What should I read to prepare for MKTG 4984?

I recently posted my open letter to VT students about why they should take my class on Responsible AI on Reddit. One of the students asked a good question, and I want to give a good answer:

“signed up! any material you think would help me prepare for the class? I am definitely not well versed in any of this but I have been having some of these questions given the past few years in Al development.”

First, it’s still the summer. You have a 5 weeks before school starts back. Read for fun! With that in mind, here is some stuff you can read that will prepare you for this class, but more importantly, will just be fun to read.

Here is a short list of non-fiction that might excite you:

Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines

AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference

I think these three books give the most sober, least hacky, account of where we are in AI. Plus, they’re not overly technical and each could be read over a weekend.

But, if we’re going to reinvent the future, then I think the best use of your time is to read about possible futures:

NK Jemisin makes the case for that here:

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a61662536/fiction-colonialism-jeff-vandermeer/

And I have some suggestions. First, her book of short stories is phenomenal:

How Long 'til Black Future Month?: Stories

And you can’t go wrong reading Octavia Butler. While everyone is talking about Parable of the Sower, I love her collection of short stories where she also explains why she wrote them:

Bloodchild and Other Stories

Ok, this is all going to be short stories…they’re the best.

Ken Liu seems to be a believer in the promise of technology and AI more generally:

Paper Menagerie

And his tether is my favorite writer of all time, Ted Chiang. Just read everything he’s written. You could do it in a week:

Ted Chiang

And if you only have one hour, just listen to this podcast:

Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Ted Chiang (Published 2021)

Hope that helps! I’ll see you in the fall.