Episode · The Knowledge Project · 2026-09-15
Books mentioned on Tobi Lütke: The Skills AI Makes More Valuable
Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke joins Shane Parrish to discuss AI agents, better decision-making, and the future of work. He explains how he uses an AI council to examine his hardest decisions and why taste, judgment, and responsibility become more valuable as AI becomes more capable.
Tobi Lütke recommended Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charles T. Munger, The Lessons of History by Will Durant and others, The Machiavellians by James Burnham, Meditations by Aurelius Marcus, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, and The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and discussed The Managerial Revolution.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Poor Charlie’s Almanack
Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charles T.
Recommended“books i come back to is like i often talk about pakistan's law which i love um it's such a quick read”
Where to get it
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The Lessons of History
The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant is a concise 104-page summary distilling five thousand years of historical patterns, human behavior, and the rise and fall of civilizations.
Recommended“i almost always will mention the lessons of history which is i just think the densest like the highest token quality book in existence like given for the length james burnham's books are fantastic”
Where to get it
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The Machiavellians
The Machiavellians by James Burnham is a work of political philosophy that examines how power operates in reality rather than how people ideally imagine it should function, focusing heavily on the Italian elite theorists and the iron law of oligarchy.
Recommended“what did he write he wrote um the managerial revolution first and then a book called the machiavellians which is unbelievably good i mean obviously i am a meditations fan”
Where to get it
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The Managerial Revolution
The Managerial Revolution by James Burnham is a political and economic analysis arguing that modern societies are shifting away from traditional capitalism toward a technocratic system dominated by managers and administrators.
Discussed“what did he write he wrote um the managerial revolution first and then a book called the machiavellians which is unbelievably good i mean obviously i am a meditations fan”
Where to get it
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of personal journals and philosophical notes written by the Roman emperor, offering timeless reflections on Stoic philosophy, self-discipline, and mortality.
Recommended“i mean obviously i am a meditations fan i know stoicism is falling out of favor a little bit right now but like it's been um a lifelong thing for me and um i have a copy of uh meditations in most rooms i spend time in”
Where to get it
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Foundation
Foundation by Isaac Asimov is a classic science fiction masterpiece that chronicles a group of scientists working to preserve knowledge and shorten a dark age through the science of psychohistory.
Recommended“but um his longer book is good fiction and foundation series is so good you read the three body parlance too right i guess that's sort of tripping into older book now too but like um that's a recent sci-fi which is incredibly good”
Where to get it
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The Three-Body Problem
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu is a sweeping science fiction novel exploring humanity's first contact with an alien civilization against the backdrop of China's cultural revolution.
Recommended“you read the three body parlance too right i guess that's sort of tripping into older book now too but like um that's a recent sci-fi which is incredibly good”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“well because the simple answer wouldn't make an interesting story like this is why uh you know frodo doesn't take the eagles to mount doom right like it's like you kind of need to go through all of lord of rings to to to for it become a masterpiece”