Not annoying at all. I’m always happy to share book recommendations. :)
Of all the books I’ve read related to AI, I think that The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values would be the best. I found it far easier to digest. It was written by a journalist rather than an academic, and that shows. The writing style is much smoother than some of the other books on the above list. While it certainly had less detail than Human Compatible or Superintelligence, I think that the increase in “digestibility” far outweighs the decrease in “rigor.”
If you are already somewhat aware of AI safety/alignment/risk and that whole hodgepodge of ideas, then I think that Human Compatible or Superintelligence would be fine, as they are both a bit more in-depth. But if you haven’t encountered these ideas before I think that The Alignment Problem would be a better introduction. The other benefit of either Human Compatible or Superintelligence is that they are respected/known within EA, so if other people’s perceptions of you matter then reading one of these might make more sense.
Not annoying at all. I’m always happy to share book recommendations. :)
Of all the books I’ve read related to AI, I think that The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values would be the best. I found it far easier to digest. It was written by a journalist rather than an academic, and that shows. The writing style is much smoother than some of the other books on the above list. While it certainly had less detail than Human Compatible or Superintelligence, I think that the increase in “digestibility” far outweighs the decrease in “rigor.”
If you are already somewhat aware of AI safety/alignment/risk and that whole hodgepodge of ideas, then I think that Human Compatible or Superintelligence would be fine, as they are both a bit more in-depth. But if you haven’t encountered these ideas before I think that The Alignment Problem would be a better introduction. The other benefit of either Human Compatible or Superintelligence is that they are respected/known within EA, so if other people’s perceptions of you matter then reading one of these might make more sense.
Thanks, this is really helpful!