Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2021-10-26
Books mentioned on #541: Eric Schmidt — The Promises and Perils of AI, the Future of Warfare, Profound Revolutions on the Horizon, and Exploring the Meaning of Life
Eric Schmidt — The Promises and Perils of AI, the Future of Warfare, Profound Revolutions on the Horizon, and Exploring the Meaning of Life | Brought to you by ShipStation shipping software, ButcherBox premium meats delivered to your door, and Pique Tea premium tea crystals (pu’er, etc.).
Eric Schmidt discussed Neuromancer by William Gibson and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Tim Ferriss recommended The Age of A.I. by Henry Kissinger and others, and discussed The Case Against Reality by Donald David Hoffman.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Neuromancer
Neuromancer by William Gibson is a foundational cyberpunk novel that helped popularize the concept of cyberspace and heavily influenced modern science fiction and internet culture.
Discussed“well, Neuromancer is particularly good.”
Where to get it
-
Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is an epic science fiction novel that begins with the cataclysmic destruction of the moon and follows humanity's desperate efforts to preserve civilization in space.
Discussed“If you look at Seveneves, Mhm. a Neal Stephenson book, it's an extraordinary composition of of the importance of of humanity surviving the destruction of the Earth.”
Where to get it
-
The Case Against Reality
The Case Against Reality by Donald David Hoffman is a scientific exploration arguing that human perception is an evolutionary interface rather than a direct window into objective truth.
Discussed“So, I'll I'll correct it in the show notes if I do, but I believe his name is Donald Hoffman who is a cognitive scientist, also computer scientist at UC Irvine and he has a book that's called the believe the case against reality and also a TED Talk.”
Where to get it
-
The Age of A.I.
The Age of A.I.
Recommended“I will absolutely take it and I encourage people to read this book. The Age of AI. Pick it up.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (5) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“With co-authors Henry A. Kissinger and Daniel Huttenlocher, Eric has a new book out titled The Age of AI and Our Human Future.”
“In our collaboration, the book suggestion was actually from Dr. Kissinger. And what he basically said is that we have an opportunity to architect the questions that need to get answered in the next 10, 20, 30 years.”
“I don't want to say predictive power, but I think of really good science fiction of course subjective, but Snow Crash, the description of the metaverse, or you have some of William Gibson's work.”
“An example that I used, which is for example, you can see it in the movie Ready Player One, where people cross over and they spend most of their time in a in a virtual world is true for many many teenagers.”
“What do you hope the impact of this this book will be? It's it's so all-encompassing in some respects this topic. What is the the hope with this book in terms of impact or what people will do or how they will change their assumptions or beliefs after being exposed to it.”