Reviews: Supremacy (3)

I feel that I've read this book at an extremely timely moment. Deepseek , the Chinese AI app, has just rocked the big U.S. tech companies, along with their share prices, and the media is now flooded with talking heads using technical jargon and waving (or wringing) their hands. Luckily for me, I've had all these cryptic terms explained to in an extremely clear way by Parmy Olsen, author of 'Supremacy', winner of the Business Book of the Year 2024.

Olsen takes you through the history of the development of two of the major AI development players, Open AI and DeepMind, and the movers and shakers, as well as the politics, of the industry. We see their original founders, Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis respectively, who start with a vision of helping humanity through Artificial Intelligence development, succumb to the lure, and sheer power and influence, of the major technical corporations who rule the industry.

The author writes fluidly, and with such clarity, that you are on the edge of the seat when she describes power move events and you can't help feeling you are reading a political thriller rather than a business title. Supremacy is a book that will inspire you to learn more about this fascinating technology and the controversy currently surrounding it, as well as where it can take us in the future. And maybe questioning our reliance on it as well!
Note: This review was written by a real Bookseller and not AI. I promise ;)

As someone who knows very little about Silicone Valley and Big Tech aside from what’s in the news, the premise of this book was both daunting and extremely attractive to me—a direct result of the mess we’re currently in with the overwhelming surge of AI in use today. I was pleasantly surprised at how the author made all of the information easy to understand. I was impressed at the end of each chapter at how much I was able to understand the way these machines worked, considering the height of my in-depth IT knowledge maxes out at A-Level. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the hold ChatGPT has on society, as well as Big Tech’s direct involvement. It details everything right from inception to the potential future. I couldn’t put it down!

I would like to thank Pan Macmillan for ending a copy to review for the month’s non-fiction pick. It was truly a fantastic and eye-opening read and I’ll be sure to pick up more from this author in the future.

I am not a big reader by any means, I typically go out of my way NOT to read. However, as an art student wanting to go into the industry I wanted to educate myself on some of the growing challenges I’ll have to face. The cover had me immediately hooked, and once I started reading I couldn’t put it down. This book made me realise that I do enjoy reading, just not fiction; I like to focus on the facts. This is probably the first time I’ve had to sit down and think hard, after just reading the prologue. Highly recommend for anyone in doubt about our future as creative minds.