What Should My Children Do?

by Daniel Susskind

From the author of Growth, one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2024, a guide for helping the next generation through an educational world, and a job market, forever changed by AI – as well as for anyone navigating the upheaval in today’s workplace

We live at an extraordinary technological moment. Every day, it seems, we hear about machines taking on tasks that we thought only human beings alone would ever making medical diagnoses and composing jokes, drafting legal arguments and designing beautiful buildings, writing lines of code and even forming relationships. The leaders of the largest AI companies now claim that, within a few years, we will build an AI that can outperform us at every task that we do.

For the last fifteen years, Prof. Daniel Susskind has been exploring the impact of technology on work. Recent developments in AI – ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok – are astonishing, but also best thought of as a remarkable new chapter in this far longer story.

Still, the most common question people have remains–what should my children do?

What Should my Children Do? is an optimistic and hopeful guide for parents thinking about how to help their families flourish in this age of astonishing labor market shifts. It is also for anyone thinking about their career, asking how to navigate the turmoil that is underway in the working world, as well as for business and political leaders navigating the same upheaval.

With his deep knowledge of AI and how the world of work is changing, Prof. Susskind offers an evidence-based look at the problem and a practical path forward.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Technology, Education, Artificial Intelligence, Productivity, Science

Hardcover

Reviews

[Emily Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read quite a few AI books for work now, and this is the first one I have actually enjoyed reading. The first that I did not secretly wish I didn’t have to read. The author has put a lot of thought into how to steer the next generation and, while I don’t always agree with him, it is very rational and well reasoned.

[Jens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone with questions about this new exciting and terrifying AI age. It helped me build perspective and be more hopeful towards the future.

[Ralph Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Susskind is an evangelist for AI, extolling the extraordinary ways it is helping us learn and create. However, he isn't blind to its limitations and risks. One of the approaches he advocates in this book, which is not just for your children but for all of us, is to learn non-AI and AI methods of doing things.

Veering towards a brusque tone - you should be for AI. If you're not, there's something wrong with you - it never stays into causing offence. It is best described as a call to arms and an urging to get used to AI because it isn't going away, despite opposition to data centres, and issue, incidentally, which is barely discussed on these pages.

Susskind believes opponents of AI are wasting their time. He deftly explains his case in this book.

[Kristin Riley · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I bought this book while I was traveling in the UK. It is an account that is both “clear-eyed,” to use the description, but I also found it hopeful. The author doesn’t pretend to know all the answers but does present thoughtful questions and ways of thinking about the advances that are coming. I enjoyed the emphasis about bringing adults along and that we should change how we think about education (it should be lifelong and that’s a good thing!).

I haven’t read it l, but sounds like this is a good companion to his 2020 book, “A World Without Work.” I’ll be getting that one next!

[Scott Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely and thought-provoking book. Daniel explores how AI will reshape the future of work and challenges long-held assumptions about education, careers and job security. Crucially, he considers learning not only at school but throughout adulthood, making a compelling case for seriously rethinking education and lifelong learning. Particularly relevant for those working in education, it raises important questions about how we prepare people not simply to work, but to flourish in the age of AI.

[Greg Fournier · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

The book covered a wide range of topics in less than 200 pages, and it left me with a lot of things to think about. However, overall it felt underdeveloped. Several chapters were only a few pages long, and it seemed like Susskind was more interested in touching on topics than diving deeply into them. It was a quick read, and interesting throughout, but lacking in depth.

[Dr Tim O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

teach both, test both

This is the core premise of this book, extending the experience of the arrival of the calculator last century. Thought provoking and entirely accurate. Must read for teenagers and their parents alike.

[Christie]

The only person who has been able to articulate a growing feeling I've had since dipping my toes into the AI discourse: it's not what we can do that makes us human. It's who we are. I think that is something that is increasingly missed in these discussions.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking and useful.

[Olinga Tahzib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farsighted

[Katrien Borms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aanrader! Hoopvolle inzichten voor onze jeugd 😊