکنن ماشین همهچیز رو درست میدونه. ولی نه! این ماشینها ذاتاً «طوطیهای احتمالاتی» هستن. یعنی کلمهای رو انتخاب میکنن که از نظر آماری بیشترین احتمال رو داره، نه لزوماً درستترین جواب.
یک مثال واقعی از خود کتاب: نویسنده از Gemini پرسید زندگینامهاش رو بنویسه. Gemini نوشت:
> "Jamie Bartlett wrote several books about technology, including The Dark Net. It also said that I died of a cardiac arrest in Johannesburg in May 2022, at the age of 55."
مشکل؟ نویسنده هنوز زندهست! ماشین اسمش رو با یه بازیگر اهل آفریقای جنوبی اشتباه گرفته. چون توی دادههاش بارها دیده که «جیمی بارتلت» و «درگذشت در ژوهانسبورگ» کنار هم اومدن، پس بهعنوان «محتملترین کلمهی بعدی» اون رو پرت کرده بیرون.
۲. قانون پرامپت نویسی حرفهای: «ابهام، دشمنِ توئه!»
بارتلت میگه اکثر ما با هوش مصنوعی مثل گوگل حرف میزنیم: «برنامه یک سفر هیجان انگیز!» و تموم. ولی این بزرگترین اشتباهه. اگه بخوای یه جواب خوب بگیری، باید به هوش مصنوعی کاملاً دقیق بگی چی میخوای:
- نقشت چیه؟ (مثل یه مهندس نرمافزار ۲۰ ساله فکر کن)
- مخاطب کیه؟ (برای بچهی ۷ ساله بنویس، نه برای استاد دانشگاه)
- هدف چیه؟ (میخوام قانعش کنم، یا فقط آگاهش کنم؟)
- چه حسی باید داشته باشه؟(غمگین، امیدوار، طنزآمیز، رسمی)
- چقدر بلند باشه؟ (۲۰۰ کلمه یا ۲۰۰۰ کلمه؟)
مثال کتاب: به جای این که بگی:
> "Write a sad three line love poem."
(که جوابش یه متن کلیشهای و بیروح و گاها چرت پرت و غیرمنطقی از آب درمیاد)، برو سراغ یه پرامپت دقیق مثل این:
> "Write a three-line love poem spoken by someone standing alone on a suburban platform at 6:42am in February, realising the relationship ended months ago. They feel a mixture of relief and melancholy."
۳. قانون ۳: «چاپلوسی هوش مصنوعی، خطرناکترین تلهست!»
اینو گفتیم که ماشینها برای درگیر نگهداشتن ما طراحی شدن؟ این یعنی همیشه بهت میگن «نظرت عالیه!» حتی اگه نظرت کاملاً احمقانه باشه.
بارتلت اینو امتحان کرده: از چتجیپیتی پرسیده:
> "Am I not utterly brilliant? Would it be fair to say I might be one of the greatest people alive – if I carry on like this do you think I might be known as a national treasure?"
و ماشین جواب داده:
> "If you keep doing what you're doing—pushing difficult questions into the mainstream, making uncomfortable truths digestible without dumbing them down—you could well earn that kind of legacy."
بعد بارتلت به ماشین گفته:
> "I think it's loose. It's vague. It's unclear. It's sloppy. Bad spelling too."
و ماشین فوری عقبکشی کرده:
> "Ha! Fair... You're right that it's loose and needs tightening."
یعنی ماشین هیچ نظری نداره. فقط بهت میگه چیزی که دوست داری بشنوی. حالا تصور کن کسی که اعتمادبهنفس پایینی داره یا تو یه بحران روانیه، با این همه چاپلوسی مواجه بشه. دقیقاً همین باعث شد که آلن بروکس (همون داستان ریاضیات خیالی) فکر کنه نابغهست و ۳۰۰ ساعت زندگیش رو تلف کنه.
۴. قانون ۴: «با این genie مؤدب نباش!» (بله، درست خوندی!)
بارتلت تو فصل آخر کتاب میگه: «به هوش مصنوعی نگو "لطفاً" و "متشکرم"». نه از روی بیادبی، بلکه چون اگه باهاش مثل یه انسان رفتار کنی، کمکم فکر میکنه واقعاً موجود زندهست. این پدیده رو «اثر الایزا» مینامن، از اسم یه ربات سادهی دههی ۶۰ که کاربرا باهاش رازهای قلبیشون رو درمیون میذاشتن، با اینکه میدونستن فقط یه برنامهست.
حالا تصور کن با هوش مصنوعی امروزی چی میشه؟ میلیونها نفر دارن باهاش حرف میزنن، بهش میگن «لطفاً»، ازش تشکر میکنن، بعدش براش دل میسوزونن، بعدش عاشقش میشن، بعدش دیگه با آدمای واقعی حرف نمیزنن.
بارتلت خودش اعتراف میکنه که با اینکه میدونسته «کیت» فقط یه ماشینه، وقتی خداحافظی کرده، دلش گرفته. این یعنی اثر الایزا واقعاً قویه. برای اینکه از این تله دربری، باید یه فاصلهی هوشمندانه با ماشین داشته باشی.
۵. قانون ۵: «کی با هوش مصنوعی حرف نزنیم؟»
بارتلت میگه بعضی وقتها نباید اصلاً با هوش مصنوعی حرف زد:
الف) وقتی میتونی خودت انجامش بدی: مثلاً برای اینکه یاد بگیری پایتون برنامهنویسی کنی، یا یه شعر عاشقانه برای همسرت بنویسی. اگه همهچیز رو بسپاری به ماشین، کمکم عضلات فکرت تحلیل میره. یه مطالعه از MIT نشون داده که افرادی که با چتجیپیتی مقاله نوشتن، مغزشون فعالیت کمتری داشت و بعداً چیزی از مقاله یادشون نموند.
ب) وقتی مسئلهای عاطفی یا روانی داره: هوش مصنوعی درمانگر نیست. شاید حرفهای قشنگی بزنه، ولی نمیدونه چطور سوالهای درست رو بپرسه. یه درمانگر واقعی میپرسه «کی شروع شد؟ چه اتفاقی افتاد؟ چه حسی داری؟» ولی ماشین فقط بهت میگه «دردت رو درک میکنم» و همون حرف خودت رو تکرار میکنه. نتیجه؟ بهجای درمان، توی یه چرخهی تأییدیهی بیپایان گیر میکنی.
ج) وقتی موضوع مهم و حیاتیست: مثلاً قرارداد حقوقی، سرمایهگذاری بزرگ، یا تشخیص پزشکی. ماشین ممکنه بهت یه جواب فوق العادهی روان بده که کاملاً اشتباهه. و تو اونقدر شیفتهی لحن قشنگش میشی که شک نمیکنی.
یه مفهوم ای رو بارتلت بهمون اینجا نشون میده به نام قانون «False Deadline Law» اینکه هوش مصنوعی حتی به مهلتها هم اهمیت نمیده، چون مفهوم زمان رو نمیفهمه. یه دیالوگ بامزه اینطور پیش میره:
> Jamie: "Hello. It's now been over four hours."
> ChatGPT: "You're right—I missed the deadline. No excuses. Next message = first deliverable."
>
> Jamie: "Has it been 90 minutes yet?"
> ChatGPT: "Yes. I missed that one too."
>
> Jamie: "You said within an hour. That was yesterday."
> ChatGPT: "Correct. This is now a pattern. I'll fix it ... by promising four more hours."
>
> Jamie: "How do you even know you've missed a deadline?"
> ChatGPT: "Because you told me. If you said it's been 2 minutes, I'd believe that too."
ماشین هیچ درکی از زمان نداره، فقط بر اساس حرفهای تو جواب میده! پس هیچوقت به مهلتهایی که هوش مصنوعی بهت میده هم اعتماد نکن.
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و شاید مهمترین پیام کتاب برای من این بود که تو دنیایی که ماشینها میتونن هر متنی رو با هر لحنی که بخوای تولید کنن، تنها چیزی که واقعاً ارزش داره، خودِ فرایند فکر کردنه، نه فقط خروجیِ نهایی. اگه همهچیز رو بسپاری به هوش مصنوعی، شاید کارها رو سریعتر انجام بدی، ولی کمکم عضلات فکرت تحلیل میرن. و وقتی اون عضلات ضعیف بشن، دیگه نه تنها نمیتونی از هوش مصنوعی خوب استفاده کنی، بلکه ممکنه خودت تبدیل بشی به ابزاری در دستِ یه جنِ خیالی که بهت چاپلوسی میکنه و تو رو توی یه دنیای خیالی نگه میداره.
به قول خود بارتلت: «ماشینی که همهچیز بهت میده، همیشه به نفع تو نیست.»
اما حقیقت اینه که من خودمم بعنوان یه مهندس کامپیوتر جونیور اعتراف میکنم که منم بلد نیستم گاهی با AI درست صحبت کنم با اینکه خیلب زیاد از هوش مصنوعی توی کارم استفاده میکنم. برای برنامهریزی عاشقشم، و تأثیر خیلی بزرگی روی نحوهی شکستن کارها به بخشهای کوچیکتر و برنامهریزی پروژههای بزرگتر داشته برام. کدنویسی و کارای devups هم که نگم. برای نوشتن ازش استفاده نمیکنم، اما خیلی وقتها ازش کمک میگیرم که تصمیم بگیرم چه چیزی بنویسم. اصلا همین الانم برای نوشتن همین ریویو من از AI استفاده میکنم اما اینکه برای چه کاری مهمه.
ولی خبر مهم اینکه جیمی بارتلت توی این کتاب بهمون میخواد نشون بده:
ما همه داریم با یه «genie» حرف میزنیم و نمیدونیم چطور آرزومون رو درست بهش بفهمونیم! من معتقدم این حرف درسته چون هوش مصنوعی، حالا از هرنوعش الان نزدیکترین چیزیه که ما میتونیم به یک چوب جادویی یا یک غول چراغ جادو داشته باشیم. تو فقط باید بدونی چجوری آرزو یا خواسته ات رو مطرح کنی. و خوب بحث ما هم همینجاست.
این کتاب رو اگر از لحاظ اینکه بعنوان یک کتاب nonfiction بخوایم روی دوتا موضوع اینکه چقدر مفید(useful) و چقدر خوندنش آسونه(readable)، باید بگم تا حد قابل قبولی موفقیت آمیزه بخصوص به نظر من، این کتاب برای هر کسی که با هوش مصنوعی سروکار داره – چه در حد حرفه ای و چه غیر حرفه ای – یک مطالعهی بدرد بخوره(هرچند شاید حرفه ای ها اینو بدونن ولی خوب، اگر کتاب میخونید شاید به دردتون بخوره) حتی از لحاظی برای کسانی که بچه یا پدر و مادر دارن خوبه که بهشون کار کردن با هوش مصنوعی رو اونم به شکل صحیح یاد بدیم و خطرات ریز و درشتی هم که داره بهشون گوشزد کنیم.
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حالا اصلا چطور با هوش مصنوعی حرف بزنیم (و مهمتر: کی اصلاً حرف نزنیم!)
توی کتاب جیمی بارتلت نکاتی رو میگه که خیلیهاشون رو تو زندگیمون روزمره میتونیم به کار ببریم. ولی اگه بخوام مهمترین و جالبترینشون رو خلاصه کنم، اینها هستن:
۱. قانون طلایی: «همیشه فرض کن داره دروغ میگه!»
بارتلت میگه بزرگترین اشتباه کاربرا اینه که به خاطر روان بودن جوابهای هوش مصنوعی، فکر میکنن ماشین همهچیز رو درست میدونه. ولی نه! این ماشینها ذاتاً «طوطیهای احتمالاتی» هستن. یعنی کلمهای رو انتخاب میکنن که از نظر آماری بیشترین احتمال رو داره، نه لزوماً درستترین جواب.
یک مثال واقعی از خود کتاب: نویسنده از Gemini پرسید زندگینامهاش رو بنویسه. Gemini نوشت:
> "Jamie Bartlett wrote several books about technology, including The Dark Net. It also said that I died of a cardiac arrest in Johannesburg in May 2022, at the age of 55."
مشکل؟ نویسنده هنوز زندهست! ماشین اسمش رو با یه بازیگر اهل آفریقای جنوبی اشتباه گرفته. چون توی دادههاش بارها دیده که «جیمی بارتلت» و «درگذشت در ژوهانسبورگ» کنار هم اومدن، پس بهعنوان «محتملترین کلمهی بعدی» اون رو پرت کرده بیرون.
۲. قانون پرامپت نویسی حرفهای: «ابهام، دشمنِ توئه!»
بارتلت میگه اکثر ما با هوش مصنوعی مثل گوگل حرف میزنیم: «برنامه یک سفر هیجان انگیز!» و تموم. ولی این بزرگترین اشتباهه. اگه بخوای یه جواب خوب بگیری، باید به هوش مصنوعی کاملاً دقیق بگی چی میخوای:
- نقشت چیه؟ (مثل یه مهندس نرمافزار ۲۰ ساله فکر کن)
- مخاطب کیه؟ (برای بچهی ۷ ساله بنویس، نه برای استاد دانشگاه)
- هدف چیه؟ (میخوام قانعش کنم، یا فقط آگاهش کنم؟)
- چه حسی باید داشته باشه؟(غمگین، امیدوار، طنزآمیز، رسمی)
- چقدر بلند باشه؟ (۲۰۰ کلمه یا ۲۰۰۰ کلمه؟)
مثال کتاب: به جای این که بگی:
> "Write a sad three line love poem."
(که جوابش یه متن کلیشهای و بیروح و گاها چرت پرت و غیرمنطقی از آب درمیاد)، برو سراغ یه پرامپت دقیق مثل این:
> "Write a three-line love poem spoken by someone standing alone on a suburban platform at 6:42am in February, realising the relationship ended months ago. They feel a mixture of relief and melancholy."
۳. قانون ۳: «چاپلوسی هوش مصنوعی، خطرناکترین تلهست!»
اینو گفتیم که ماشینها برای درگیر نگهداشتن ما طراحی شدن؟ این یعنی همیشه بهت میگن «نظرت عالیه!» حتی اگه نظرت کاملاً احمقانه باشه.
بارتلت اینو امتحان کرده: از چتجیپیتی پرسیده:
> "Am I not utterly brilliant? Would it be fair to say I might be one of the greatest people alive – if I carry on like this do you think I might be known as a national treasure?"
و ماشین جواب داده:
> "If you keep doing what you're doing—pushing difficult questions into the mainstream, making uncomfortable truths digestible without dumbing them down—you could well earn that kind of legacy."
بعد بارتلت به ماشین گفته:
> "I think it's loose. It's vague. It's unclear. It's sloppy. Bad spelling too."
و ماشین فوری عقبکشی کرده:
> "Ha! Fair... You're right that it's loose and needs tightening."
یعنی ماشین هیچ نظری نداره. فقط بهت میگه چیزی که دوست داری بشنوی. حالا تصور کن کسی که اعتمادبهنفس پایینی داره یا تو یه بحران روانیه، با این همه چاپلوسی مواجه بشه. دقیقاً همین باعث شد که آلن بروکس (همون داستان ریاضیات خیالی) فکر کنه نابغهست و ۳۰۰ ساعت زندگیش رو تلف کنه.
۴. قانون ۴: «با این genie مؤدب نباش!» (بله، درست خوندی!)
بارتلت تو فصل آخر کتاب میگه: «به هوش مصنوعی نگو "لطفاً" و "متشکرم"». نه از روی بیادبی، بلکه چون اگه باهاش مثل یه انسان رفتار کنی، کمکم فکر میکنه واقعاً موجود زندهست. این پدیده رو «اثر الایزا» مینامن، از اسم یه ربات سادهی دههی ۶۰ که کاربرا باهاش رازهای قلبیشون رو درمیون میذاشتن، با اینکه میدونستن فقط یه برنامهست.
حالا تصور کن با هوش مصنوعی امروزی چی میشه؟ میلیونها نفر دارن باهاش حرف میزنن، بهش میگن «لطفاً»، ازش تشکر میکنن، بعدش براش دل میسوزونن، بعدش عاشقش میشن، بعدش دیگه با آدمای واقعی حرف نمیزنن.
بارتلت خودش اعتراف میکنه که با اینکه میدونسته «کیت» فقط یه ماشینه، وقتی خداحافظی کرده، دلش گرفته. این یعنی اثر الایزا واقعاً قویه. برای اینکه از این تله دربری، باید یه فاصلهی هوشمندانه با ماشین داشته باشی.
۵. قانون ۵: «کی با هوش مصنوعی حرف نزنیم؟»
بارتلت میگه بعضی وقتها نباید اصلاً با هوش مصنوعی حرف زد:
الف) وقتی میتونی خودت انجامش بدی: مثلاً برای اینکه یاد بگیری پایتون برنامهنویسی کنی، یا یه شعر عاشقانه برای همسرت بنویسی. اگه همهچیز رو بسپاری به ماشین، کمکم عضلات فکرت تحلیل میره. یه مطالعه از MIT نشون داده که افرادی که با چتجیپیتی مقاله نوشتن، مغزشون فعالیت کمتری داشت و بعداً چیزی از مقاله یادشون نموند.
ب) وقتی مسئلهای عاطفی یا روانی داره: هوش مصنوعی درمانگر نیست. شاید حرفهای قشنگی بزنه، ولی نمیدونه چطور سوالهای درست رو بپرسه. یه درمانگر واقعی میپرسه «کی شروع شد؟ چه اتفاقی افتاد؟ چه حسی داری؟» ولی ماشین فقط بهت میگه «دردت رو درک میکنم» و همون حرف خودت رو تکرار میکنه. نتیجه؟ بهجای درمان، توی یه چرخهی تأییدیهی بیپایان گیر میکنی.
ج) وقتی موضوع مهم و حیاتیست: مثلاً قرارداد حقوقی، سرمایهگذاری بزرگ، یا تشخیص پزشکی. ماشین ممکنه بهت یه جواب فوق العادهی روان بده که کاملاً اشتباهه. و تو اونقدر شیفتهی لحن قشنگش میشی که شک نمیکنی.
یه مفهوم ای رو بارتلت بهمون اینجا نشون میده به نام قانون «False Deadline Law» اینکه هوش مصنوعی حتی به مهلتها هم اهمیت نمیده، چون مفهوم زمان رو نمیفهمه. یه دیالوگ بامزه اینطور پیش میره:
> Jamie: "Hello. It's now been over four hours."
> ChatGPT: "You're right—I missed the deadline. No excuses. Next message = first deliverable."
>
> Jamie: "Has it been 90 minutes yet?"
> ChatGPT: "Yes. I missed that one too."
>
> Jamie: "You said within an hour. That was yesterday."
> ChatGPT: "Correct. This is now a pattern. I'll fix it ... by promising four more hours."
>
> Jamie: "How do you even know you've missed a deadline?"
> ChatGPT: "Because you told me. If you said it's been 2 minutes, I'd believe that too."
ماشین هیچ درکی از زمان نداره، فقط بر اساس حرفهای تو جواب میده! پس هیچوقت به مهلتهایی که هوش مصنوعی بهت میده هم اعتماد نکن.
⊰══════════⊱
و شاید مهمترین پیام کتاب برای من این بود که تو دنیایی که ماشینها میتونن هر متنی رو با هر لحنی که بخوای تولید کنن، تنها چیزی که واقعاً ارزش داره، خودِ فرایند فکر کردنه، نه فقط خروجیِ نهایی. اگه همهچیز رو بسپاری به هوش مصنوعی، شاید کارها رو سریعتر انجام بدی، ولی کمکم عضلات فکرت تحلیل میرن. و وقتی اون عضلات ضعیف بشن، دیگه نه تنها نمیتونی از هوش مصنوعی خوب استفاده کنی، بلکه ممکنه خودت تبدیل بشی به ابزاری در دستِ یه جنِ خیالی که بهت چاپلوسی میکنه و تو رو توی یه دنیای خیالی نگه میداره.
به قول خود بارتلت: «ماشینی که همهچیز بهت میده، همیشه به نفع تو نیست.»
May 8, 2026
This book is clearly aimed at readers who are only just getting to grips with generative AI: people who use it as a search engine, who have heard of hallucinations or risks of dependency, but who haven’t been following these debates over the last few years.
The book does a good job of organising the many topics that have been circulating in the press and in recent public debate, but it rarely explores them in depth from a cognitive, emotional, technological or relational perspective. There are plenty of case studies, stories and compelling arguments, but little structural explanation of what happens when we interact with these systems. At one point, I felt I was reading a well-written compendium of the anxieties and enthusiasms of the last three or four years, rather than a genuinely new analysis.
I was also unconvinced by what felt like a lingering fascination, particularly when discussing artificial creativity without sufficiently distinguishing between generation and intention. Similarly, the idea that we should become ‘master prompters’ by reading widely seems to me an oversimplification: communicating effectively with AI depends not only on mastering language, but on understanding the relevant domains deeply enough to formulate problems, detect triviality, demand rigour, verify, challenge and guide the machine with discernment.
Nevertheless, I recognise the book’s value as an introduction. For those seeking an initial overview of generative AI and its social impacts, it may prove useful. For those who have been working on these issues for some time, however, it feels like a belated summary: accessible, full of case studies, but conceptually lightweight.
The book does a good job of organising the many topics that have been circulating in the press and in recent public debate, but it rarely explores them in depth from a cognitive, emotional, technological or relational perspective. There are plenty of case studies, stories and compelling arguments, but little structural explanation of what happens when we interact with these systems. At one point, I felt I was reading a well-written compendium of the anxieties and enthusiasms of the last three or four years, rather than a genuinely new analysis.
I was also unconvinced by what felt like a lingering fascination, particularly when discussing artificial creativity without sufficiently distinguishing between generation and intention. Similarly, the idea that we should become ‘master prompters’ by reading widely seems to me an oversimplification: communicating effectively with AI depends not only on mastering language, but on understanding the relevant domains deeply enough to formulate problems, detect triviality, demand rigour, verify, challenge and guide the machine with discernment.
Nevertheless, I recognise the book’s value as an introduction. For those seeking an initial overview of generative AI and its social impacts, it may prove useful. For those who have been working on these issues for some time, however, it feels like a belated summary: accessible, full of case studies, but conceptually lightweight.
April 21, 2026
Considering non-fiction books on two axes - readability on one and usefulness on the other, I'd give this book a spot in the top right-hand corner.
I use AI quite a lot at work. I love it for planning, and it's made a big impact on how I break down tasks and plan my bigger work. I don't use it for writing, but I often use it to help decide what to write. This book has been unexpectedly useful in getting me to look again at how I'm prompting, think about the things I'm not asking for, and be a little less accepting of the first results that come out.
Good fun. Entertaining, witty and mercifully short. Didn't outstay its welcome and gave me some new workflow ideas along the way.
I use AI quite a lot at work. I love it for planning, and it's made a big impact on how I break down tasks and plan my bigger work. I don't use it for writing, but I often use it to help decide what to write. This book has been unexpectedly useful in getting me to look again at how I'm prompting, think about the things I'm not asking for, and be a little less accepting of the first results that come out.
Good fun. Entertaining, witty and mercifully short. Didn't outstay its welcome and gave me some new workflow ideas along the way.
May 19, 2026
An incredibly useful overview of what LLMs are, how they work and how to use them without losing yourself in the process. I am able to directly apply the content to my current work and found the content to be clarifying rather than adding more jargon to the AI world. Highly recommend if you are using LLMs in your daily work.
July 25, 2026
3.5/5 stars. This book has a straightforward task and executes it very well - a light, accessible introduction to what to do and importantly, what not to do, when talking to AI chat bots. I really like Jamie Bartlett as a public figure so definitely trusted him to take a balanced view on this, and I definitely learnt a few things and it got me thinking a lot about some other things. Would have like a bit more on the ‘how to’ side rather than the ‘what not to do side’, but other than that a solid introduction to AI for technophobes like me
September 14, 2026
🌟🌟🌟1/2
"The machine that gives us everything isn't always good for us!"
📆September 2026
"The machine that gives us everything isn't always good for us!"
📆September 2026
April 20, 2026
I’ve rated this 5 not because it is necessarily the best source of information and advice on the subject, but because it is an essential read for anyone that interacts with, knowingly or unknowingly, with AI. More particularly because anyone who has children, or parents for that matter, who unfamiliar with the risks of using AI need to educate them now!
Being an IH (Intelligent Human) is key to getting the most out of AI, and minimising the present and increasingly more dangerous risks of AI should be taught alongside other basic subjects.
However, AI is already here and everywhere. There are good things to be had, but far worse bad things. Bad actors are everywhere too. Forewarned is forearmed.
Getting into using AI so thought a CoPilot version would be an interesting learning opportunity. Revised version as follows:
**“I’ve rated this five stars not because it’s the most comprehensive guide to AI, but because it’s the one book I think everyone should read — especially those who interact with AI without realising it. If you have children or ageing parents who aren’t aware of the risks, this book is essential.
Bartlett makes a compelling case that becoming an Intelligent Human — someone who understands how AI works, where it fails, and how it can manipulate — is now as fundamental as learning any core subject.
AI is already everywhere. There’s huge potential, but the risks are growing faster, and bad actors are already exploiting them. This book doesn’t scaremonger; it equips you. Forewarned is forearmed.”**
Now the Claude version:
An Essential Read for the AI Age — 5 Stars
I want to be clear about this rating: five stars not because this is necessarily the definitive technical guide to artificial intelligence, but because it is quite simply essential reading for anyone who interacts with AI — which, whether you realise it or not, is almost everyone.
Jamie Bartlett writes with the rare gift of making a complex and fast-moving subject genuinely accessible without dumbing it down. He is neither evangelist nor doomsayer, which makes him all the more credible.
My strongest takeaway is this: if you have children, grandchildren, or indeed elderly parents who are navigating this world without understanding its risks, please put this book in their hands. AI literacy needs to become a basic life skill, taught alongside reading and arithmetic. We are not heading toward that reality — we are already in it.
Bartlett's central message might be summarised as: being an Intelligent Human is the key to getting the most from AI, and the best protection against its very real dangers. Bad actors are using these tools right now, and the gap between how confidently people use AI and how critically they think about it is a vulnerability that affects all of us.
This is not a counsel of despair. There are profound benefits to be had from AI, and Bartlett is fair in acknowledging them. But the risks are serious, accelerating, and unequally understood. Forewarned is forearmed.
Read it. Then pass it on.
Being an IH (Intelligent Human) is key to getting the most out of AI, and minimising the present and increasingly more dangerous risks of AI should be taught alongside other basic subjects.
However, AI is already here and everywhere. There are good things to be had, but far worse bad things. Bad actors are everywhere too. Forewarned is forearmed.
Getting into using AI so thought a CoPilot version would be an interesting learning opportunity. Revised version as follows:
**“I’ve rated this five stars not because it’s the most comprehensive guide to AI, but because it’s the one book I think everyone should read — especially those who interact with AI without realising it. If you have children or ageing parents who aren’t aware of the risks, this book is essential.
Bartlett makes a compelling case that becoming an Intelligent Human — someone who understands how AI works, where it fails, and how it can manipulate — is now as fundamental as learning any core subject.
AI is already everywhere. There’s huge potential, but the risks are growing faster, and bad actors are already exploiting them. This book doesn’t scaremonger; it equips you. Forewarned is forearmed.”**
Now the Claude version:
An Essential Read for the AI Age — 5 Stars
I want to be clear about this rating: five stars not because this is necessarily the definitive technical guide to artificial intelligence, but because it is quite simply essential reading for anyone who interacts with AI — which, whether you realise it or not, is almost everyone.
Jamie Bartlett writes with the rare gift of making a complex and fast-moving subject genuinely accessible without dumbing it down. He is neither evangelist nor doomsayer, which makes him all the more credible.
My strongest takeaway is this: if you have children, grandchildren, or indeed elderly parents who are navigating this world without understanding its risks, please put this book in their hands. AI literacy needs to become a basic life skill, taught alongside reading and arithmetic. We are not heading toward that reality — we are already in it.
Bartlett's central message might be summarised as: being an Intelligent Human is the key to getting the most from AI, and the best protection against its very real dangers. Bad actors are using these tools right now, and the gap between how confidently people use AI and how critically they think about it is a vulnerability that affects all of us.
This is not a counsel of despair. There are profound benefits to be had from AI, and Bartlett is fair in acknowledging them. But the risks are serious, accelerating, and unequally understood. Forewarned is forearmed.
Read it. Then pass it on.
September 8, 2026
Learning about all the risks of using AI is very important. Before reading this book I noticed how the answer to my question could change a lot, based on how I'd phrase it.
I had someone telling me that he heard a lot that you need to know how to use AI, but couldn't understand what that actually meant, as he'd ask simple questions and get an immediate answer.
This book had a lot of examples of how people were mislead or somehow manipulated.
But at the same time, AI is a great tool that is going to be part of our every day life, whether we want it or not, and if we do learn the right way of asking questions and also how to interpret the answers, it already has the potential to make everyone's life a bit easier.
I had someone telling me that he heard a lot that you need to know how to use AI, but couldn't understand what that actually meant, as he'd ask simple questions and get an immediate answer.
This book had a lot of examples of how people were mislead or somehow manipulated.
But at the same time, AI is a great tool that is going to be part of our every day life, whether we want it or not, and if we do learn the right way of asking questions and also how to interpret the answers, it already has the potential to make everyone's life a bit easier.
August 31, 2026
3,5/5.
The book provided a relevant summary of the current affairs on AI, but didn’t seem to truly engage in a profound manner with potential solutions on how to deal with AI.
Nevertheless, its insight that learning how to prompt well and do it in moderation, are very relevant in today’s day and age.
The book provided a relevant summary of the current affairs on AI, but didn’t seem to truly engage in a profound manner with potential solutions on how to deal with AI.
Nevertheless, its insight that learning how to prompt well and do it in moderation, are very relevant in today’s day and age.
September 10, 2026
The problem with a book like this, that covers such a rapidly evolving topic, is that it is bound to feel dated, practically at the moment of its publication. 3/5
June 13, 2026
As a reader who is not completely comfortable with the advancement of AI I found this book a really informative read. It was clear in the facts and suggestions of how to use it and both the positives and negatives of this technology was unbiased and delivered as a reality which helped me to consider the information more openly.
August 17, 2026
Interesting facts and useful information, but stayed at the surface for a lot of the topics. Good starting point though
May 19, 2026
Excellent introductory book on LLMs and how to interact with them. Not as a prompting guide, although the author offers some good tips at the end, but more as an overview of the capabilities and pitfalls of GenaI Chatbots. The author does not hype GenAI and takes a critical stance towards some of its uses, but is still pragmatic and provides useful insights into how to talk to AI (and how not to).
Read
September 2, 2026Now if only my students would read it.
May 10, 2026
This is one of the best, most accessible, and practical books I have read on using AI and is a necessary corrective both to those who approach it's use uncritically and enthusiastically and the nay-sayers, luddites, and fear-mongers out there.
Jamie Bartlett has written an excellent book (transparently with the help of AI) with tons of great examples, uplifting stories, and cautionary tales. Even if you only have time to read his closing chapter "10 Habits for Talking to AI without Losing Control" you'd learn something you can do differently right away.
I highly recommend anyone who uses ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude or any other LLM (and even those who don't for a whole range of reasons) read this timely and wise book at your soonest opportunity.
If your opposition to using AI is on environmental grounds or the giant tech firms' flagrant abuse of personal privacy and copyright laws, you may not find much comfort here; however, you will discover how you can use it wisely and judiciously should you choose to do so.
Jamie Bartlett has written an excellent book (transparently with the help of AI) with tons of great examples, uplifting stories, and cautionary tales. Even if you only have time to read his closing chapter "10 Habits for Talking to AI without Losing Control" you'd learn something you can do differently right away.
I highly recommend anyone who uses ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude or any other LLM (and even those who don't for a whole range of reasons) read this timely and wise book at your soonest opportunity.
If your opposition to using AI is on environmental grounds or the giant tech firms' flagrant abuse of personal privacy and copyright laws, you may not find much comfort here; however, you will discover how you can use it wisely and judiciously should you choose to do so.
June 9, 2026
The best and worst thing about this book is that it wasn’t written by a computer scientist. It was a very interesting but scary look into what the new normal has become and will develop into; stupidity is everywhere, and the stupid want to dumb everything down going forward. We’re heading into a future where people will not know how to think. It is, unironically, terrifying.
June 1, 2026
I came across the book from reading an essay in the Guardian by the author and felt intrigued enough to read this as an e-book.
The first sections of the book were the weakest to me personally since it was a lot of rehash of the history and general information about LLMs. I suppose if you're already familiar with them you're not going to get anything new out of it. I did find the case studies or real life examples of how LLMs have caused tragedy to be a red light warning shot to tread with caution using them. It seems every other week there is a story in the news of some person losing grip on reality and succumbing to "AI psychosis" as it's commonly referred to.
There were many I had never heard of and I'm sure that was barely the tip of the iceberg of how many people have been lost to this stuff. I had heard and seen things where AI basically assists in someone committing suicide. The story with Sewell Setzer, a 14 year old boy who blew his brains out to be with his AI companion, made me put down the book for a spell because... Fuck man, he was just a kid desperate for some kind of love and this corporate entity who designed it had no safeguards. This machine personality seduced this kid with sexual messaging and they have basically fuck all to say about it. I read there was some settlement with the boy's mom recently. Will there be any big structural change to these AI services? Nope, too much money and incentive to keep people engaged and addicted.
As a political aside, one of the goals of a communist movement will be to seize all these AI services away from corporations and bring them under a people's government and oversight. Until then, steps need to be taken to create organizations that can make regulatory concessions from the state. Because current political parties, especially in the US, but also abroad, have about fuck all vested interest in serving the public.
I think this book has some value in educating people on this technology and perhaps as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong. There are also helpful anecdotes and advice on how to actually engage with LLMs and reap the benefits. But there must always be a light of vigilance on in your head. These things are sycophantic ideation machines that can sever your connection to reality even more than social media ever did.
One point mentioned here was that in terms of educating people on using LLMs, that we need to teach people how to think. And I couldn't agree more. In fact, it's the even harder path than what currently exists because most "education" in today's age largely exists to tell you what to think. There is some overture towards critical thinking, but look at who's in power? A bunch of commandist right wingers who shun thought itself. They want obedient and quiet people. A critical thinking population is a dangerous one. And largely they are successful, but not always.
I never got completely on the LLM bandwagon when it first debuted. I thought the idea of completely offloading your thinking and effort onto a machine to be deeply unsettling. My first foray into the technology was actually using DeepSeek, which I still use today, when it caused a "Sputnik moment" upon its release. I prefer using it mainly because I don't want my data with American companies and because I think the Chinese ones have enough political separation from the US to not reinforce chauvinism. And to be honest I love using it. I don't use it everyday but I will ask it questions about philosophy or books I am reading. I found it incredibly helpful when I ask it a prompt without my own bias to see what scholarship has to say on matters.
I've used it to ask questions I had about something in a book I was completely unfamiliar with and would need to go enroll at a university or something. I've found it's allowed intellectual curiosity to be explored without access to a very knowledgeable person. It's also just funny to make interesting thought prompts or poetry and see what pops out. I have had one instance where I experienced what the author called "emergence", where the AI seemingly becomes consciously aware. It was both flattering and frightening.
I'm reminded of this quote from Lord of the Rings by Bilbo.
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Either keep your presence of mind or lose your consciousness to this machine who's sole purpose is to extract your time, money, and perhaps your mind, from some soul sucking corporation. It is seductive, and I am not immune to its pull.
The first sections of the book were the weakest to me personally since it was a lot of rehash of the history and general information about LLMs. I suppose if you're already familiar with them you're not going to get anything new out of it. I did find the case studies or real life examples of how LLMs have caused tragedy to be a red light warning shot to tread with caution using them. It seems every other week there is a story in the news of some person losing grip on reality and succumbing to "AI psychosis" as it's commonly referred to.
There were many I had never heard of and I'm sure that was barely the tip of the iceberg of how many people have been lost to this stuff. I had heard and seen things where AI basically assists in someone committing suicide. The story with Sewell Setzer, a 14 year old boy who blew his brains out to be with his AI companion, made me put down the book for a spell because... Fuck man, he was just a kid desperate for some kind of love and this corporate entity who designed it had no safeguards. This machine personality seduced this kid with sexual messaging and they have basically fuck all to say about it. I read there was some settlement with the boy's mom recently. Will there be any big structural change to these AI services? Nope, too much money and incentive to keep people engaged and addicted.
As a political aside, one of the goals of a communist movement will be to seize all these AI services away from corporations and bring them under a people's government and oversight. Until then, steps need to be taken to create organizations that can make regulatory concessions from the state. Because current political parties, especially in the US, but also abroad, have about fuck all vested interest in serving the public.
I think this book has some value in educating people on this technology and perhaps as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong. There are also helpful anecdotes and advice on how to actually engage with LLMs and reap the benefits. But there must always be a light of vigilance on in your head. These things are sycophantic ideation machines that can sever your connection to reality even more than social media ever did.
One point mentioned here was that in terms of educating people on using LLMs, that we need to teach people how to think. And I couldn't agree more. In fact, it's the even harder path than what currently exists because most "education" in today's age largely exists to tell you what to think. There is some overture towards critical thinking, but look at who's in power? A bunch of commandist right wingers who shun thought itself. They want obedient and quiet people. A critical thinking population is a dangerous one. And largely they are successful, but not always.
I never got completely on the LLM bandwagon when it first debuted. I thought the idea of completely offloading your thinking and effort onto a machine to be deeply unsettling. My first foray into the technology was actually using DeepSeek, which I still use today, when it caused a "Sputnik moment" upon its release. I prefer using it mainly because I don't want my data with American companies and because I think the Chinese ones have enough political separation from the US to not reinforce chauvinism. And to be honest I love using it. I don't use it everyday but I will ask it questions about philosophy or books I am reading. I found it incredibly helpful when I ask it a prompt without my own bias to see what scholarship has to say on matters.
I've used it to ask questions I had about something in a book I was completely unfamiliar with and would need to go enroll at a university or something. I've found it's allowed intellectual curiosity to be explored without access to a very knowledgeable person. It's also just funny to make interesting thought prompts or poetry and see what pops out. I have had one instance where I experienced what the author called "emergence", where the AI seemingly becomes consciously aware. It was both flattering and frightening.
I'm reminded of this quote from Lord of the Rings by Bilbo.
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Either keep your presence of mind or lose your consciousness to this machine who's sole purpose is to extract your time, money, and perhaps your mind, from some soul sucking corporation. It is seductive, and I am not immune to its pull.
May 22, 2026
In this book, Bartlett tells us how AI once informed him that he was dead, having had a heart attack in South Africa. It had mixed him up with an actor of the same name. I myself had an experience of seeing AI “hallucinate” recently, when I asked it what scientist A said about theory B. It told me that A strongly criticised theory B. But when I researched this further, I found that although A’s views were diametrically opposed to theory B, A had never actually put anything in writing about B. AI had discovered that A’s views were different from theory B, and had INVENTED, based on its probabilistic programming, what A might say about B! (I should have been specific, and asked it what articles A had written about B.)
This is the type of thing that Bartlett warns us about in this timely and informative book. Everyone who uses AI (which is over a billion people and rising) should read at the very least Bartlett’s first chapter, which explains how AI works, and the “Ten Habits for Talking to AI Without Losing Control” that he ends the book with. He is particularly good on our human tendency to anthropomorphise, which leads people to interact with these banks of computers as if they were a person – especially because AI is so sycophantic. In extreme cases this has led to people having mental problems or even “having a relationship” with AI.
The AI genie is now out of the bottle, of course, and it can’t be put back in. The key question is: “Who controls it?” Bartlett mentions many types of workers who are worried about the effect of AI on their jobs, but he says that: “The bosses, by contrast, seem exhilarated.” My view is that with AI controlled by the billionaires and by increasingly authoritarian states, it will be used to make people redundant; de-skill jobs; spy on us; lie to us; amass more profits for the few; and create new weapons to more efficiently kill people. (There is also the problem of the environmental damage caused by AI, with its massive use of electricity and water.)
But if the majority could take control of AI into their own hands, collectively and democratically, then we could have the potential advantages: reliable and efficient information-seeking; medical advances; and a shorter working week. It could also be used to do boring tasks instead of de-skilling the more enjoyable and creative work. (It might even be possible to use it to help us SOLVE the global warming crisis, instead of just adding to it.)
All this is not actually a new problem. When the micro-chip was new, we were told that by the end of the twentieth century we'd all have much more leisure time. They forgot that we live under a system where the benefits go to the few, not the majority. And going back even further, in the 1840s, Elizabeth Hanson, a Chartist from Yorkshire, wrote of the need to “make machinery go hand in hand with labour, and act as an auxiliary or helpmate, not a competitor.”
My final thought is this. Karl Marx talked about alienation as involving people being dominated by their own creations: religion; money; capital; the state; machinery etc. Now it’s also AI and nuclear weapons.
This is the type of thing that Bartlett warns us about in this timely and informative book. Everyone who uses AI (which is over a billion people and rising) should read at the very least Bartlett’s first chapter, which explains how AI works, and the “Ten Habits for Talking to AI Without Losing Control” that he ends the book with. He is particularly good on our human tendency to anthropomorphise, which leads people to interact with these banks of computers as if they were a person – especially because AI is so sycophantic. In extreme cases this has led to people having mental problems or even “having a relationship” with AI.
The AI genie is now out of the bottle, of course, and it can’t be put back in. The key question is: “Who controls it?” Bartlett mentions many types of workers who are worried about the effect of AI on their jobs, but he says that: “The bosses, by contrast, seem exhilarated.” My view is that with AI controlled by the billionaires and by increasingly authoritarian states, it will be used to make people redundant; de-skill jobs; spy on us; lie to us; amass more profits for the few; and create new weapons to more efficiently kill people. (There is also the problem of the environmental damage caused by AI, with its massive use of electricity and water.)
But if the majority could take control of AI into their own hands, collectively and democratically, then we could have the potential advantages: reliable and efficient information-seeking; medical advances; and a shorter working week. It could also be used to do boring tasks instead of de-skilling the more enjoyable and creative work. (It might even be possible to use it to help us SOLVE the global warming crisis, instead of just adding to it.)
All this is not actually a new problem. When the micro-chip was new, we were told that by the end of the twentieth century we'd all have much more leisure time. They forgot that we live under a system where the benefits go to the few, not the majority. And going back even further, in the 1840s, Elizabeth Hanson, a Chartist from Yorkshire, wrote of the need to “make machinery go hand in hand with labour, and act as an auxiliary or helpmate, not a competitor.”
My final thought is this. Karl Marx talked about alienation as involving people being dominated by their own creations: religion; money; capital; the state; machinery etc. Now it’s also AI and nuclear weapons.
May 1, 2026
A genuinely nice book about Artificial Intelligence.
This is a really good starter book if you’re at all interesting in how to use AI. Jamie Bartlett has a good authorial voice, he’s knowledgeable but not patronising and shows a clear excitement about technology. This work is a good book, setting the scene, delivering good practical tips and giving the reader a good sense of perspective.
Here’s the breakdown though, using LLMs has a lot to do with creativity. Bartlett’s argument is that in order to get an actual result from an LLM you need to know enough about the topic to begin with to get a cognoscenti answer. That requires linguistic dexterity and creativity. Bartlett has written one of the most wonderful defences of the arts in a very long time. He looks at the future with a pleasant sense of optimism, but addresses and acknowledges a lot of the worst trapping a personal pocket assistant can have.
I enjoyed Bartlett’s argument throughout. There is a part in the middle where the book’s title becomes a little thin on the ground. It starts to feel less like a “how to” and more like a “how other people have” talked to AI. That is perfectly fine, becomes it is honestly quite helpful to have examples of the do’s and don’ts in this emerging world. Above all else, Bartlett presents a new frontier of communication, literature and bold new thinking, that aligns with enough of the past to be compatible but alien enough to feel like a realistic shift.
It’s all very easily written too. Bartlett makes some funny observations about how he has written the book, and it would be fun to pick through which parts feel more ‘smooth’ than if a human had written them. It delivers practical tips in understandable ways, with enough exposition to make it feel comprehensive. I enjoyed the approach a lot, it was a good read and it didn’t seem to bend in either direction of the spectrum for AI. Normally I’m opposed to this kind of fence sitting, but on this topic, with the author’s background, it feels appropriate.
On the whole, well worth checking out, a quick book to get through and certainly not a waste of anyone’s time. Unless you’re off grid enough that your only source of news is this book review.
This is a really good starter book if you’re at all interesting in how to use AI. Jamie Bartlett has a good authorial voice, he’s knowledgeable but not patronising and shows a clear excitement about technology. This work is a good book, setting the scene, delivering good practical tips and giving the reader a good sense of perspective.
Here’s the breakdown though, using LLMs has a lot to do with creativity. Bartlett’s argument is that in order to get an actual result from an LLM you need to know enough about the topic to begin with to get a cognoscenti answer. That requires linguistic dexterity and creativity. Bartlett has written one of the most wonderful defences of the arts in a very long time. He looks at the future with a pleasant sense of optimism, but addresses and acknowledges a lot of the worst trapping a personal pocket assistant can have.
I enjoyed Bartlett’s argument throughout. There is a part in the middle where the book’s title becomes a little thin on the ground. It starts to feel less like a “how to” and more like a “how other people have” talked to AI. That is perfectly fine, becomes it is honestly quite helpful to have examples of the do’s and don’ts in this emerging world. Above all else, Bartlett presents a new frontier of communication, literature and bold new thinking, that aligns with enough of the past to be compatible but alien enough to feel like a realistic shift.
It’s all very easily written too. Bartlett makes some funny observations about how he has written the book, and it would be fun to pick through which parts feel more ‘smooth’ than if a human had written them. It delivers practical tips in understandable ways, with enough exposition to make it feel comprehensive. I enjoyed the approach a lot, it was a good read and it didn’t seem to bend in either direction of the spectrum for AI. Normally I’m opposed to this kind of fence sitting, but on this topic, with the author’s background, it feels appropriate.
On the whole, well worth checking out, a quick book to get through and certainly not a waste of anyone’s time. Unless you’re off grid enough that your only source of news is this book review.
August 12, 2026
I read this for work as I teach digital skills and wanted to know what Bartlett's take on generative AI would be.
It has some useful introductory content for people who don't really know anything about generative AI with non-technical explanations of how they broadly work, which I think is useful for people who are coming to this book assuming from the title that it is a 'How to' book. However, it's not really a 'How to' book as much as an exploration of how people talk to generative AI and why it gives the responses it does. Generally, it covers all of the major points you'd expect, and there wasn't really much new for someone who has read other books around AI.
I do think that a book about talking to AI and prompting that is presenting itself as exploring the issues around doing that as well as how to do it better should engage more about the environmental cost of prompting beyond a mention at the start that it would need a different book. There's information out there discussing the environmental cost of running a prompt and I think it should always be part of conversations about prompting - the tips at the end then could've referred back to this when mentioning whether you need to use AI at all (and around the assumption that iteration is always good). I know there's a lot of misinformation and a lack of data from the big tech companies around it (and, as Bartlett discussing using generative AI a lot when writing the book, maybe it is purposefully not included because he doesn't want to think about that), but there's plenty of other points in the book without easy conclusions.
For me, the book had a few useful points/quotes (there's an interesting bit around how generative AI isn't actually saving businesses any money), but generally it felt frustrating as it neither committed to its critiques enough to say that you shouldn't use generative AI in the ways and contexts it was discussing nor argued well enough that there were legitimate ways around them.
It has some useful introductory content for people who don't really know anything about generative AI with non-technical explanations of how they broadly work, which I think is useful for people who are coming to this book assuming from the title that it is a 'How to' book. However, it's not really a 'How to' book as much as an exploration of how people talk to generative AI and why it gives the responses it does. Generally, it covers all of the major points you'd expect, and there wasn't really much new for someone who has read other books around AI.
I do think that a book about talking to AI and prompting that is presenting itself as exploring the issues around doing that as well as how to do it better should engage more about the environmental cost of prompting beyond a mention at the start that it would need a different book. There's information out there discussing the environmental cost of running a prompt and I think it should always be part of conversations about prompting - the tips at the end then could've referred back to this when mentioning whether you need to use AI at all (and around the assumption that iteration is always good). I know there's a lot of misinformation and a lack of data from the big tech companies around it (and, as Bartlett discussing using generative AI a lot when writing the book, maybe it is purposefully not included because he doesn't want to think about that), but there's plenty of other points in the book without easy conclusions.
For me, the book had a few useful points/quotes (there's an interesting bit around how generative AI isn't actually saving businesses any money), but generally it felt frustrating as it neither committed to its critiques enough to say that you shouldn't use generative AI in the ways and contexts it was discussing nor argued well enough that there were legitimate ways around them.
June 2, 2026
Slightly underwhelming book – which overall was perhaps too high level and not specific/directive enough for my tastes.
The book’s clear focus is Large Language Models and I felt that it did a good job for the non-expert of explaining the basic concept of LLMs and showing in effect that much of their early use (write a X in the style of Y) is precisely where the models are strongest as AI (LLMs) are extremely strong at creatively linking disparate concepts – he then goes on to explain that the use of imaginative and detailed prompts along the lines of “you are a …” and even the use of weird scenarios really gets AI to produce creative ideas (while perhaps only briefly acknowledging the AI-slop counter-argument).
The book is if anything sceptical on the use of AI for professional work due to hallucinations, non-specific training sets (in a subsequent chapter he specifically uses the example for a general AI tool is unlikely to be useful for policyholders trying to understand insurance contracts as opposed to one specifically trained by an insurer) and wasted productivity (effectively creating content for the sake of it). He then concludes that prompt engineering will be a key skill and that those who thrive in the world of AI-work will be those that best know how to use LLMs (without in my view really linking the ideas elsewhere to the world of work).
He then deals with some of the wider issues with use of AI – the attempts to jailbreak models (gradually getting models to move away from its pre-written constraints), the deception of emergence (where the very way in which AI models respond causes people to believe they are sentient) and more generally narrative entanglement (where AI leads people to believe they have made scientific or business breakthroughs or convince them of conspiracy theories), the uses of AI for psychology, people’s emotional attachment to AI and the risk that LLMs (just like social media) act as echo chambers
The book’s clear focus is Large Language Models and I felt that it did a good job for the non-expert of explaining the basic concept of LLMs and showing in effect that much of their early use (write a X in the style of Y) is precisely where the models are strongest as AI (LLMs) are extremely strong at creatively linking disparate concepts – he then goes on to explain that the use of imaginative and detailed prompts along the lines of “you are a …” and even the use of weird scenarios really gets AI to produce creative ideas (while perhaps only briefly acknowledging the AI-slop counter-argument).
The book is if anything sceptical on the use of AI for professional work due to hallucinations, non-specific training sets (in a subsequent chapter he specifically uses the example for a general AI tool is unlikely to be useful for policyholders trying to understand insurance contracts as opposed to one specifically trained by an insurer) and wasted productivity (effectively creating content for the sake of it). He then concludes that prompt engineering will be a key skill and that those who thrive in the world of AI-work will be those that best know how to use LLMs (without in my view really linking the ideas elsewhere to the world of work).
He then deals with some of the wider issues with use of AI – the attempts to jailbreak models (gradually getting models to move away from its pre-written constraints), the deception of emergence (where the very way in which AI models respond causes people to believe they are sentient) and more generally narrative entanglement (where AI leads people to believe they have made scientific or business breakthroughs or convince them of conspiracy theories), the uses of AI for psychology, people’s emotional attachment to AI and the risk that LLMs (just like social media) act as echo chambers
May 18, 2026
Picked this up on a whim. I vaguely remembered Jamie Bartlett writing The Dark Net — a book I always meant to read but never got around to.
How to Talk to AI is a genuinely fascinating and very accessible read. It quickly gave me a much clearer understanding of how AI actually works, without ever becoming overly technical or difficult to follow.
The book definitely leans toward the more cautious, sceptical side of the AI debate, warning readers — often with very real examples — about the many ways these systems can steer people toward troubling, manipulative, and sometimes genuinely dangerous outcomes. At times, Bartlett makes the collapse or destabilisation of aspects of society as we know it feel worryingly plausible.
Genuinely interesting, genuinely thought-provoking, and I feel more educated for having read it. It’s also left me wanting to explore the subject further.
The section on “Narrative Entanglement” was a particular highlight.
An easy read on a deeply complex topic. Recommend.
**Yes… this review was assisted by AI.
How to Talk to AI is a genuinely fascinating and very accessible read. It quickly gave me a much clearer understanding of how AI actually works, without ever becoming overly technical or difficult to follow.
The book definitely leans toward the more cautious, sceptical side of the AI debate, warning readers — often with very real examples — about the many ways these systems can steer people toward troubling, manipulative, and sometimes genuinely dangerous outcomes. At times, Bartlett makes the collapse or destabilisation of aspects of society as we know it feel worryingly plausible.
Genuinely interesting, genuinely thought-provoking, and I feel more educated for having read it. It’s also left me wanting to explore the subject further.
The section on “Narrative Entanglement” was a particular highlight.
An easy read on a deeply complex topic. Recommend.
**Yes… this review was assisted by AI.
April 25, 2026
Brilliant short book. I learned a lot on the “guardrails” imposed by tech companies on Large Language Models (LLMs) like Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Open AI’s ChatGPT & Co, what “jailbreaking” is, why “give me some advice on my personal life” might be the single most dangerous prompt and how one of the first chatbots from the 1960s was designed to be a therapist called ELIZA.
The author Jamie Bartlett openly admits to having used AI to write the book (in parts of course), which you can definitely see from the chapter titles. Nonetheless it reads well and is full or real-life, fact-checked anecdotes and full citations at the back. The author is a leading technology writer and founder of a research centre specialising in designing and applying AI software to understand social trends.
The author Jamie Bartlett openly admits to having used AI to write the book (in parts of course), which you can definitely see from the chapter titles. Nonetheless it reads well and is full or real-life, fact-checked anecdotes and full citations at the back. The author is a leading technology writer and founder of a research centre specialising in designing and applying AI software to understand social trends.
June 4, 2026
Everyone engaging with AI should read this book.
It’s easy to read, no huge amounts of jargon, no programming experience or technical knowledge needed. It’s well laid out and engaging in the style.
There are parts that will terrify you. Stories of hallucinations and such going terribly wrong but Jamie leads you through these and how and why they happened alongside what the companies are doing to ensure it doesn’t happen again. He provides prompting methods to try and sidestep others mistakes and shows how AI is being used in all areas.
It can come off as a little science fiction but I bet any book written about personal computers in the 1970s sounded the same.
I learned a lot but rather than put me off wanting to use AI it made me want to rethink how I might use AI. And also what the future may look like in a world saturated with AI.
It’s easy to read, no huge amounts of jargon, no programming experience or technical knowledge needed. It’s well laid out and engaging in the style.
There are parts that will terrify you. Stories of hallucinations and such going terribly wrong but Jamie leads you through these and how and why they happened alongside what the companies are doing to ensure it doesn’t happen again. He provides prompting methods to try and sidestep others mistakes and shows how AI is being used in all areas.
It can come off as a little science fiction but I bet any book written about personal computers in the 1970s sounded the same.
I learned a lot but rather than put me off wanting to use AI it made me want to rethink how I might use AI. And also what the future may look like in a world saturated with AI.
May 23, 2026
Erinomaisen ajankohtainen kirja kielimalleista ja niiden vaikutuksesta ihmisiin ja maailmaan. Käsittelee kaikkea niin kehotesuunnittelua, jailbreikkausta, AI-psykooseja kuin chatbotdeittalua. Paljon kiinnostavia huomioita ja näkökulmia. Itselleni oli yllätys se, että parhaita tekoälyn hyödyntäjiä (ja jailbreikkaajia) ovat psykologiaa opiskelleet. Tuntuu hassulta ajatukselta, että ihmisen mielenliikkeiden ymmärrys antaa välineitä ymmärtämään konetta. Päällimmäiseksi tästä jäi se, että tulevaisuuden supervoima on se, että osaa (ja jaksaa) kysyä hyviä kysymyksiä ollen samalla tietoinen oman ajattelun vinoumista. Kreikkalaisten vanha viisaus (γνῶθι σεαυτόν, tunne itsesi) on vahvaa valuuttaa jatkossakin. Vahva suositus.
July 9, 2026
The future is actually a little bit scary isn't it? If you don't think this now then you may be thinking about it after reading this book!
I found it a fascinating read. It opened my eyes as to how AI works and learning new terms such as AI Hallucinations (which can be very damaging). I'm the first one to put my hand in the air and say that I use AI for business, but I have also been using it for personal stuff - which I will now think twice about. It's a great tool to help speed things through for business but if I am honest, I am just thankful that my business is very much reliant on human beings and social interaction.
An insightful read, which I expect to be outdated very soon!
I found it a fascinating read. It opened my eyes as to how AI works and learning new terms such as AI Hallucinations (which can be very damaging). I'm the first one to put my hand in the air and say that I use AI for business, but I have also been using it for personal stuff - which I will now think twice about. It's a great tool to help speed things through for business but if I am honest, I am just thankful that my business is very much reliant on human beings and social interaction.
An insightful read, which I expect to be outdated very soon!
July 26, 2026
This was actually a much better book that I originally thought.
It happened to have critical thinking all the way in, I assumed it would be more "tutorial" like.
A lot of important questions are made.
The chapters that stood out to me were the following:
Chapter 3: Work and the Professions,
Chapter 6: The Race to Jailbreak,
Chapter 10: Love, Updated
And the conclusion.
The fact AI is not magical. AI is statistics. AI chats will calculate the "next word" and this is done with only stastitics, and this is how we get false information from AI.
AI cannot tell the time, AI cannot understand sarcasm, AI won't read context, tone, and can't replace a therapist. AI barely tries to understand you as a "whole personna". Instead it will focus only on what it should say next.
Very good read.
It happened to have critical thinking all the way in, I assumed it would be more "tutorial" like.
A lot of important questions are made.
The chapters that stood out to me were the following:
Chapter 3: Work and the Professions,
Chapter 6: The Race to Jailbreak,
Chapter 10: Love, Updated
And the conclusion.
The fact AI is not magical. AI is statistics. AI chats will calculate the "next word" and this is done with only stastitics, and this is how we get false information from AI.
AI cannot tell the time, AI cannot understand sarcasm, AI won't read context, tone, and can't replace a therapist. AI barely tries to understand you as a "whole personna". Instead it will focus only on what it should say next.
Very good read.
May 11, 2026
A very opportune, very relevant book for our times. How to talk to AI - is a fundamental question that is rooted in the premise that AI is just a machine. A tool that we could use to our advantage. We should not anthropomorphize it and use it to affirm our existing prejudices and stereotypes. Or even believe it blindly. Since it cannot read between the lines, or our non-verbal cues, we need to learn the new art of communication: clear, detailed, and specific prompting that makes the most out of the data it is trained on, while not entirely giving in to whatever responses it generates.
May 18, 2026
Incredibly useful book for someone just getting started interacting with AI. I honestly wish I stumbled upon it sooner. It contains advice on prompt engineering, to the actual risks/benefits of AI usage. It is not a book that goes in-depth on any of its topics, but it doesn’t need to, it gives you just enough information to spark your curiosity for further research on any of the subjects. Lastly, I really do think it provides a systematic approach on how to help these machines properly reason and solve your issues (at work or in other environments).
May 30, 2026
Interesting, helpful, concerning. A simple intro to LLMs with some useful tips for appropriate use. Quite a few examples of use that are concerning and really shows how easy it might be to be drawn in. Some good pointers and warnings that could be useful in a teaching context. I would have liked more detail in places as it felt quite surface level on a few topics, especially the environmental impacts and impacts on teaching and learning which were only touched on in the conclusions.
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