Reprogramming the American Dream

From Rural America to Silicon Valley—Making AI Serve Us All

By: Kevin Scott, Greg Shaw

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

In this essential book written by a rural native and Silicon Valley veteran, Microsoft’s Chief technology officer tackles one of the most critical issues facing society today: the future of artificial intelligence, and how it can be realistically used to promote growth, even in a shifting employment landscape.

There are two prevailing stories about AI: for heartland low- and middle-skill workers, a dystopian tale of steadily increasing job destruction; for urban knowledge workers and the professional class, a utopian tale of enhanced productivity and convenience. But there is a third way to look at this technology that will revolutionize the workplace and ultimately the world. Kevin Scott argues that AI has the potential to create abundance and opportunity for everyone and help solve some of our most vexing problems.

As the chief technology officer at Microsoft, he is deeply involved in the development of AI applications, yet mindful of their potential impact on workers - knowledge he gained firsthand growing up in rural Virginia. Yes, the AI Revolution will radically disrupt economics and employment for everyone for generations to come. But what if leaders prioritized the programming of both future technology and public policy to work together to find solutions ahead of the coming AI epoch? Like public health, the space program, climate change, and public education, we need international understanding and collaboration on the future of AI and work. For Scott, the crucial question facing all of us is this: How do we work to ensure that the continued development of AI allows us to keep the American Dream alive?

In this thoughtful, informed guide, he offers a clear roadmap to find the answer.

©2020 Kevin Scott (P)2020 HarperAudio

An interesting take on AI

This book offers an interesting, and more hopeful, view of a future where AI is far more pervasive than now.

The author proposes technical and political things that could be done to ensure that AI is applied in ways that help more people. This includes public policy, government funding, and tax policy. In particular, he proposes a future where AI (and other technology) help revive rural communities.

His insights are interesting and he brings out some good ideas. However, he sometimes conflates AI and high-tech in general to strengthen his point, so it's not really just focused on AI. I'm also not sure how realistic his ideas for government funding and involvement are. It's more advocacy than prediction.

Great mixture of Technical & Political AI info

A compelling and quick read, where Kevin shows how AI is "a force multiplier of ingenuity" and it's potential to further aggarvate the economic unbalances of our society. I look forward to hearing more from him.

A positive game changer for everyone everywhere

This book might be the most accurate explanation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for popular consumption published to date. Kevin Scott's empirical description of the relationship of everyday human experience and advanced computer technology provides an optimistic vision of the beneficial applications of AI that are well within the grasp of society. Scott also addresses head on the challenges rural people face, with the very personal description of his own experiences growing up in a rural community and having to leave it to follow his interests in computer technology. Although having to leave loved ones to pursue a career has been a fact of life for many, Scott convincingly posits that AI can enable most everyone to live where they choose and also contribute meaningfully to society in a personally fulfilling way.

The interweaving of personal human experience with advanced machine learning sets this book apart from otherwise dry discourses on near incomprehensible technical content. Instead, Scott illustrates through real world examples that positive social impact is key to the implementation of AI. The author also addresses the dystopian dangers that are sometimes feared from the misuse of AI, and proposes safeguards against criminal and authoritarian appropriation of this powerful and inevitable technology—for skeptics of human ability to keep AI within safe bounds Scott allays much of this concern. A key theme of this book is human agency when interacting with machines—it's the humans (we) who teach the machines what we want them to do, and not machines deciding what's best for us.

To express empathy with those in rural flyover country Scott would have done better to reference Thomas Frank (Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?), instead of J. D. Vance (Hillbilly Elegy) who wrote the foreword to this book. It's likely the parts in Scott's book that Vance said in the foreword he disagreed with were ones of solid social and economic common sense.

Empathy with and respect for persons who choose not to live in large urban centers is long overdue, and it's healthy to note that rural economic disadvantage is both unjustified and readily avoidable. In this book Kevin Scott demonstrates how AI together with actual broadband throughout rural areas can be a positive game changer for everyone everywhere—let's so change the game.

Saving Rural America

Wonderful outline on how to bring rural America into the American Mainstream without leaving the countryside!

Interesting read!

my first audio! very interesting and enlightening story. Enjoyed learning about AI & Kevin Scott

The UN truck never runs out of rice...

The future is like right now only much much better. Improving what we have not new ways of living.

A good overview from very smart people

It heavily focused on AI benefits to rural jobs and people and not as much depth about direct benefits for urban