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
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
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.