Superintelligence

Why it’s on the list: The book that put the alignment problem in front of a general audience: Bostrom works through how a machine intelligence might come to exceed human capability, why an arbitrary objective plus great capability is dangerous by default, and what a controlled transition would have to look like.

Where I heard about it

• A saved Amazon link — no recommender recorded.
• @tylercosgrove — on his list of 25 books he offered to send to Jared Kushner (October 2025).
• On Patrick Collison’s Bookshelf — Patrick Collison’s catalog of the physical books he owns (unflagged). Saved in Kyle’s April 19th, 2020 Roam daily note.

Connections

• Nick Bostrom — author.
• AI Safety · Existential Risk — the fields this book largely defined for a lay readership.
• Artificial Intelligence · Singularity — the subject.