The Myth of Good AI - (AI Futures) by Arshin Adib-Moghaddam

About the Book

This book offers a new approach to artificial intelligence and its implications for human security.

Book Synopsis

From the Back Cover

AI is the future. But what kind of future do we want it to be? In The myth of good AI, Arshin Adib-Moghaddam offers a bold new approach to understanding Artificial Intelligence and its implications for human existence.

Our lives are increasingly governed by highly intrusive AI-driven technology. Facial-recognition software is now present in many of our phones, while an estimated 70 per cent of US companies use algorithms to help choose between job applicants. Tech giants assure us everything is fine, but the truth is this technology has repeatedly been exposed as ageist, racist and misogynist.

Drawing on examples from around the world, Adib-Moghaddam offers a comprehensive indictment of the 'good AI' myth. As he argues, we do need good AI, but we need it on our terms. With this in mind, he offers the reader strategies for survival and an alternative vision for planning our common future.

Review Quotes

'The rise of AI is a technological revolution on a par with steam and electricity, transforming every corner of our lives, for better or worse. The critical reaction to this revolution from academia so far has been both underwhelming - evidencing a profound shock at the speed of change and an inability to get ahead of it - but also conspicuously dominated by viewpoints of the so-called Global North. Professor Adib-Moghaddam's book provides a much-needed correction by grounding his critique of AI in a Global Thought approach. Only by broadening the critical aperture of our philosophy from Eurocentrism to include perspectives of the rest of the world, can we ever hope to understand the full range of potentialities inherent in AI and be able to maximize its benefits and minimize its harms. A very timely and important work.'
Danil Mikhailov, Executive Director, data.org

'We live in a delirious society. Wherever we look, the hype of good AI has contaminated societies world over. It seems as if no alternative currently exists to the lofty promises of technology companies to solve all future problems through more AI. Meanwhile, behind the simulacrum of prosperity, rampant energy consumption, unchecked labor exploitation, global inequality, and encroaching climate disaster continues unchecked. If, like me, you are sometimes blinded by this delirium, Professor Adib-Moghaddam's new book provides a welcome wake-up call. By drawing on a wide range of intellectual resources from comparative philosophy and critical AI studies, it builds an impressive arsenal of concepts to both diagnose, but also lead the resistance, to this myth of good AI.'
Matti Pohjonen, University of Helsinki

'This timely and compelling work masterfully reveals the often-neglected perils inherent in the relentless progression of artificial intelligence. By carefully dismantling myths surrounding purportedly 'beneficial AI', Arshin Adib- Moghaddam delivers a vital, penetrating critique of how algorithmic biases reinforce discrimination and exacerbate social inequalities. Grounded in meticulous scholarship and conveyed with impassioned clarity, this book boldly addresses unsettling realities about technology's growing encroachment on individual autonomy and human rights. It is indispensable reading for anyone committed to safeguarding freedom, democracy, and ethical accountability in our swiftly digitizing society.'
Tugrul Keskin, Cappadocia University

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