The Quest for Supremacy and Sagacity in AI

A Book Review of "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Paul Scharre

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence has now become critical to the geopolitical contest for technological supremacy. Paul Scharre's latest book, "Four Battlegrounds," uncovers key aspects of this technology, and the four battlegrounds this contest is being fought on – data, talent, compute, and institutions. This book review assesses a wide range of issues the book covers through a unique story-telling writing style, and highlights implications for how we understand AI and its uses. The book isn't entirely jargon-free, but this review argues that Scharre does a great job at bringing down the walls of incomprehensibility with regards to this key technology.