Library

Everything worth reading about AI and human control. In one place.

Research papers, investigations, explainers, videos, laws and the organizations doing the work, from people who are alarmed and people who are skeptical. New additions are checked by two people before they are listed. The launch collection was compiled with the help of AI research assistants, and every link was opened and checked on 22 September 2026.

3 works on “Does it want things of its own?” · Book · clear filters

EssentialBook2020For the curious

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

Brian Christian · W. W. Norton & Company · wwnorton.com

Drawing on interviews with researchers, explores how machine-learning systems can end up at odds with what their makers intend and with human values, and the work to align them.

Worth knowing: Written before ChatGPT, so its examples predate today's chatbots.

BookSep 16, 2025For everyone

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares · Little, Brown and Company · ifanyonebuildsit.com

Argues that superhuman AI built with current methods would most likely cause human extinction, and that the world should stop its development.

Worth knowing: The authors lead MIRI, which campaigns for a halt. Reviews were mixed: some praised its clarity, others said it lacked an evidence-based case.

BookJul 3, 2014For the curious

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

Nick Bostrom · Oxford University Press · global.oup.com

The philosophical book that brought AI risk to wide attention: how AI smarter than humans might arise, why it could be hard to control, and what strategies might help.

Worth knowing: Written in 2014, before the current generation of AI systems.