Elon Musk has become one of the most ambitious and successful leaders globally as he creates the tools and technologies of the future. He earned his first fortune by creating a company that later became PayPal. Now his company Tesla Motors is leading the revolution in the automotive market. SpaceX is developing state-of-the-art space technology and plans to begin colonizing Mars shortly.
But Musk achieved all this not without help. When asked how he learned to build rockets, he replied, “I read books.” Musk, indeed, is known as an avid book lover. Every day he tries to spend at least 30 minutes reading. We can conclude that reading books is a must for success in any field. We offer you a selection of technology books that must be read for every student.
In this Article
“Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies,” Nick Bostrom
This is one of those books that Elon himself advises to read. And this man understands something in technology. Elon Musk believes that technology will make people more possible than ever before. But Musk also acknowledges the potential threat posed by some technologies. For example, he has repeatedly expressed concerns about artificial intelligence. Maska even co-founded the nonprofit OpenAI. It is designed to ensure that developments in AI are ethical organizations, safe, and do not go beyond reasonable.
Professor Nick Bostrom’s “Artificial Intelligence” is one of the best popular science treatises on AI technology. The book describes the most challenging scientific questions about the future of humanity and artificial intelligence in accessible language. If you have heard of this technology but do not know it, the book will help you understand everything.
“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury.
What is this story about? Ray Bradbury, without sentiment, pointed out to us a lot in it. This is a story about the importance of constant attention to your children. This is a story about the absurdity of attachment to technology. This is a story about the consequences of regulating your personal space when it comes to your children. This story is a warning about the inability to consider the distance from children in time.
And the technological progress going by leaps and bounds got from Bradbury in his short story, and in my opinion, it is entirely deserved. This story is about the critical balance between technology and personal life.
In addition, an essential part of reading any book is a reflection on the book. After all, the primary purpose of reading is to enrich the student with new knowledge. One form of reflection is writing an essay about a book you have read. However, this is not easy for some students, but you can always look for some free writing samples. We are sure that you will be able to find The Veldt essays examples if you need them. Writing such essays helps put all your thoughts on the book on paper succinctly and review them later.
“Our Final Invention,” James Barrat
Our Final Invention is another book on artificial intelligence that Musk acknowledged is worth it. James Barratt focuses on the positive aspects and potential catastrophic scenarios that may be the culprit of AI. The writer predicts that machines surpassing humans in intelligence could end the era of humanity.
“Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” Max Tegmark
Not everyone is as pessimistic about artificial intelligence as James Barratt. Max Tegmark, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focuses on the positive aspects of artificial intelligence. He calls this technology “life 3.0”.
1.0 Life version 1.0 originated about 4 billion years ago, life version 2.0 (humans) – about a hundred thousand years ago, and Life 3.0, according to many scientists, may appear in the next century – and perhaps in our century. “Thanks to successes in the development of artificial intelligence,” he wrote.
“Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future,” Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
The dizzying success of some Silicon Valley projects has sparked a legitimate interest in startup culture in general. Although Musk has long-run giant companies, the spirit of startups is not alien to him. After all, he began his career with a small payment system. This startup later merged with another company created by the author of this book, Peter Thiel. Thus was born the world-famous payment system PayPal. All this made Ilona Mask and Peter Thiel millionaires.
Years later, Musk praised the book of his old acquaintance. “Peter has created many impressive companies such as Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future,” he says.
Conclusion
Books about technology are impossible to read in one evening: it takes a long time to carefully understand the complex terms. Often, the process of reading such books takes weeks or even months. But you need to understand the theory to write at least a program and establish contact with technologies.