Tech Policy Press: The Year in Books
Prithvi Iyer, Justin Hendrix / Dec 23, 2024
A composite of book covers.
For many, the end of the year is an opportunity to catch up on reading or to purchase books as gifts. In 2024, a number of authors joined the Tech Policy Press podcast, providing fresh insights into how technology interacts with people, politics, and power. The following is a list of the books we featured.
1. Imagination: A Manifesto
Ruha Benjamin – Norton Shorts
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
"In naming the different forms of imagination that become encoded, that infect our institutions and our laws and our various social systems, that to me is a first step in putting those in their place and beginning to cast a critical light on them," says Dr. Ruha Benjamin. "So, the first step in any power struggle is to name the realities that we're struggling over." Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of the discussion here.
2. The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Petra Molnar – The New Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Petra Molnar’s new book exposes the growing use of AI-driven surveillance technologies to police borders and control migration, revealing how governments and corporations deploy unregulated technologies that dehumanize migrants while fueling a lucrative industry. She highlights the human cost of these developments and the resistance of those impacted. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of the conversation here.
3. The Politics of Platform Regulation: How Governments Shape Online Content Moderation
Robert Gorwa – Oxford University Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Justin Hendrix spoke with author Robert Gorwa about the book’s key arguments, unpacking how and why governments around the world engage in platform regulation. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of his conversation here.
4. Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World
Parmy Olson – St. Martins Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Parmy Olson’s book explores the race for AI supremacy. It provides a deep dive into the trajectories of Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis and their roles in advancing artificial intelligence, the challenges posed by corporate power, and the extraordinary economic stakes of the current race to achieve technological supremacy. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of this conversation here.
5. Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation
Greg Epstein – MIT Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
In this book, drawing from lessons learned as a humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, Greg Epstein looks at how technology has emerged as a global religion, emphasizing the need to preserve critical thinking and skepticism. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.
6. Principles of the Digital Services Act
Martin Husovec – Oxford University Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
JMartin Husovec, associate professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), joined the podcast to discuss the rollout of the DSA, the trusted flaggers program, and out-of-court dispute resolution bodies. He also addressed open questions regarding systemic risk reports and whether the DSA meets the ambitious goals policymakers set for it. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.
7. Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment
Mary Anne Franks – Bold Type Books
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Dr. Mary Anne Franks spoke with Justin Hendrix about First Amendment orthodoxy in the United States. Her book highlights how the First Amendment is often weaponized to silence marginalized voices, protect the powerful, and perpetuate inequality. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of this conversation here.
8. AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference
Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor – Princeton University Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Princeton scholars Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor break down where AI delivers on its promises, where it falls short, and how to distinguish hype from reality. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of this conversation here.
9. Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us
Gary Marcus – MIT Technology Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Gary Marcus spoke with Justin Hendrix about his new book, which serves as a compelling critique of the tech industry's grip on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. Marcus argues for greater accountability, transparency, and regulation to ensure AI serves society’s broader interests. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.
10. The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley
Marietje Schaake – Princeton University Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Marietje Schaake’s new book critiques Big Tech’s role in undermining democracy around the world and the importance of policymakers resisting the powerful tech lobby and “reinventing themselves as dynamic, flexible guardians of our digital world.” Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.
11. Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality
Renée DiResta – Public Affairs
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Renée DiResta’s book examines how propagandists, influencers, and algorithms reshape public opinion, undermine trust in institutions, and revolutionize politics, culture, and society. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of this conversation here.
12. High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy
Angela Zhang – Oxford Unversity Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Angela Zhang’s book offers an in-depth analysis of China’s approach to platform regulation with respect to antitrust, data, and labor enforcement. The book compares the Chinese model with other jurisdictions like the US and EU while also examining the self-regulatory schemes used by Chinese tech giants and their collaboration with the State. Read the transcript of the conversation here.
13. Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI
Madhumita Murgia – Macmillan Publishers
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Justin Hendrix spoke with Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times, about her new book, which combines reporting and research to look at the role that AI and automated decision-making play in reshaping society. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of the conversation here.
14. How AI Ate the World: A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence – And Its Long Future
Chris Stokel-Walker – Canberry Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
Chris Stokel-Walker charts AI’s rapid evolution from its Cold War origins to its explosive growth in the 2020s. The book explores breakthroughs from Silicon Valley labs, the promises and risks of large language models like ChatGPT, and the profound societal impacts of AI, including its threats to jobs and humanity’s future. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of his conversation with Justin Hendrix here.
15. Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life
Nathan Schneider – University of California Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
In his book, Nathan Schneider, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, examines the “implicit feudalism” that dominates online communities. Schneider explores how these digital spaces reinforce autocratic tendencies while highlighting their potential to foster democratic innovation. Drawing from history, political theory, and real-world examples, he envisions a future where online platforms embrace participatory governance that promotes rather than undermines democracy. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of his discussion with Justin Hendrix here.
16. Media and January 6th
Edited by Khadijah Costley White, Daniel Kreiss, Shannon C. McGregor, and Rebekah Tromble – Oxford University Press
Listen to the podcast | Buy the book
In this collection of essays, a diverse range of scholars examines the role of legacy and social media in shaping the insurrection of the US Capitol on January 6th. Justin Hendrix spoke with three of the book’s four editors: Khadijah Costley White, Daniel Kreiss, and Shannon C. McGregor. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript of their conversation here.
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