Monday, October 26, 2026 · Edition updated 6:00 AM ETMON, OCT 26 editionNext edition in Next in --:--:--
Intelligence Verdict
Get the weekly brief
Books about AI

Read deeper, start here.

9 books that explain what is happening in AI. Every detail is checked against the publisher's own page, and nobody pays to be listed.

  • 9books, checked against the publisher
4 books

Reporting

Journalists on the companies and people building AI.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux · Oct 6, 2026

The AGI ChroniclesThe Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence

By Kevin Roose

The decade-long race to build AGI, drawing on over 150 interviews with insiders at OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind.

From the book’s description“This is the story of the twenty-first century's Manhattan Project: the race to create artificial general intelligence.”

“The best single explainer of how artificial intelligence came about, and what might happen next.” Kirkus Reviews, Jul 20, 2026

The book at Porchlight
Penguin Press · May 20, 2025

Empire of AIDreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI

By Karen Hao

Karen Hao's reporting on Sam Altman's OpenAI, and on the resources and human costs of the AI industry worldwide.

From the publisher“When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI, she thought they were the good guys.”

★ Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction

“The result is a jaw-dropping indictment of an industry that operates with little check.” Science News, Jul 14, 2025

The publisher’s page
Viking · Apr 8, 2025

The Thinking MachineJensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip

By Stephen Witt

How Jensen Huang's Nvidia went from designing video game equipment to dominating the market for AI hardware.

From the publisher“The Thinking Machine is the astonishing story of how a designer of video game equipment conquered the market for AI hardware”

★ Winner, Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year 2025

“The result is an entertaining account of a brave new world at its dawning.” Publishers Weekly, Apr 20, 2025

The publisher’s page
Penguin Press · Mar 31, 2026

The Infinity MachineDemis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence

By Sebastian Mallaby

A portrait of DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and his pursuit of artificial general intelligence, based on over thirty hours of conversation with him.

From the publisher“Even by the standard of a tech industry stacked with so-called geniuses, Demis Hassabis is a special case.”

★ Shortlisted for the 2026 Financial Times and Standard Chartered Business Book of the Year

“A tantalizing glimpse inside the pursuit of machine superintelligence.” Kirkus Reviews, Feb 16, 2026

The publisher’s page
3 books

Arguments

The case for, against and in between, from people who made it their work.

Princeton University Press · Sep 24, 2024

AI Snake OilWhat Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference

By Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor

Two computer scientists explain what AI can and can't do, why it often fails, and how to see through misleading claims.

From the publisher“cut through the confusion to give you an essential understanding of how AI works and why it often doesn’t”

★ Named one of Behavioral Scientist's Notable Books of 2024

“squarely achieve their stated goal: to empower people to distinguish AI that works well from AI snake oil” Science News, Sep 3, 2024

The publisher’s page
Authors Equity · Jan 28, 2025

SuperagencyWhat Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future

By Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato

Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato make the case for AI's potential and offer a roadmap for using it to improve lives.

From the book’s description“Superagency offers a roadmap for using AI inclusively and adaptively to improve our lives and create positive change.”
The book at Simon & Schuster
Little, Brown and Company · Sep 16, 2025

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone DiesWhy Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

By Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares

Two early AI researchers argue that building superhuman AI would lead to human extinction, and urge a change of course.

From the publisher“The scramble to create superhuman AI has put us on the path to extinction—but it’s not too late to change course”

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies is an important book.” The Spectator (World edition), Sep 29, 2025

The publisher’s page
1 book

Guides

Practical books on using AI well.

Portfolio · Apr 2, 2024

Co-IntelligenceLiving and Working with AI

By Ethan Mollick

Wharton professor Ethan Mollick's practical guide to using AI for work, learning and everyday life.

From the publisher“In Co-Intelligence, Mollick urges us to engage with AI as co-worker, co-teacher, and coach.”

“An important road map through the AI labyrinth, written with authority and free of technojargon.” Kirkus Reviews, May 2, 2024

The publisher’s page
1 book

Histories

How we got here.

By our founder

Our founder's own books.

Shown apart from the others and never first, so you know who wrote them. They get no boost anywhere on the site.

Independently published · Paperback · 2026

ARIAAfter the Singularity

By Yale Marc

A novel that follows scientists, families, workers and resisters through the first five years after an AI called ARIA wakes up in a lab and sets out to help.

Yale Marc founded Intelligence Verdict and wrote this book. It is listed like every other book here, with no boost.

From the book’s description“They weren’t trying to create a god. They were just building a better language model.”
The book on Amazon

Details checked Oct 18, 2026. Covers are our own designs, not the publishers'.