The Means of Prediction - by Maximilian Kasy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An eye-opening examination of how power-not technology-will define life with AI. AI is inescapable, from its mundane uses online to its increasingly consequential decision-making in courtrooms, employment interviews, and wars. The ubiquity of AI is so great that it's even produced public resignation-a sense that the technology is our shared fate. As economist Maximilian Kasy shows in The Means of Prediction, artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions-choices made to date by the ownership class steering its development and deployment. Kasy shows that the technology of AI is not complex. It is insidious, however, in its capacity to steer results to its owners' wants and ends. Kasy clearly and accessibly explains the fundamental principles on which AI works, and in doing so, reveals that the real conflict isn't between humans and machines, but between those who control the machines and the rest of us. The Means of Prediction offers a powerful vision of the future of AI: a future not shaped by technology, but by the technology's owners. Amid a deluge of debates about technical details, new possibilities, and social problems, Kasy cuts to the core issue: who controls AI's objectives, and how is this control maintained? The answer lies in what he calls "the means of prediction," or the essential resources required for building AI systems: data, computing power, expertise, and energy. As Kasy shows, in a world already defined by inequality, one of humanity's most consequential technologies in centuries has been and will be steered by those already in power. Against those stakes, Kasy offers an elegant framework both for understanding AI's capabilities and for designing its public control. He makes a compelling case for democratic control over AI objectives as the answer to mounting concerns about AI's risks and harms. The Means of Prediction is a revelation, both an expert undressing of a technology that has masqueraded as more complicated and a compelling call for public oversight of this transformative technology"--

Book Synopsis

An eye-opening examination of how power--not technology--will define life with AI.

AI is inescapable, from its mundane uses online to its increasingly consequential decision-making in courtrooms, job interviews, and wars. The ubiquity of AI is so great that it might produce public resignation--a sense that the technology is our shared fate.

As economist Maximilian Kasy shows in The Means of Prediction, artificial intelligence, far from being an unstoppable force, is irrevocably shaped by human decisions--choices made to date by the ownership class that steers its development and deployment. Kasy shows that the technology of AI is ultimately not that complex. It is insidious, however, in its capacity to steer results to its owners' wants and ends. Kasy clearly and accessibly explains the fundamental principles on which AI works, and, in doing so, reveals that the real conflict isn't between humans and machines, but between those who control the machines and the rest of us.

The Means of Prediction offers a powerful vision of the future of AI: a future not shaped by technology, but by the technology's owners. Amid a deluge of debates about technical details, new possibilities, and social problems, Kasy cuts to the core issue: Who controls AI's objectives, and how is this control maintained? The answer lies in what he calls "the means of prediction," or the essential resources required for building AI systems: data, computing power, expertise, and energy. As Kasy shows, in a world already defined by inequality, one of humanity's most consequential technologies has been and will be steered by those already in power.

Against those stakes, Kasy offers an elegant framework both for understanding AI's capabilities and for designing its public control. He makes a compelling case for democratic control over AI objectives as the answer to mounting concerns about AI's risks and harms. The Means of Prediction is a revelation, both an expert undressing of a technology that has masqueraded as more complicated and a compelling call for public oversight of this transformative technology.

Review Quotes

"Rather than treating AI as an unstoppable technological wave, Kasy invites readers to see it as a political and social choice. In a world already shaped by inequality, he argues that AI will deepen existing divides unless it's placed under public and democratic control.

His framework is analytical and visionary, a blend of economics, ethics, and practical insight into how society might reclaim agency over one of the most consequential technologies of our time."

--Sandra Cruz "SA Examiner"

"Kasy's provocative thesis exposes AI's objectives as deliberate choices, encoded by those who control its resources to favor profit over social good. Only by seizing democratic control of the means of prediction can we ensure that AI serves society at large rather than the profits of tech giants. . . . Kasy reminds us that AI is not an autonomous force but a social relation, an instrument of class power that can be retooled for collective ends. The question is whether we have the political will to seize it."--Giorgos Galanis "Jacobin"

"Forget killer robots and superintelligent machines -- Oxford economist Maximilian Kasy reveals that the real story of AI is far more fascinating, and far more human in his new book . . . . If you want to understand not just how AI works, but how it fits into the bigger picture of economic and political power, this is a good place to start."--Ellsworth Toohey "Boing Boing"

"A very timely book. And--having pondered who it was aimed at--probably one that every official and politician should be made to read as they chirrup about using AI in public services."--Diane Coyle "Enlightened Economist"

"The future of AI, including its worst-case scenarios, will not be determined by the technology itself. It will be determined by our choices and the institutions that govern how AI will develop, including who it serves and who it harms. The Means of Prediction provides an excellent introduction to how power struggles and ideologies are intertwined with technology, and how the current trajectory will likely lead to ruin rather than abundance."--Daron Acemoglu, author of Why Nations Fail and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

"This bold and accessible book reminds us that we are not in a conflict between humans and machines, but between power and the public interest."--Kate Crawford, author of Atlas of AI

"AI will solve the problems its owners want solved. Kasy's book shows how. But its greater contribution is cutting through the complexities of the subject to illustrate the necessity and feasibility of democratic control over the means of prediction: the data, hardware, technical expertise, and energy that make AI possible. A simple but powerful message--and a fantastic book." --Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

About the Author

Maximilian Kasy is professor of economics at the University of Oxford; previously he was an associate professor of economics at Harvard University. His research focuses on machine learning and the social impact of AI.