AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI's Future and Save Our Own

by Verity Harding

Overview

A humanist manifesto for the age of AI

Artificial intelligence may be the most transformative technology of our time. As AI’s power grows, so does the need to figure out what—and who—this technology is really for. AI Needs You argues that it is critical for society to take the lead in answering this urgent question and ensuring that AI fulfills its promise.

Verity Harding draws inspiring lessons from the histories of three twentieth-century tech revolutions—the space race, in vitro fertilization, and the internet—to empower each of us to join the conversation about AI and its possible futures. Sharing her perspective as a leading insider in technology and politics, she rejects the dominant narrative, which often likens AI’s advent to that of the atomic bomb. History points the way to an achievable future in which democratically determined values guide AI to be peaceful in its intent; to embrace limitations; to serve purpose, not profit; and to be firmly rooted in societal trust.

Now with a new foreword by the author, AI Needs You gives us hope that we, the people, can imbue AI with a deep intentionality that reflects our best values, ideals, and interests, and that serves the public good. AI will permeate our lives in unforeseeable ways, but it is clear that the shape of AI’s future—and of our own—cannot be left only to those building it. It is up to us to guide this technology away from our worst fears and toward a future that we can trust and believe in.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691277479
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/02/2025
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, Verity Harding is director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and founder of Formation Advisory, a consultancy firm that advises on the future of technology and society. She worked for many years as Global Head of Policy for Google DeepMind and as a political adviser to Britain’s deputy prime minister.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book couldn’t be more timely. It’s a fascinating blend of history and insight and a must-read for anyone interested in AI. For all the sound and fury around AI, Verity Harding reminds us that we’ve been here before, that revolutionary technologies can be developed responsibly, and that it’s possible for allies and rivals alike to find common ground.”—Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs, Meta

“Verity Harding is a rare beast—a technologist who thinks deeply about society. So when she tells us AI needs us, we should listen. In this thoughtful, clever, and very accessible book, you will learn about how we have faced huge technical innovations in the past and why, more than ever before, we must engage with how AI is shaping the future.”—Baroness Martha Lane-Fox

“What is the world that AI is creating? And why are the rest of us letting this world be shaped by a small, privileged group of (mainly) men in Silicon Valley? This book, rooted in deep historical insights about prior technological disruptions, is essential reading for anybody keen to ensure the transformative power of AI is directed to the common good.”—Diane Coyle, author of Cogs and Monsters

“This is history at its most essential. Providing a forensic analysis of the past that provokes lessons, warnings, and inspiration, Harding empowers us to join a conversation from which the tech bros have tried to exclude us. This brilliant book is a scholarly, optimistic call to action.”—Dan Snow, founder of the History Hit podcast

“A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the defining technology of our era, from a unique author who has had a front row seat in AI’s development.”—Katie Prescott, technology business editor, The Times

“With an engaging blend of storytelling and analysis, Harding argues that, even on the shifting frontiers between science and science fiction, democracy still matters. Wise, convincing, essential.”—Alwyn Turner, author of All in It Together

“An important and insightful book on one of the most important and challenging issues of our time.”—Alastair Campbell, cohost of The Rest Is Politics podcast

“A must-read for anyone interested in the future of AI or technology more broadly—which Verity Harding persuasively argues should be everyone. AI Needs You uses the recent history of technological governance to make a unique, evidence-based contribution to the AI debate that is currently overly dominated by the extreme alternatives of doomerism and blind optimism.”—Jason Furman, Harvard University, former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers

“Essential. There’s no one else I’d more want to read on this subject.”—Sathnam Sanghera, author of Stolen History

“Drawing lessons from key moments in the history of technology and science, Harding argues that AI can and must be subordinated to human ends. AI Needs You presents a compelling vision based on real insider knowledge and mastery of the field.”—Justin Smith-Ruiu, author of The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning

“An excellent and refreshing primer from someone who has been thinking about AI ethics for years. For anyone looking for a pragmatic yet optimistic view of how we can live with AI, this book is very timely.”—Rory Cellan-Jones, journalist and former BBC News technology correspondent

“Verity Harding is an important thinker on the future of AI and this book makes a major contribution to the debate. The parallels the book draws between the regulation of AI and previous technological breakthroughs, from nuclear weapons to human embryology, should make policymakers think.”—Lord William Hague of Richmond, former foreign secretary of the United Kingdom

“An absolutely captivating narrative. AI Needs You is a riveting page-turner about the moral dilemmas posed by seismic technological innovation.”—Jude Browne, coeditor of Feminist AI: Critical Perspectives on Algorithms, Data, and Intelligent Machines

“Harding deftly mines lessons from the development of the space race, IVF, and the internet to brilliantly limn the challenges we’re facing now with AI—and to make the case that you don’t need to be an AI expert to have an informed opinion about AI.”—Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard University

“Clear, lucid, and a joy to read. Harding draws important lessons for the governance of AI from three historical examples of emerging technology.”—Stephen Cave, director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge

“Although AI is a new technology, in many ways we’ve been here before. In AI Needs You, Verity Harding draws on history to offer a reality-based guide to the future. Anyone seeking a primer on AI, free of hype or hysteria, should start here.”—Ian Leslie, author of Conflicted: How Productive Disagreements Lead to Better Outcomes

“I share the belief that we can learn from history and this timely book enables us to do just that by highlighting those valuable lessons and what they mean for AI.”—Linda Yueh, author of The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them

Editorial Reviews

"We might hope that this book ends up in the hands of those who could take a leadership role, before it is too late. Harding’s optimism is tempered by experience and knowledge, and her arguments are compelling and engaging."

Kirkus

"An Economist Biggest Book of the Year"

"A timely and fascinating new book by the former Downing Street aide-turned-tech executive Verity Harding, which argues that it’s high time the public got a say on what kind of world we actually want to live in. . . . Harding, who knows these two incestuous worlds better than most, is right, however, that this extraordinary chapter of human history doesn’t have to end in catastrophe, or in angry mobs rising up against a tech elite perceived as having gone too far. . . . For now, at least, there’s still power in being human. But only if we use it."—-Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian

"Harding is bilingual in politics and tech. . . . [She] urges politicians — and civil society — to get involved in debates about the uses of AI and help to shape the future in a positive way."—-John Thornhill, Financial Times

From the Publisher

"[Harding’s] narrative provides considerable historical context for each tech milestone and draws parallels between the institution of regulatory guardrails and the importance of outlining the safe and ethical use of AI. . . . A loud and clear call to action regarding AI’s future, which is put into perspective by probing the history of three other major technological innovations."

Library Journal ​​​​​​​

"Harding sits at the intersection of politics, policy, and technology, and she brings her knowledge to this accessible introduction to AI and how it will shape our workplaces and beyond."

Harper’s Bazaar

"Contrary to the doomsayers of modern media, [AI Needs You] shines an optimistic light on the AI revolution."

Choice

2023-10-05
Regulating AI will not be easy, but there are useful lessons available.

Recently, a slew of books have warned about the dangers of AI, so it is refreshing to find one that takes a different approach. Harding has been working at the intersection of technology and regulation for many years; she used to direct policy for Google DeepMind, and she is now director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. The author has a positive attitude toward AI, and she walks us through the benefits already gained or on the horizon. She also acknowledges the downsides. AI has reached the stage of requiring a global regulatory framework, she notes, perhaps begun by technical experts but eventually incorporating input from other interested parties. There are instructive precedents for this, such as the UN Outer Space Treaty, which has been effective at preventing the deployment of orbiting weapons. The regulation around in vitro fertilization is another example of workable compromises involving transformative technologies. A third area to examine might be the protocols drawn up to organize the internet, which have been remarkably durable. All of these required time and effort, with conferences and written agreements. Harding believes that the U.S., as the leader in the field, has to kick-start the process. She is likely correct, but it is hard to see how global talks could take place in the current heated geopolitical climate. Russia is not willing to discuss anything, and China has clear ambitions to dominate the AI area. Nevertheless, we might hope that this book ends up in the hands of those who could take a leadership role, before it is too late.

Harding’s optimism is tempered by experience and knowledge, and her arguments are compelling and engaging.

Kirkus Reviews