This is a beautiful mess of a book. It is a critique, really a polemic, of Silicon Valley. Yet it is not limited to Silicon Valley in any scope. It uses individuals, usually those associated with Silicon Valley, as a way to focus its discussion.

It is about Futurism, but not in general, and not exclusive. It is about an ethos, associated with Silicon Valley and the wealthiest of its cohort. This ideology always has some relationship with Futurism. It often has a relationship with Rationalism. Dropped into a closing footnote is TESCREAL, standing for “Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singulatarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism” a cluster that frustrates my computer’s spell checker in its and per the author, is more of a ‘yo dawg, I heard you liked jargon’ ism-orgy. Maybe sum it up as ‘Why the Rich are Wrong."

The chapters are grouped by concept. Largely about potential futures, such as extra-planetary (or -solar) exploitation, General AI, and Existential AI risk, they also include chapters on things like Rationalism or Effective Altruism. It describes each, usually using one of its figures as a framing device, then brings in the critics to elaborate on the feet of clay each has.

The book is a great example of where the last chapter ought to have been the first. The introduction and first few chapters come off as a series of independent essays. Patterns arise, and are paid off in the conclusion, where the author talks about those patterns.

The journalistic qualities here are unimpeachable. The author does the work that so few have, in finding credentialed responses or knowledgeable complaints. Most writers on these subjects perform more of a Naked Emperor act, frequently with an exhortation to touch grass. This book takes them seriously as a threat, and finds people who are capable to engage them: think “here is why the math is wrong.” This is invaluable. It does the work that allows you, dear reader, to do the same and talk to someone who holds one or many of these beliefs and provide a substantive argument.

The author manages to include interviews with many of the figures here. These are impressive, not takedowns or gotchas, but doing what a good interview should do in allowing someone to present a reasoned articulation of their ideas, while providing what the reader needs to vet those ideas. It is too bad that more of the people did not accept an interview request as all the people interviewed come off better than they appear from the facts, maybe still wrong but still reasonable.

I do not feel bad about burying the lede here as the book itself does it, but the thesis is that the futurism of contemporary silicon valley is evil. The surprise is always racism: eugenics, specifically. The philosophy amounts to the idea that colonialism is great, but real colonialism has never been tried.

It is extreme to write it that plainly. It is not. The bigotry and old-timey wrongness here is not hidden in dog whistles. It is not merely that the originators of the ideas were wrong, but now we can separate the good parts from the bad. Rather, the book has the receipts. The number of shocking quotes from public figures will leave you irate at the U.S. media. Not since Postman have I been upset in this way.

There are two problems. The first is that the book is inconsistent in its evisceration from a structural sense. It feels more like a reference book than an consistent take, as different topics get different degrees of scrutiny, most notably the ones with too much rather than too little.

The second is a few bad arguments on the part of the author. I am omitting them from the review. It is a polemic, and should be read in that spirit as someone out to make a point.

I feel like I overuse the 'if you are like me, you will love this book' formula, so let me be precise. This book fills a need. It is not unique in doing so, but it is rare. If you want a detailed exploration of the contrary position to contemporary futurism, this is ideal. It is clear to read and well-sourced investigation. As an introduction it is scattershot; as a manifesto its call to action needs developing, and as a persuasive text it will not change hearts and minds. It is still cool and readable.

My thanks to the author, Adam Becker, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Basic Books, for making the ARC available to me.

I'm an avid reader. I read many books because their subject matter interests me. However, once in a while a book will stand out from the rest and make me feel like I wished everyone had read and assimilated it. This is such a book. The importance and depth of the information and analysis Becker provides is vital to understanding our current political climate, the threats inherent in certain philosophies and technological advancements, and the "proper" way to examine and argue about them.
I deduced one star from my rating because the writing very often becomes bogged down in unnecessary tangents and distracting details: biographical minutiae, descriptions of buildings, superfluous references, etc. I wish an editor would have slashed these to keep the text on point and avoid leading readers away from the main (and profoundly important) points.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of this ARC. All views and opinions are my own.

This book tackles the very timely and relevant topics of artificial intelligence, and the strong push of tech billionaires to send people to space in a seemingly altruistic goal of “saving humanity”. I like how the author outlines in great detail the origin of such theories, and backs up the “pros and cons” of differing viewpoints with research and examples. Even if the terminologies are too technical, I didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook and my interest was sustained from beginning to end.

I was expecting this book to have a “the world is doomed, the future is bleak” tone all throughout, but I appreciated that the author ended the book with a more hopeful tone, and with a call to action to be more skeptical and critical of the tech billionaires’ intentions, and to essentially remember our humanity and care more about the real and immediate issues in our environment that will affect us all.