
Not all new books but books I keep coming back to… here’s a list of books that you can go and buy for yourself.
Some I use as reference books that have been well thumbed and scribbled on for some years. One that is a brilliant perspective on the coming wave on Artificial Intelligence that bring people say will shape the next decades just as much as the wheel, fire and the internet has.
Enjoy.
‘The Coming Wave’ by Mustapha Souleymane
“The coming wave is defined by two core technologies: artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic biology. Together they will usher in a new dawn for humanity creating wealth and surplus unlike anything ever seen. And yet their rapid proliferation also threatens to empower a diverse array of bad actors to unleash disruption, instability and even catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. The implications of these questions will ultimately affect everyone alive and every generation that follows us.”
‘Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond With Confidence in a Media Crisis’ by Molly McPherson
“Atone as a humbly as possible. This is another place where the ego gets in the way of the apology. Don’t hedge, don’t quibble about details. Be sincere in your message. If you don’t want to say or write the words ‘I’m sorry,’ then be as empathetic to those accusing you as humanely possible.”
‘TikTok Boom: China’s Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media’ by Chris Stokel-Walker
“TikTok’s algorithm works on what’s called the ‘content graph’ looking at what you’ve previously engaged with rather than a ‘social graph’ which accounts you follow. That makes it possible for a video to go super-viral from less than super surroundings. ‘We see things going viral all the time from people who have maybe, like 50 fans, who crack something,” says How. ‘There’s no recipe for it. There’s no magic formula.”
‘Buzzing Communities: How To Build Bigger Better, and More Active Online Communities’ by Richard Millington
“One morning I received a courtesy call that my position was being cut. It wasn’t that I wasn’t doing the job I had been hired for I just couldn’t prove that I had done a good job – nor that doing a good job profited the organisation. I hadn’t bothered to benchmark the community when I joined. I hadn’t bothered to ascertain the metrics of growth, engagement, sense of community, nor ROI.”
‘It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens’ Danah Boyd
“Nostalgia gets in the way of understanding the relation between teens and technology. Adults may idealise their childhoods and forget the trials and tribulations they faced. Many adults I meet assume that their own childhoods were better and richer, simpler and safer than the digitally mediated ones contemporary youth experience. They associate the rise of digital technology with decline – social, intellectual and moral. The research I present here suggests the opposite is true.”