Book cover of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

Book description

THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

"Kai-Fu Lee believes China will be the next tech-innovation superpower and in AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, he explains why. Taiwan-born Lee is perfectly positioned for the task."-New York Magazine

In this thought-provoking book,…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

4 authors picked AI Superpowers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book surpasses others in its genre in portraying technological advancements' unintended consequences: disruption of social order and diminished human value. 

A major focus is how humans will co-exist with AI in this brave new world. This theme continues in Lee's co-authored book AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future (2021). This book presents short stories of life in different corners of the world in the age of AI, each followed by a scientific analysis.

Mustafa Suleyman and Kai-fu Lee are leaders in the global pack of scientists behind the technological tsunami. They have roots in rivaling camps and operate…

Kai-Fu Lee, once himself an AI pioneer, wrote AI Superpowers to help non-technical readers understand how and why AI is changing our world, with an emphasis on how it’s reshaping work. Lee breaks down which types of jobs are most vs. least likely to be replaced by AI, and offers wisdom on which skills it makes sense for all of us to lean into given those shifts. He also offers clear-eyed predictions about the potential for AI innovations to reshape global politics. 

I enjoyed this book from page one. Lee’s prose is crisp and his points sharp. I appreciated his…

I spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between science in Europe and Asia. Most of my work is historical. But I’m also interested in the future. In AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee gives a first-hand account of the development of artificial intelligence in China and the United States. This book also made me realise that, if you want to know what the future of the digital world will look like, you need to look to China. Even since this book was published, many of the features that Lee describes as characteristic of digital technology in China…

If you love AI Superpowers...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

I love science fiction about robots and machines with human-like intelligence. But this book is not that—at all. Instead of focusing on the far-off vision of superintelligence that may never arrive, it’s about the many smaller transformations that AI is putting into action in the real world, creating new efficiencies by automating what unskilled or skilled humans do. A Chinese technology investor who headed Google China before coming to Silicon Valley to work for Microsoft and Apple, Kai-Fu Lee urges both geopolitical superpowers to embrace the responsibilities of harnessing AI for good, rather than letting it control us. And…

If you love AI Superpowers...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like AI Superpowers?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like AI Superpowers.

Browse books like AI Superpowers

Book cover of Silent Spring
Book cover of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Book cover of 2001

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like AI Superpowers, you might also like...

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

5 book lists we think you will like!