Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, February 2023. Hardcover. Fine book in a Fine jacket. Unmarked. Spine straight and tight, top edge slightly bumped. Jacket clean and bright, slight wear to top edge. Not from a library. No remainder mark. Not clipped. xvi + 473 pages.

This is the story of the next great power rivalry: the struggle to control artificial intelligence. An NPR 2023 "Books We Love" Pick and one of the Next Big Idea Club's Must-Read Books. A new industrial revolution has begun. Like electricity before it, artificial intelligence will touch every aspect of our lives, and cause profound disruptions in the balance of global power, especially among the AI superpowers: China, the United States, and Europe. Four Battlegrounds argues that four key elements define this struggle: data, computing power, talent, and institutions. Data is a vital resource like coal or oil, but it must be collected and refined. Advanced computer chips are the essence of computing power; control over chip supply chains grants leverage over rivals. Talent is about people: which country attracts the best researchers and most advanced technology companies? The fourth "battlefield" is maybe the most critical: the ultimate global leader in AI will have institutions that effectively incorporate AI into their economy, society, and especially their military.