How to build a flourishing society by using what we know about human nature to design our technology rather than let technology shape our society. In Shared Wisdom, Alex Pentland delves into the history of innovation, emphasizing the importance of understanding how technologies and cultural inventions impact human society. Humanity s great leaps forward the rise of civilizations, the Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution were all propelled by cultural inventions that accelerated our rate of innovation and built collective wisdom. Solving current global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and failing social institutions will require similarly fundamental inventions. Shared Wisdom provides a unique perspective on human society and offers insights into how we can use technologies like digital media and AI to aid, rather than replace, our human capacity for deliberation. Drawing on his expertise in both social science and technology, the author bridges the gap between these two disciplines and offers a holistic view of the challenges and opportunities we face in the age of AI. By looking deep into our history, Pentland argues that the better we understand the key factors that accelerate cultural evolution, the greater our chances of surmounting our current problems.

ENDORSEMENTS

“Alex Pentland has written the book the world needs right now. Shared Wisdom brilliantly illuminates how humanity’s capacity for cultural evolution—not just individual genius—has driven our civilizational breakthroughs. Pentland’s unique combination of technological expertise and historical perspective offers essential guidance for ensuring that AI amplifies rather than replaces human wisdom.”
—Erik Brynjolfsson, Director, Stanford Digital Economy Lab; coauthor of The Second Machine Age

“Shared stories have always powered human agency. In this insightful and very timely book, Pentland shows how we can fold generative AI into that tradition. A must-read for anyone who wants AI to strengthen human insight, not override it.”
—Reid Hoffman, Cofounder, LinkedIn; best-selling coauthor of Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future

REVIEWS

“Pentland’s work reveals a kind of balancing act, where humanity has won opportunities from AI, but also has to guard against unintended side effects that may challenge us in ways we never expected.”
—Forbes

Alex Pentland is a Stanford HAI Fellow and MIT Toshiba Professor. Named one of the '100 People to Watch This Century' by Newsweek and 'one of the seven most powerful data scientists in the world' by Forbes, he is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, an advisor to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Lab, and an advisor to the UN Secretary General s office. His work has helped manage privacy and security for the world s digital networks by establishing authentication standards, protect personal privacy by contributing to the pioneering EU privacy law, and provide healthcare support for hundreds of millions of people worldwide through both for-profit and not-for-profit companies.