December 2021

Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Russell is best known for his work exploring artificial intelligence and for co-authoring Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach which is used in universities across the world. 

In this recently published book, he brings us a sobering dose of reality about the potential future of superhuman artificial intelligence which is both fascinating and not a little terrifying. But rather than presenting us with a ‘fait-accompli' dystopic scenario, Prof. Russell points out the power we all have to make the future we want but only if we start to think differently about what we want our relationship with AI to look like and how we deliver on that. 

This book is profound both in its intellectual excellence but also, importantly, in its simplicity of message - “the solution to this problem seems to be cultural, not technical. We will need a cultural movement to reshape our ideals.” 

That is a critical message for us all because it is only collectively that we can look to cultural change. It is not the preserve of technologists, lawyers or regulators to determine the direction of travel in this. It affects each and every one of us so each and every one of us should have our voices heard.