Our Go-To AI Reads
To research our book “Building Creative Machines”, we read numerous books and papers, and we couldn’t agree more with the recent McKinsey’s TOP 9 AI book selection, which we share here with some personal notes:
1. The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want
Bender and Hanna critically dismantle the inflated promises and myths surrounding AI, exposing it as gloss for profit‑driven narratives (The Guardian). Armed with clear examples and biting humour, The AI Con equips readers to challenge AI hype and advocate for accountability (penguin.co.uk)
2. Building a God: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the Race to Control It
DiCarlo explores the challenges of governing AI, questioning how to ensure super-intelligent machines adhere to ethical bounds (PublishersWeekly.com). His deep dive into AI’s moral dilemmas offers a thought‑provoking framework for policymakers and technologists alike
3. Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit
Kissinger, Schmidt, and Mundie present a sweeping analysis of AI’s promises, perils, and its impact on human society and global order (Reimagining the Future). Their interdisciplinary perspective combines historical insight and strategic foresight, making Genesis essential for leaders navigating the future of AI
4. A Kids Book About AI Bias
Epps simplifies complex concepts, showing young readers how AI systems can perpetuate human prejudices through biased data (PenguinRandomhouse.com). By empowering kids with clear examples and actionable steps, this book fosters early critical thinking about fairness in technology
5. The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future
Hagey’s biography delves into Sam Altman’s journey from startup whiz to OpenAI’s visionary CEO, charting his quest to shape AI’s trajectory (The Guardian). This humanising portrait reveals the strategic and ethical dilemmas behind OpenAI’s rise, offering valuable lessons in tech leadership, (PublishersWeekly.com)
6. The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip
Witt narrates Huang’s bold pivot of Nvidia from gaming chips to AI supercomputers, spotlighting the rise of CUDA and GPU innovation (The Guardian). His detailed account of Huang’s vision and management style highlights how hardware breakthroughs drive the AI revolution (Financial Times)
7. The New Lunar Society: An Enlightenment Guide to the Next Industrial Revolution
Mindell parallels the 18th‑century Lunar Society’s Enlightenment ideals with today’s need for sustainable, collaborative industrial innovation (MIT Press). By revisiting foundational principles of science and craftsmanship, this book inspires a resilient, ethical approach to modern tech challenges (PenguinRandomhouse.com)
8. The Maniac
Labatut blends biography and fiction to explore the thin line between genius and madness, tracing AI’s roots through von Neumann and the AlphaGo match (Wikipedia). Its kaleidoscopic narrative style illuminates AI’s human dimension, showing how groundbreaking discoveries can both inspire and haunt us (Blinkist)
9. Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles
Colias pulls back the curtain on boardroom debates and factory floors, chronicling the automotive industry’s messy shift from combustion engines to EVs. Masterful storytelling and insider access make this a must‑read for anyone seeking to understand the strategic, societal, and environmental stakes of EVs (store.hbr.org).
Together, these nine books don’t just chart AI’s technical contours—they map its ethical battlegrounds, human stories, hardware revolutions, and the very spirit of creativity that drives both machines and makers. Diving into them equips us with a 360‑degree toolkit for asking the right questions, steering AI toward the public good, and keeping humanity at the heart of innovation.