Person
Every book Mo Gawdat recommended on podcasts
Mo Gawdat's podcast appearances, particularly on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, present him as a prominent voice bridging artificial intelligence, existential philosophy, and personal well-being. Drawing from his background as a former tech executive, Gawdat frequently integrates philosophical literature and dystopian warnings into his discussions on the future of humanity. Among his key literary references is Stephen Jenkinson's 'Die Wise', which Gawdat invokes to champion a fearless, realistic approach to human mortality and suffering. Examining the darker implications of modern political narratives and institutional control, he references George Orwell's classic dystopian novel '1984' to illustrate how authority figures manipulate language and reality. On the topic of personal purpose and happiness, Gawdat reflects upon his own written contributions, including 'Solve for Happy' and 'That Little Voice in Your Head', while also citing Paulo Coelho's beloved novel 'The Alchemist' to reinforce the idea that the universe aligns to support those who pursue their true life purpose. Through this mix of personal philosophy, fiction, and existential writing, Gawdat encourages listeners to confront harsh realities while actively cultivating internal peace and purpose.
Books recommended by Mo Gawdat
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Die wise
Die wise by Stephen Jenkinson is a profound philosophical exploration of mortality, grief, and how society's avoidance of death diminishes the human experience.
Recommended“He's you know, he worked 30 years with dying people. He wrote a book called Die Wise and I was I love his work and I asked him about Die Wise and he said it's not just someone dying.”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel depicting a totalitarian regime characterized by extreme government surveillance, historical negationism, and psychological manipulation.
Discussed“You you remember 1984 and the Orwellian approach of like you know freedom is slavery and war is peace”
Where to get it
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Solve for happy
Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat is a reflective non-fiction book that presents a mathematical equation for human happiness based on the relationship between expectations and life events.
Discussed“One of them was a you know, what what we spoke about the first time we met, you know, my work on happiness and you know, being 1 billion happy and my mission and so on. That's my second life.”
Where to get it
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That Little Voice in Your Head
That Little Voice in Your Head by Mo Gawdat offers practical strategies and psychological insights for retraining the human brain to achieve maximum happiness and emotional stability.
Discussed“when when I write for example, I'm not I'm not saying I'm intelligent, but when I write uh something like uh you know, The Happiness Equation uh in in my first book, this was something that's never been written before, right?”
Where to get it
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The Alchemist
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a symbolic and philosophical novel that follows a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago on a journey toward the Egyptian pyramids in search of a hidden treasure.
Discussed“And you know, if if you've read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, you know, when you when you know your life's purpose the universe conspires to make it happen.”
Where to get it
Books Mo Gawdat wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (14: passing, ad reads, own books)
“One is remember when we spoke about scary smart I was still saying that there are things we can do to change the course.”
“So, scary smart to me uh was that moment where I realized not that we are certain to go either way.”
“we were having an easy conversation i wrote sulfur happy at a time where ali had just left our world and he helped me really really figure things out”
“what struck me and really really puzzled me was that i realized when i wrote scary scarysmart and you know scarysmart was entirely about technology and where technology is going and so on i realized that we humans have the ultimate technology in our heads”
“It seems that Solve for Happy needed to be written, okay? And I had the notes for it in 2011”
“And then things roll and roll and roll to the point that I came here in the UK after literally a week after the the publication of Soul for Happy and I had that interview very famous with Channel 4 news.”
“And so, I basically wrote it with the intention of, "Okay, I'm going to make him everywhere and part of everyone. And I told you when I wrote Soul for Happy, it was the most selfish thing you can ever do.”
“Uh in Solve for Happy, I had a sentence on page 11 that basically said exactly what you said, "Happiness is a choice."”
“And I did a an interesting analysis in Solve for Happy where I listed down the majority of human emo- emotions and plotted them across where they are anchored in time and across if they're positive or negative.”
“It came to and this is one of the conclusive points in my book was that you can create so much more with gratitude what you already have.”
“Part of my my of Soul for Happy, I talk about a concept I call look down.”
“So so that he is in for Scary Smart, my book is entirely around that that there are so many people out there that have no clue that have they have interacted today, whatever time of the day it is for you, what whatever you are, whatever you do in life, you've already interacted with 10 to 12, 15, 20,”
“Now, Scary Smart is written in a very unusual way, because it's not a book about artificial intelligence only. It's a It's a book about the role of humanity in the age of the machines.”
“And you know, and this is truly the core of of of Scary Smart is an explanation that we're no longer building computers.”