Book Review: The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity

Reviewed by paulml

The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity by Amy Webb, PublicAffairs, 2019, ISBN: 978-1541773752

This book is all about the present state of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  It is a lot more than just Alexa and smart thermostats.

China has made no secret of its plan to become the world leader in AI in the next few years.  They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars at it and also building alliances with countries all over the developing world that may be rich in natural resources, but don't have much infrastructure.  America's response is to cut funding for basic scientific research, walk away from international treaties and alliances, and build a wall to keep people out of America.

Despite all the talk about getting women into STEM fields, AI is still very much of a boy's club.  The percentage of women in the field is pretty dismal and, for people of (no) color, the numbers are even worse.  The author presents three scenarios for AI's future.  Does America "get it," and build international alliances on the way to becoming the world AI leader?  Does China become the world leader, and control or occupy the whole world, including America?

What can America do about it?  Get away from the requirement that a company like Google or Apple must release a new AI gadget every year, or the stock price plummets.  It takes time to do AI properly.  Colleges currently restrict AI students to just technical courses.  It has to be possible for students to do a double major, like AI and politics.  Ethics should be a central part of the curriculum, not just a one-semester course.

This book is very easy to read, not just for people in the AI field, but for the average reader.  This easily reaches the level of Required Reading, in the classroom and the boardroom.