Dear readers and critical thinkers, we, the critical tech book club, are taking a summer break 🙂
We finished the Mood Machine book and after several intense and rich discussions and exchanges we have a long list of wishes to read waiting for us. Before that, we will take a break and rethink the schedule of the meetings (for a better time frame for everyone)
We will announce it here and/or casino channel
Stay tune.
Here some racommendations for the summer that will be our next readings of the club:
- Empire of AI – Karen Hao (2025) – book that investigates the rise of OpenAI, drawing parallels between the company’s resource-intensive, empire-like growth and historical empires. Well researched and fun to read, but it could be more story telling and less discussion oriented.
- The AI con 2025 – argues that „AI“ is a misleading marketing term used by tech companies to obscure automation, justify data exploitation, and consolidate power, rather than a sign of true machine intelligence. Controversial take; could be fun to discuss.
- The Sirens‘ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource 2025 – offers an engaging analysis of a current challenge: we’re drowning in an ocean of content designed to capture fragments of our consciousness, and we barely notice the tide pulling us under. Critics say it’s a good read based on observation but lacking scientific analysis.
- Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence – Max Tegmark 2017 – explores the future impact of AI, defining three stages of life: Life 1.0 (biological), Life 2.0 (cultural/human), and Life 3.0 (technological, able to design its own hardware and software). Thought-provoking. It is a highly ambitious book that explores the future of AI and its potential to shift humanity into a new evolutionary stage. Can be overly optimistic but interesting for a discussion group.
- Super intelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies 2014 – explores the potential risks and opportunities of artificial superintelligence (ASI) surpassing human intellect, arguing that such an entity could pose an existential threat if its goals aren’t aligned with human values, and proposing strategies for ensuring a beneficial outcome, making it a foundational text in AI safety and existential risk discussions. Very popular among Silicon Valley members now leading major AI companies.
They will be soon available at our collection of your kollektivbibliothek!
Have a nice summer break! mor soon.