The Coming Wave Audiobook By Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar - contributor cover art

The Coming Wave

Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Coming Wave

By: Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar - contributor
Narrated by: Mustafa Suleyman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance—from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind and current CEO of Microsoft AI

“A fascinating, well-written, and important book.”—Yuval Noah Harari

“Essential reading.”—Daniel Kahneman
“An excellent guide for navigating unprecedented times.”—Bill Gates

A Best Book of the Year: CNN, Economist, Bloomberg, Politico Playbook, Financial Times, The Guardian, CEO Magazine, Semafor • Winner of the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award • Finalist for the Porchlight Business Book Award and the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award

We are approaching a critical threshold in the history of our species. Everything is about to change.

Soon you will live surrounded by AIs. They will organize your life, operate your business, and run core government services. You will live in a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy.

None of us are prepared.

As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, part of Google, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the center of this revolution. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies.

In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how these forces will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order. As our fragile governments sleepwalk into disaster, we face an existential dilemma: unprecedented harms on one side, the threat of overbearing surveillance on the other.

How do we ensure the flourishing of humankind? How do we maintain control? How do we navigate the narrow path to a successful future?

This groundbreaking book from the ultimate AI insider establishes “the containment problem”—the task of maintaining control over powerful technologies—as the essential challenge of our age.

©2023 Mustafa Suleyman (P)2023 Random House Audio
Computer Science Future Studies Technology & Society Artificial Intelligence Thought-Provoking Inspiring Business Robotics Surveillance
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“A heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for us . . . Eloquently articulated. Reading [The Coming Wave], what came to mind was Gramsci’s famous adage that what we need is ‘pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.’ To his great credit, [Mustafa] Suleyman has both.”—The Guardian

“[A] sweeping look at the future of artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies. . . . Suleyman is intimately familiar with the technologies, companies and personalities at the heart of the A.I. revolution.”—The New York Times

“Dazzling . . . You have by now read a great deal of both hype and doom-mongering on the subject [of AI]. But Suleyman’s is the book you cannot afford not to read. . . . Brilliant.”Niall Ferguson, Bloomberg

What listeners say about The Coming Wave

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    497
  • 4 Stars
    142
  • 3 Stars
    70
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    31
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    465
  • 4 Stars
    128
  • 3 Stars
    48
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    441
  • 4 Stars
    109
  • 3 Stars
    68
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    25

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story of "Why AI Matters"

Loved the detailed and story line building approach and how AI is a natural evolution of human life and the efforts we need to take and do in efforts to contain and control rather than over excite or over attack it. I gotta say that at some point the details were a bit too much but overall I enjoyed the book and would easily recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Timely topic clearly laid out

The Coming Wave does a great job laying out the pattern of technological waves and the future of AI. It’s a must listen for anyone who wants to be ready for the AI age

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sobering and insightful

Fantastic foundation for understanding what is going on, what is at stake, and what should be better understood.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must read for everyone, not only AI enthusiasts or critics

Suleyman knows what he is talking about and has live through the subjects covered in this book. It starts out with all the capabilities of cutting edge technology both on AI and synthetic biology. The middle part puts forward some scenarios that we must try and avoid. I felt a little helpless ¾ in the book. The book ends with ways we can and absolutely should put rules and measures in place in order to avoid the disasters depicted in the middle part. It ends with with a positive note. And a set of assignments for all of us. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Impact of technology within the Anthropocene

Great nontechnical tour of technology and its impact toward homo sapients and the current ongoing Anthropocene. AI and synthetic biology will be major drivers of these changes. They need to be contained and directed toward humanity’s benefits to avoid uncontrolled and unexpected disasters. This book is highly recommended for everyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Suleyman convincingly tells the story of epochal technological waves of Schumpeter’s “Creative Destruction”.

The story takes one back to the future of the disruptive forces being unleashed by modern technologies like AI and Synthetic Biology

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking discussion about AI from an insider’s perspective.

The information and topics covered were well thought out and seemingly accurate.
The narrator was ok but not as good as the information covered.
Definitely recommend to anyone interested in current state of AI and its potential impact on society.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Complicated subject presented in an understandable way

This author is an excellent teacher who organized his material in a logical, thorough, and entertaining way. This is an important book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great AI info from one of the founders

I loved the info. So fascinating. He may have a gone a little bit too long on the dangers. Oh well. They are certainly dangers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly insightful view into rapidly advancing tech, politics, and society

Mustafa creates a level of clarity and common to treatises on this topic. Rather than sensationalized or discounting, he provides a balanced view in light of the incredible capabilities looming in the near future. Should be required reading for technologists, business leaders, and politicians alike.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!