The AI Con

£12.99

Is AI going to take over the world? Have scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to replace all our jobs, even creative ones, like doctors, teachers and care-workers? Are we about to enter an age where computers are better than humans at everything? The answers to these questions, as the authors of ‘The AI Con’ make clear, are ‘no’, ‘they wish’, ‘LOL’, and ‘definitely not’. In fact, these fears are all symptoms of the hype being used by tech corporations to justify data theft, motivate surveillance capitalism, and devalue human creativity so they can replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines. Meanwhile, across healthcare, education, media, government and law-enforcement, ‘AI’ products are already being introduced that are unreliable, ineffective, unjust and dangerous.

Pre-order

Scheduled for publication on 23rd July, 2026
The book will be available on or after this date. If you would like to preorder a copy, we will notify you when it is ready to collect.

SKU: 9781529949902 Category: Tags: , , , Publisher/imprint : Vintage
Page count : 288
Published on 23rd July, 2026

Description

A smart, incisive take-down of so-called ‘artificial intelligence’, exposing the real harm these technologies do to our jobs, health, society and environment, who stands to gain from them, and how to fight back.

‘You need to read this book’ BRIAN ENO

‘Written with absolute authority and incredible wit and verve’ KAREN HAO

Have tech companies created artificial minds? Are they going to replace all our jobs? Will they take over the world?

The answers to these questions, as the expert authors of The AI Con make clear, are ‘no’, ‘they wish’ and ‘LOL, definitely not’. In fact, these fears are all symptoms of the hype being used to justify data theft, motivate surveillance capitalism and devalue human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines.

Packed with real-world examples of the injustices and harms already being done in the name of ‘AI’, The AI Con arms you to spot the hype in all its guises, expose the exploitation it aims to hide and push back against it at work and in your daily life.

‘A must-read…provide[s] the clearest picture yet of what AI is, what it is not, and why none of us need to accept it being shoved down our throats’ TIMNIT GEBRU

‘A powerful antidote to the hype’ GRACE BLAKELEY

‘Truly eye-opening…indispensable’ HA-JOON CHANG

‘A book to inoculate your mind’ YANIS VAROUFAKIS

‘Refreshing…persuasive’ GUARDIAN

Additional information

Weight 0.2 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.5 cm
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