Most discussions on AI / AGI are about tools, or startup ideas, or clickbait headlines.

This is an online book club where we’ll read books on AI politics, economics, history, science, biology, philosophy, concerns, future.

We’ll read seven books — handpicked to cover most of these areas — and will have a weekly syncs to discuss these.

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Who should join?

Anyone, anywhere! You’re welcome to join one, a few, or all seven book events. Ideally, you’ll have read and thought through the book, but the minimum is a few hours of “vibe reading” — enough to get a feel for it, with the intention to finish later.

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https://luma.com/ai-zeitgeist — click to join

Theme Book Date Notes
Future scenarios of AI AI 2041: Ten Visions for the Future, by Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan 4 Oct, 2025done [**Discussion notes
Recent history / politics / economics of AI Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, by Karen Hao 17 Oct, 2025done [**Discussion notes
Social science / human concerns of AI AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference, by Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor 14 Nov, 2025done [**Discussion notes
AI alignment / control If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All, by Eliezer Yudkowsky & Nate Soares 21 Nov, 2025
Biology & AI A Brief History of Intelligence: Why The Evolution of The Brain Holds The Key To The Future of AI, by Max Bennett 28 Nov, 2025
Labor / economics & AI Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks The Knowledge Economy, by Sangeet Paul Choudary 5 Dec, 2025
Philosophy of AI Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence, by James Bridle 12 Dec, 2025

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Why these books?

These books are selected based on quality, depth / breadth, diversity, recency, ease of understanding, etc. Beyond that — I neither endorse any book, nor am affiliated with any.

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How will we discuss?

It’ll be a free flowing discussion, but great to come prepared with these thoughts:

**🤖 AI safety / future — NotebookLM → on AI safety / future, based on high quality free sources**

🏫 AI safety & impact → groups / job boards / mentorship / education


Discussion notes

Discussion notes | AI 2041

Discussion notes | Empire of AI

Discussion notes | AI Snake Oil


Insights

Types of AI alignment issues

Scaling laws in AI performance

Topics in technical AI safety