Technology & Science
The Coming Wave
Mustafa Suleyman
"The Coming Wave" is an urgent warning from one of the ultimate insiders of the AI revolution. Written by Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of DeepMind, the book argues that humanity is facing a tsunami of new technologies that will fundamentally destabilize the global order. Suleyman focuses on the convergence of two specific forces: Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Biology. The central thesis of the book is the Containment Problem. Suleyman observes that throughout history, powerful technologies like gunpowder or nuclear weapons eventually proliferate. However, AI and biotech are different because they are becoming cheaper, easier to use, and impossible to restrict. He warns that we are entering an era of asymmetry where individuals or small groups will wield the destructive power once reserved for nation-states. The book outlines a terrifying paradox. On one hand, we need these technologies to solve global challenges like climate change and disease. On the other hand, their unchecked spread poses an existential risk to the stability of the state itself. "The Coming Wave" is a pragmatic guide to navigating the narrow path between two dystopian futures: a catastrophic collapse of order caused by uncontrolled technology, or a total surveillance state established to keep that technology in check.
The Alignment Problem
Brian Christian
"The Alignment Problem" is a deeply researched and humanistic look at the most critical challenge in AI development. Written by bestselling author Brian Christian, the book serves as a history of the field of AI safety. It moves beyond the sci-fi fear of killer robots to address the real and present danger of systems that are competent but misaligned with human values. Christian defines the core issue as the gap between our complex human goals and the rigid mathematical models we use to train machines. He illustrates this with vivid examples from the real world, such as facial recognition software that fails to see dark skin or hiring algorithms that discriminate against women. The book argues that these are not just glitches but fundamental failures in how we define what we want machines to learn. The book explores how researchers are attempting to bridge this gap. They are moving away from giving machines rigid instructions and instead teaching them to be uncertain, humble, and capable of learning values by observing human behavior. "The Alignment Problem" suggests that in trying to teach machines to be good, we are being forced to confront the difficult task of defining what it actually means to be human.
Read Write Own
Chris Dixon
"Read Write Own" is a defining playbook for the future of the internet written by Chris Dixon, a general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Dixon frames the history of the web in three distinct eras to argue that we are on the cusp of a necessary revolution. The first era was Web1, the "read-only" internet which was democratic but static. The second and current era is Web2, the "read-write" internet. While this era allowed billions of people to create content, it centralized power and profit in the hands of a few corporate giants like Facebook and Google. Dixon argues that these "corporate networks" have now become extractive, stifling innovation and taking massive cuts of the revenue generated by creators. The solution is Web3, the "read-write-own" internet. Dixon explains how blockchains enable a new digital logic where users and developers can actually own a piece of the networks they build. He carefully distinguishes between the "Casino" culture of crypto speculation and the "Computer" culture of decentralized innovation. The book is a persuasive argument that blockchains are not just about finance but are the only way to restore the open, democratic spirit of the early internet while allowing creators to capture the value they produce.
The Singularity Is Nearer
Ray Kurzweil
Ray Kurzweil revisits his groundbreaking predictions about the technological singularity, arguing that it's not just near, but nearer than ever. He explores the exponential growth of technology, AI, and biotech, and their potential to revolutionize human life, while also addressing the ethical and existential challenges that lie ahead. "The Singularity Is Nearer" is the long-awaited sequel to the seminal 2005 work by futurist and Google Principal Researcher Ray Kurzweil. In this update, Kurzweil argues that his original predictions were not merely optimistic dreams but accurate roadmaps that are now unfolding ahead of schedule. He presents decades of data to demonstrate that the Law of Accelerating Returns is still in full effect, driving computing power and biotechnology forward at an exponential rate. Kurzweil stands by his famous timeline. He predicts that AI will pass the Turing Test by 2029 and that the Singularity—the point where machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence and merges with it—will occur by 2045. The focus of this book shifts heavily toward the biological implications of this merger. The narrative describes a near future where nanobots flow through our bloodstream to repair damaged cells and reverse aging. Kurzweil envisions a world where we will connect our neocortex directly to the cloud, allowing us to back up our brains and expand our intelligence millions of times over. The book is an ultimate guide to transcending our biological limitations and achieving practical immortality.
Hackers and Painters
Paul Graham
"Hackers and Painters" is a collection of provocative essays by Paul Graham, the programmer, essayist, and co-founder of the startup accelerator Y Combinator. The book challenges the traditional view of computer science as a cold and mathematical discipline. Graham argues that hacking—the act of writing code—is not primarily a science but an art form. He draws a direct parallel between hackers and painters, suggesting that both are makers who learn by doing and create something beautiful from a blank canvas. The essays cover a wide range of topics that explain the culture of the internet age. Graham tackles why nerds are unpopular in high school, arguing that they play a different game than the status-seeking popularity contest of their peers. He also explores the economics of wealth creation. He dismantles the fixed-pie fallacy, which is the mistaken belief that making money takes it away from someone else, and instead argues that wealth can be created out of thin air through innovation. One of the most famous concepts in the book is the Blub Paradox. This theory explains why programmers often fail to recognize the superiority of languages more powerful than the one they currently use. Graham suggests that looking down at less powerful languages is easy, but looking up at more powerful ones is impossible without learning them first. "Hackers and Painters" is a manifesto for independent thinking, urging readers to embrace heresy and design the future rather than just study the past.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Shoshana Zuboff
A groundbreaking exploration of the unprecedented power of surveillance capitalism and the quest for a human future. It unveils how tech companies are using our personal data to predict and manipulate our behavior, posing a profound threat to individual autonomy and democratic values.
冲向火星
Eric Berger
美国科技记者埃里克·伯格（Eric Berger）撰写的一部纪实作品，通过前所未有的内部视角，讲述了埃隆·马斯克与他创立的私人航天公司SpaceX从无到有、从边缘到行业先锋的艰难历程。全书细致还原了这家企业最早的岁月——尤其是如何从资金紧张、技术难题重重的初创阶段，最终成功发射公司首款猎鹰1号火箭，并为后续“冲向火星”的宏大愿景奠定基础的全过程。 书中重点聚焦SpaceX早期的技术挑战、组织运行和人事决策，通过大量独家采访和第一手资料呈现团队如何在资源极度有限的情况下与传统航天巨头竞争，并不断突破工程难题。这是一个关于创业、创新与坚持的真实故事，既有工程细节和技术风险的紧张场面，也有团队成员面对巨大压力时展现出的创造力与精神力量。 作者作为长期跟踪报道SpaceX的资深航天媒体人，凭借对公司内部的深入访问，将马斯克本人大胆的愿景、强烈的领导风格以及他对“让人类成为多星球物种”的执念贯穿全书。读者可以看到一个私人太空企业如何在商业航天历史上开辟新篇章、推动火箭可重复使用技术，以及为人类未来探索火星和更远目标打下基础的过程。 《冲向火星》不仅适合航天迷和科技创业爱好者，也为关心创新与工程文化的人提供了一个充满细节与洞见的现代太空探索史。
粉红色柔软的学习者
David Eagleman
《粉红色柔软的学习者：迷人的大脑可塑造性》是一本2025年出版的关于大脑如何不断改变和重连的科学科普作品，作者是美国著名脑科学家大卫·伊格曼，他也是斯坦福大学的教授和多部大脑科普作品的作者。全书围绕大脑可塑性这一前沿科学主题展开，向读者揭示了大脑并非固定不变的器官，而是一个终生能够动态适应、学习和重构的柔软网络。 伊格曼通过丰富的案例、生动的比喻和通俗易懂的语言解释了脑神经系统的复杂运作。例如，他探讨了为什么切除半个大脑的孩子仍能正常生活、为什么10岁以后再学一门语言会面临困难、盲人如何利用舌头感知世界等能激发普遍好奇心的现象。书中提出“大脑一生都在动态重连而非重塑”的观点，强调神经元之间不断调整连接方式的过程是学习、适应、恢复与创新的核心。 除了展示最新脑科学研究成果，本书还探讨了这些发现对教育、康复、认知训练、心理健康甚至人工智能等领域的意义，让读者不仅理解大脑如何工作，更看到利用大脑可塑性改善学习、恢复能力和提升认知潜力的可能性。《粉红色柔软的学习者》适合对大脑科学、学习原理和人类潜能感兴趣的读者，是一部将严谨科学与迷人故事融为一体的认知科学佳作。