The Cybernetic Society: How Humans and Machines Will Shape the Future Together

Entrepreneur Husain (The Sentient Machine) paints a cautiously optimistic picture of an automated future in this accessible survey. Contending that cybernetics, or “the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine,” will have a profound impact on social, political, and economic affairs, he describes how “the human and the machine” are “fusing.” For example, he notes that AI and automation use reflexive decision cycles and real-time data to interact with humans who use the resulting information to make decisions and create solutions, which are then fed back into the machines to train their models. His case studies include the “wondrous possibilities” afforded by Saudi Arabian megacity Neom; the successful integration of robotics into Amazon’s warehouses and supply chain; Neuralink and other brain-computer interfaces currently under development, which raise serious unanswered questions about privacy and economic accessibility; and the “bone-chilling” autonomous drones and ground vehicles currently in use in Ukraine and Gaza. Husain gives equal weight to the pitfalls and benefits of autonomous technology, and his ability to interweave pop culture references and technical explanations helps keep the account from getting lost in the weeds. It’s a solid lay of the land. Agent: Zoe Pagnamenta, Calligraph. (Aug.)