Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 2026-02-24
Books mentioned on How Fast Will A.I. Agents Rip Through the Economy? | The Ezra Klein Show
Jack Clark recommended A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, The True Believer by Eric Hoffer, and There Is No Antimemetics Division.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K.
Recommended“Ursula Le Guin "The Wizard of Earthsea" was the first book I read. It’s a book where magic comes from, knowing the true name of things, and it’s also a meditation on hubris, in this case, of a person with thinking they can push magic very far.”
Where to get it
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The True Believer
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer is a classic work of social psychology that examines the nature of mass movements, fanaticism, and the underlying motivations that drive individuals to embrace extreme collective beliefs.
Recommended“Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer," which is a book on the nature of mass movements and the psychology of what causes people to have strong beliefs, which I read because I think that I technologists have strong beliefs and maybe part of a strong culture that includes the word cult. And so you need to understand the science and psychology”
Where to get it
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There Is No Antimemetics Division
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm is a science fiction work centered around a secretive government agency tasked with managing dangerous concepts that inherently erase themselves from human memory.
Recommended“And finally, a book called "There Is No Antimemetics Division" by a writer with the name qntm, which is about concepts that are in themselves information hazards where even thinking about them can be dangerous. And I always recommend it to people working on A.I. risk as a book adjacent to the things they worry about.”
Where to get it
