image4

Available now in print, e-book and audio.

How AIs Are Changing Our Lives, Today and Tomorrow

Our mission is simple: Help the non-technical public understand how AI is affecting our lives today, what it might do in the future and what it means, and suggesting actions we can all take to harness AI for the good of humanity.


We intend to spark AI conversations, and the AI: Rise of the Lightspeed Learners hardback, e-book, and audiobook are ways we do that, along with Charles Jennings' AI and Politics blog. We’d love to know what you think; please leave a comment or question on the blog and we’ll respond. 


The hardback and e-book: 169 pages, 47 footnotes and an eight-page bibliography. Available at Amazon and your local library.

The audiobook (watch the trailer) has AI movie discussions, irreverent AI jokes, Tennessee stories, a ragtime-meets-Bowie soundtrack and a series of AI recommendations for every American citizen that are not in the print book.


To get the audiobook, click here!

The Book

image5

About the book

Self-learning machines called AIs are popping up all around us. They’re real, and really important. They affect our lives today—as workers, consumers, investors, citizens, patients and students. AIs bring huge promise, but also existential risk. The biggest risk isn’t killer robots—it’s the renegade leaders, despots, and unrestrained hackers we should worry about.


Charles Jennings’ insightful new hardcover print book, Artificial Intelligence: Rise of the Lightspeed Learners, presents sides of AI most people have never considered. That surprises are a main AI product. That AI cybersecurity is more important than even traditional IT security (and that’s critical). That AI growth rates are now officially exponential. That, as Vladimir Putin put it, “the country which leads in AI will control the world.” And that China is hellbent on becoming that leader.


Jennings blends political commentary on AI issues in Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., and Beijing, with insider stories, irreverent humor and strong opinions. He explores the global AI ecosystem from Cambridge to Toronto to Beijing, and provides a stark assessment of AI activity in China—where he lived for two years, working with senior Chinese government officials.


Consisting of stories, musings, interviews, and even poetry, this book (available in print and audio) provides a timely and accessible explanation of AI and its key issues for the general public.

About the author

  

Author Charles Jennings is a serial entrepreneur, writer, and speaker who has been starting and running growth organizations for over 40 years. He was founder or CEO of three successful Internet companies launched in the 1990s; a co-founder of TRUSTe; and has written several books on technology, including the seminal work, The Hundredth Window (2000), translated into five languages. From 2014-2017, Jennings served as CEO of an AI company set up to transfer technology from Caltech/JPL to the commercial market. He’s a recipient of the prestigious lifetime achievement award of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, and was also the subject of a major feature story, on his work in emergency alerting software, in Wired magazine (December 2005 issue). 

From Pulitzer Prize winner David Hume Kennerly's foreword

 "This book is a colorful journey into the land of AI told by an excellent storyteller, and a call to action by someone who understands disruptive technologies. It is must-read literature. After you’ve finished, send a copy of this book to your favorite member of Congress and anyone else whose opinions matter as we begin to face the existential challenges AI presents."

from the audiobook...ai: rise of the lightspeed learners:

The audiobook (slightly retitled as AI: Rise of the Lightspeed Learners) is a new original work, based in part on the print book, but including new breaks between chapters called "Intermezzos." These intermezzos are quite varied, and include stories, music, poems and even jokes--all related to AI. Below are a few examples that you can download.

Audio sample #1: Accelerated Returns (mp3)

Download

Audio sample #2: The Night Reader (mp3)

Download

Audio sample #3: AI Games (mp3)

Download

About Us

The Friendly AI Movement

Robot Sophia on the Tonight Show

This site is dedicated to the advancement of safe, bias-free, socially useful artificial intelligence, and adheres to the Asilomar AI Principles. Please contact us to learn more about our political activism, and marketing and consulting services.

Our book

image6

Artificial Intelligence: Rise of the Lightspeed Learners is a print and e-book published by Rowman & Littlefield

in 2019.  It is available from all major booksellers.

Our audiobook

image7

This groundbreaking audiobook presents AI through stories, music, poetry and reporting on the state of AI today.  The audiobook will be available at over 30 fine online resellers soon.

Charles Jennings' Blog