Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more dynamic and ubiquitous, it is dramatically empowering people in all walks of life while also giving rise to urgent questions about the future of humanity--a historic challenge whose contours and consequences are revealed by three eminent thinkers in Genesis.

As it absorbs data, gains agency, and intermediates between humans and reality, AI will help us to address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It might well solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe, revolutionize fields as diverse as medicine and architecture, and elevate the human spirit to unimaginable heights. But it will also pose challenges on a scale and of an intensity that we have never seen--usurping our power of independent judgment and action, testing our relationship with the divine, and perhaps even spurring a new phase in human evolution. Whom will we choose to lead our species through this wilderness? Or have we, passively and unwittingly, already chosen?

Charting a course between blind faith and unjustified fear, Genesis outlines an effective strategy for navigating the age of AI. The last book of elder statesman Henry Kissinger, written with technologists Eric Schmidt and Craig Mundie, it prepares the decisionmakers of today--that is, all of us--for the choices of tomorrow, and equips us to seize the opportunities presented by AI without falling prey to the darker forces that this revolution has unleashed.


Author: Henry a. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, Craig Mundie
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 11/19/2024
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780316581295


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/2024 pg. 17
Publishers Weekly 09/02/2024

About the Author
Henry A. Kissinger served as the 56th Secretary of State from September 1973 until January 1977. He also served as the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from January 1969 until November 1975. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the Medal of Liberty in 1986. Until his passing in 2023, he was Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.

Eric Schmidt is an accomplished technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. As Google's Chief Executive Officer, he pioneered Google's transformation from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2001-2011, Executive Chairman from 2011-2018 and most recently as Technical Advisor from 2018-2020. Under his leadership Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation. Prior to his career at Google, Eric held leadership roles at Novell and Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Craig Mundie is President of Mundie & Associates, which counsels CEOs on strategic issues caused by rapidly evolving information technologies. These include corporate and technology strategies, techno-geopolitics, cybersecurity, and R&D management. At the end of 2014 Mundie retired after a twenty-two-year career at Microsoft. During his transition year he was the Senior Advisor to the CEO, before which he was Chief Research and Strategy Officer since 2007, where his responsibilities included oversight of Microsoft Research, Intellectual Property Strategy, Technology Policy, Trustworthy Computing, and various technology and product incubation activities. Mundie was appointed by President Clinton and subsequently served for Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. President Obama appointed him in 2009 to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.