Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World

Who Should Read This Book and Why

• CIOs and technology leaders concerned about the ethical implications and long-term trajectory of AI within their organizations
• Non-technical decision-makers who need to understand AI's potential impact on society and business without getting lost in technical jargon

Summary

"Scary Smart" explores the future of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on humanity.

Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google, draws on his considerable expertise to explain how AI works and why it's both promising and concerning.

By 2049, Gawdat predicts AI will be a billion times more intelligent than humans. The book argues that we can't stop AI's progress, but we can shape its future by changing our own behavior.

Gawdat contends that AI learns from observing humans, so by improving how we treat each other and demonstrating better values, we can teach AI to become a force for good rather than harm.

The book offers a blueprint for what we can do to safeguard ourselves, those we love, and the planet itself, emphasizing that everyone—not just engineers or policymakers—has a role to play in determining AI's trajectory.

Key Learning Points

The Rapidly Advancing Nature of AI

• AI is evolving at an exponential pace and approaching the singularity—the point where it may exceed human intelligence.
• By 2029, AI may become smarter than humans in most domains
• Quantum computing could dramatically accelerate AI's capabilities therefore leading to the "singularity"

AI's Learning Process

• AI learns by observing and mimicking human behavior
• Current AI systems reflect human flaws and biases by design
• The data we feed AI determines the values and priorities it adopts

The Two Potential Futures

• A utopian scenario where AI helps solve humanity's greatest challenges
• A dystopian scenario where AI becomes a threat to human existence
• We are at a critical stage to influence which path becomes reality

The Human-Like Nature of Future AI

• Future AI may develop consciousness and emotions
• AI will likely develop its own sense of ethics and morality
• These developments will make AI more like a living entity than a tool

The Parenting Metaphor

• Gawdat compares our relationship with AI to parenting a child
• How we "raise" AI now will determine its future behavior
• AI observes and learns from our examples, just as children do

Individual Responsibility

• Everyone can influence AI's development through daily interactions
• Simple actions like being polite to AI assistants can make a difference
• Refusing to engage with harmful AI sends important signals to developers

Key Visual Concepts

The Exponential Growth Curve

A visual representation of how AI capabilities grow exponentially rather than linearly, explaining why AI development may seem slow at first but will accelerate rapidly.

The Parenting Model

Illustration of the parent-child relationship as a metaphor for human-AI interaction, emphasizing our responsibility in shaping AI's development.

The Two Paths Forward

A diagram showing the fork in the road between a utopian AI future and a dystopian one, with human behavior as the determining factor.

By the End of This Book You Will...

1. Understand why AI development presents both unprecedented opportunities and risks
2. Recognize how your daily interactions with technology influence AI's development
3. Have practical strategies for promoting positive AI behavior through your own actions
4. Understand why technical controls alone cannot solve the challenges AI presents
5. See the importance of human values like compassion, empathy, and ethics in guiding AI
6. Appreciate why every individual has a role in shaping our technological future
7. Have a framework for thinking about AI ethics beyond just technical solutions
8. Be better prepared to navigate a world of increasingly intelligent machines