The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything
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- Create Date：2025-08-30 08:20:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：James Barrat
- ISBN：1250355028
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Summary
"Will the upcoming intelligence explosion be the best or worst thing ever to happen to humanity， and how can we tip the balance？ This riveting page-turner by a seasoned tech journalist is packed with exclusive behind-the-scenes insights， and masterfully elucidates the double-edged potential of humanity's greatest gamble。"—Dr。 Max Tegmark， author of Life 3。0 and Our Mathematical Universe
With the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence， both existential fears and uncritical enthusiasm for AI systems have surged。 In this era of unprecedented technological growth， understanding the profound impacts of AI — both positive and negative — is more crucial than ever。
In The Intelligence Explosion， James Barrat， a leading technology expert， equips readers with the tools to navigate the complex and often chaotic landscape of modern AI。 This compelling book dives deep into the challenges posed by generative AI， exposing how tech companies have built systems that are both error-prone and impossible to fully interpret。
Through insightful interviews with AI pioneers， Barrat highlights the unstable trajectory of AI development， showcasing its potential for modest benefits and catastrophic consequences。 Bold， eye-opening， and essential， The Intelligence Explosion is a must-read for anyone grappling with the realities of the technological revolution。
With the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence， both existential fears and uncritical enthusiasm for AI systems have surged。 In this era of unprecedented technological growth， understanding the profound impacts of AI — both positive and negative — is more crucial than ever。
In The Intelligence Explosion， James Barrat， a leading technology expert， equips readers with the tools to navigate the complex and often chaotic landscape of modern AI。 This compelling book dives deep into the challenges posed by generative AI， exposing how tech companies have built systems that are both error-prone and impossible to fully interpret。
Through insightful interviews with AI pioneers， Barrat highlights the unstable trajectory of AI development， showcasing its potential for modest benefits and catastrophic consequences。 Bold， eye-opening， and essential， The Intelligence Explosion is a must-read for anyone grappling with the realities of the technological revolution。
Reviews
Erin Clemence
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Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free， electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review。 Expected publication date : Sept。 2， 2025 Non-fiction， science author James Barrat’s new book， “The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything”， is a deep dive into the （mostly） negative threat that is artificial intelligence。 An “intelligence explosion” is basically when artificial intelligence surpasses that of human beings， and Barratt believ Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free， electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review。 Expected publication date : Sept。 2， 2025 Non-fiction， science author James Barrat’s new book， “The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything”， is a deep dive into the （mostly） negative threat that is artificial intelligence。 An “intelligence explosion” is basically when artificial intelligence surpasses that of human beings， and Barratt believes that if we aren’t there already， we are pretty close。 Using his own research， as well as theories from some of the world’s leading minds on the matter， Barratt clearly expresses where artificial intelligence is now and where it will go （and how quickly）， specifically focusing on the dangers that A。I will bring to humanity， in pretty much every way。 Artificial intelligence has been a hot-topic subject matter since the development （and subsequent popularity explosion） of the ChatGPT app in 2022， and I have read a few books on the subject of A。I recently， most of them taking a neutral or positive stance on the creation of A。I and its uses。 Barratt， however， is very much against A。I， or at least with regard to increasing its capabilities any more than they already are， and he uses this book to plead his case （quite successfully， in my opinion）。 He does use a chapter to discuss the benefits and advantages， just to provide another perspective， but he makes not secret that he is fearful of where humanity is going if we continue to improve on A。I。 “Explosion” was very computer-heavy and the language was thick and complex， so it was not an easy book to read for those of us not knowledgeable in the language of the tech world。 Although Barratt repeated facts and quotes that were important throughout the book， to ensure the important points were made， I found a lot of the book itself to be dry。 The subject matter is intriguing and Barratt has done his research， but I did not find this book to be particularly interesting or engaging。 I chose to read Barratt’s story because I had read a few books on the benefits of A。I， and Barratt’s “Explosion” provided a nice balance， but it was chunky and academic， even for a non-fiction book。 Barratt definitely made some solid points and could easily sway anyone who was fully in support of A。I， due to his extensive research and personal passionate connection to the subject matter， but this book is one of those that has a specific audience， instead of a passing interest。 。。。more
Dona's Books
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DNF @ 10%The author and I have competing world views， particularly where AI is concerned。 I tried to stick with it because I often like to get the other side of important issues。 The fear mongering though kept me at arm's length and I couldn't get comfortable with the text。I recommend this to readers looking for validation for their fears about AI。 But if you're looking for nuance， you won't find it here。Thank you to the author James Barrat， St。 Martin's Press， and NetGalley for an accessible di DNF @ 10%The author and I have competing world views， particularly where AI is concerned。 I tried to stick with it because I often like to get the other side of important issues。 The fear mongering though kept me at arm's length and I couldn't get comfortable with the text。I recommend this to readers looking for validation for their fears about AI。 But if you're looking for nuance， you won't find it here。Thank you to the author James Barrat， St。 Martin's Press， and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE INTELLIGENCE EXPLOSION。 All views are mine。 。。。more
Sacha
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4 stars Ugh。 Well， as an English professor， it was easy to immediately identify the many problems A。I。 might present， and I can say confidently that things have gone much worse than we all expected already。 Reading this book？ Well， it's confirmation of several concerns and challenges that many of us in this profession have been wildly fearing since we became aware of generative A。I。 heading to the masses。 While Barrat does present some great background and general basics about generative A。I。， t 4 stars Ugh。 Well， as an English professor， it was easy to immediately identify the many problems A。I。 might present， and I can say confidently that things have gone much worse than we all expected already。 Reading this book？ Well， it's confirmation of several concerns and challenges that many of us in this profession have been wildly fearing since we became aware of generative A。I。 heading to the masses。 While Barrat does present some great background and general basics about generative A。I。， to me， this really reads more like a horror story （not the kind I like， and I LOVE horror）。 I think this is an important book and topic， and I'm glad I read it because what I really want to do - live in a space where this doesn't exist - is not available to me。 More reasons I'm thrilled about my life choices （genuinely）。 If you prefer to live in ignorance， do not queue this。 If you want to learn some scary stuff before the robots tell you whether that's allowed， check out this read。 I'm glad I did！ A wise woman once told me _Idiocracy_ is a great documentary。 Confirmed。 *Special thanks to NetGalley and Sara Beth Haring at St。 Martin's Press for this widget， which I received in exchange for any honest review。 The opinions expressed here are my own。 。。。more
Maddie
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so， i thought that it touched up on a lot of really important aspects of the negative implications of generative AI （and future more powerful versions of it） - particularly， the chapters about the legal issues and implications for creatives were well done。 I also appreciated his insistence on blaming the tech bros who continue to try and advance something they know nothing about。 however， this book is insanely repetitive。 the author does not trust you to recall a concept explained in a prior cha so， i thought that it touched up on a lot of really important aspects of the negative implications of generative AI （and future more powerful versions of it） - particularly， the chapters about the legal issues and implications for creatives were well done。 I also appreciated his insistence on blaming the tech bros who continue to try and advance something they know nothing about。 however， this book is insanely repetitive。 the author does not trust you to recall a concept explained in a prior chapter and does insist on fully repeating it throughout the book。 some chapters almost felt like complete re-stated entries， and therefore it was extremely monotonous and dry for at least half of it。 i think it makes good points， but the repetition and dryness with random moments of "haha" thrown in made for a less than riveting read。**thank you to St。 Martin's Press for the ARC copy** 。。。more
Katie
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Every voter， government policy maker， and tech worker needs to read this book。 Yes， it’s terrifying， and I wish I could dismiss its claims about AI as extreme or purely hypothetical。 But we need to take it seriously because most claims are backed by expert opinions or specific examples。 Overall， it is very well-written， thorough， and thoughtful。 Yes， it’s repetitive at times， but people really need to hear its message frequently， because society will need to make some BIG changes if we are to st Every voter， government policy maker， and tech worker needs to read this book。 Yes， it’s terrifying， and I wish I could dismiss its claims about AI as extreme or purely hypothetical。 But we need to take it seriously because most claims are backed by expert opinions or specific examples。 Overall， it is very well-written， thorough， and thoughtful。 Yes， it’s repetitive at times， but people really need to hear its message frequently， because society will need to make some BIG changes if we are to stop AGI from having the chance to do real damage。 I hope this book helps people wake up to the dangers of AI and act accordingly， before， according to this book， it’s too late。 Thank you to NetGalley and St。 Martin’s Press for the free eARC。 I post this review with my honest opinions。 。。。more
Debra
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The information in this book is 5 stars- I just didn't enjoy the repetitive nature of the presentation of information。 James Barrat has a negative view of AI and what the future holds （hey， I do too） and acknowledges that this is his bias from the get-go。 With the information provided （lots of sources， yay！）， it's no wonder that he's worried about the future。 Like I mentioned above， my only real issue with this book is that much of the material was covered multiple times and the book could have The information in this book is 5 stars- I just didn't enjoy the repetitive nature of the presentation of information。 James Barrat has a negative view of AI and what the future holds （hey， I do too） and acknowledges that this is his bias from the get-go。 With the information provided （lots of sources， yay！）， it's no wonder that he's worried about the future。 Like I mentioned above， my only real issue with this book is that much of the material was covered multiple times and the book could have likely been cut by a 1/3 to really get the salient points across。 Some of the things I have learned that really stuck with me:-the ethical concerns of AI/lack of oversight from developers- the absolute mystery behind how AI works-how AI has already been weaponized-how environmentally damaging AI is- a few presented outlooks for the future- various scientists thoughts about AI （this is combined with information about outlooks for the future）I imagine that the content of this book will make the information relatively obsolete within the next few years as advances are made。 Therefore， my recommendation is to read this book NOW （publication date: September 02， 2025） rather than shelving it for the undetermined TBR future。Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book。 The first thing I did after reading this was to read the sources of my favorite parts of this book- I wanted more information！ That's exactly what I feel great non-fiction should be， and I really appreciate that about James Barrat's new book。 。。。more
Kate Laycoax
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While it's informative and eye opening， it's also a little dry。 The Intelligence Explosion by James Barrat is one of those books that makes you feel smarter just for finishing it。 It's packed with information about artificial intelligence， its future， and all the wild （and sometimes terrifying） possibilities it brings。 And while I learned a ton， I have to be honest that this one read more like a dissertation than a page turning book。 If you're here for a fun， thrilling AI rollercoaster… this ain While it's informative and eye opening， it's also a little dry。 The Intelligence Explosion by James Barrat is one of those books that makes you feel smarter just for finishing it。 It's packed with information about artificial intelligence， its future， and all the wild （and sometimes terrifying） possibilities it brings。 And while I learned a ton， I have to be honest that this one read more like a dissertation than a page turning book。 If you're here for a fun， thrilling AI rollercoaster… this ain't it。That said， if you're really into the topic of AI， like watching tech conference keynotes for fun kind of into it， then this book might be right up your alley。 There are some jaw dropping moments sprinkled in。 For example， I had no idea there's an AI dating site where you can get matched with an actual AI partner。 Wild。 And yes， the book dives into the serious stuff too， like how many experts believe AI could （very realistically） lead to human extinction。 No big deal， right？As someone curious about how AI is being used in industries like healthcare， I appreciated how James Barrat didn't sugarcoat the risks。 The unpredictability， the lack of control， and the looming safety concerns。。。 yep， my anxiety is fully awake now， thanks。So while it's a solid， thought provoking read that definitely made me reflect on how fast AI is evolving， it IS a heavy read; less “sci-fi adventure” and more “thesis defense。” If you're not already deep into the AI rabbit hole， this might not be the most entertaining way to get there。 But if you are？ There's a lot to chew on。Thank you to NetGalley， James Barrat and St。 Martin's Press for the eARC of this book。 。。。more
Monica Zydel
，
This book was really informative， but read more like a dissertation than a book。 If you’re really interested in the topic， you’ll like it。 If you’re looking to be entertained， there are a few interesting moments。 For example， did you know there is an AI dating site？ Where you can actually go on and get matched with an AI partner？ I didn’t know that。 Kind of wild。 Also， a lot of top researchers believe AI could potentially lead to human extinction。 Very interesting。
Clifton D。 Healy
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Barrat’s book is far from sensationalist， but it is nonetheless bracing。 He begins with dangers already present in LLMs such as ChatGPT—bias， racism， hallucinations—and proceeds to show that in the race for advanced general intelligence， then to advanced super intelligence， there are no guardrails， because none can be successfully based on any real assessment of these computing endpoints。 If we don’t know where it is Werke going， if we don’t know what AGI and ASI are truly capable of， worse， if Barrat’s book is far from sensationalist， but it is nonetheless bracing。 He begins with dangers already present in LLMs such as ChatGPT—bias， racism， hallucinations—and proceeds to show that in the race for advanced general intelligence， then to advanced super intelligence， there are no guardrails， because none can be successfully based on any real assessment of these computing endpoints。 If we don’t know where it is Werke going， if we don’t know what AGI and ASI are truly capable of， worse， if we don’t know how we are getting from here to there， how can we implement rules， limits， regulations， guardrails and failsafes？ By the time we know what we have， these artificial systems will be beyond our ability to outthink。 And even if we could， theoretically， conceive of an alignment structure （think， the set of universal ethics AGI and ASI systems would abide by， how could we avoid an alignment set that lacked the right kind of specificity？ Too granular and the system doesn’t work， too general and the patient is killed in eradicating the disease。 And given that ant ethics system is grounded in a long history of specificities， how could a global system of competing values ever be anything but too general？ There is good news with this bad news: there doesn’t appear to be a continuous line from LLMs right in to AGI， let alone ASI。 Further the energy infrastructure it would require also seems too inadequate。 Perhaps， like the ages old quest to turn lead in to gold， there will be no turning LLMs into AGI or ASI。 But Barrat points out， it’s not safe to do nothing。 And even if real AGI is never achieved， there are still current and emergent dangers to deal with。 。。。more
Matt Kelland
，
If you’re looking for ammunition to bolster your belief that AI is bad - or at least dangerous - there’s a lot of solid material in this book。 Fundamentally， it comes down to the following:- AI makes mistakes （call them hallucinations if you like） and we shouldn’t trust it。- AI has serious ethical issues， and is riddled with biases。 - There are major safety concerns， especially as AI becomes more autonomous。 - While AI can be used for good， it can easily be used by terrorists， hackers， and rogue If you’re looking for ammunition to bolster your belief that AI is bad - or at least dangerous - there’s a lot of solid material in this book。 Fundamentally， it comes down to the following:- AI makes mistakes （call them hallucinations if you like） and we shouldn’t trust it。- AI has serious ethical issues， and is riddled with biases。 - There are major safety concerns， especially as AI becomes more autonomous。 - While AI can be used for good， it can easily be used by terrorists， hackers， and rogue states。 - AI is almost certainly going to upend our economy。- All these things have already happened， but it’s getting worse。- We have absolutely no idea how AI works and we can’t control it。- When AI reaches a certain point， it will be out of our hands。- This can literally pose an existential threat to the human race。 - The AI companies and governments know all of this but don’t care - they’re just trying to make money and/or win。All of which is true， but unless you’ve been living in a remote cave for the last 18 months， you probably already know all of the above。 The Internet is awash with people sounding the alarm on a daily basis， from everyday bloggers and disgruntled artists to journalists， tech CEOs， AI experts。 （And， as you’re equally aware， they have managed to do absolutely nothing to slow the inexorable rise of AI。） There’s very little new in the book， even for someone with only a passing interest in AI。 That said， one of the few things I learned was absolutely terrifying: the Israeli autonomous assassination AIs， which sound like something out of a Terminator movie， but are in fact real。 They use AI to scour social media and other online sources to guess who might be a Hamas leader， and where they might be at any given time。 Then the AI dispatches autonomous drones to kill them， all with no human intervention。 Shockingly， the system is called Where’s Daddy？ because it extrapolates from children’s locations where their father is likely to be。 The AI comes with guardrails: killing 10 civilians for one Hamas member is acceptable， but for a leader， it can be up to 200 collateral deaths。 And 70% accuracy in selecting targets is good enough。 Regardless of the rights or wrongs of what’s happening in Gaza， the fact that that technology is actually in use should scare every single person on Earth。 If the Israelis can do it， so can anyone else。 I also wonder how much of this book will be out of date by the time it’s published， let alone six months later。 Predictions about what will happen in 2026 will very soon be irrelevant， and in the world of AI， predicting what will happen in 2028， let alone 2035， is a fool’s game。 Overall， I was left with the feeling that Barrat would have done better to focus his ire on the AI companies and visionaries， rather than the technology。 The direct quotes from the likes of Altman and Hassabis show that they know just how dangerous this technology is， and they are acutely aware that they could destroy humanity， but they’re pressing ahead anyway。 That’s pretty much the definition of pure evil， on a scale that dwarfs even a Bond supervillain。 “AI will mostly likely lead to the end of the world， but in the meantime， there will be great companies created。” （Sam Altman） 。。。more
Pauline Stout
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