Brian Christian

Brian Christian

Author, Researcher

Brian Christian is an American author, researcher, and poet whose work explores the human implications of computer science and artificial intelligence. His bestselling books include The Most Human Human, Algorithms to Live By, and The Alignment Problem, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He holds degrees in computer science and philosophy from Brown University and is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

2
Books Written
4
Books Recommended

Books by Brian Christian

Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian

Algorithms to Live By

by Brian Christian

star4.2

Christian and Griffiths show how computer science algorithms solve everyday human problems, from when to stop searching to how to sort your priorities. Practical wisdom from maths.

technologypsychology
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The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian Christian

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

by Brian Christian

star4.3

Brian Christian traces the history and cutting edge of efforts to build AI systems that reliably reflect human values, drawing on hundreds of interviews with researchers in machine learning, cognitive science, and philosophy. Organised into three sections on representation, behavior, and normativity, the book reveals how bias in training data, misspecified reward functions, and the gap between optimization targets and human intent create systems that diverge from their creators' goals.

technologyscience
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Most Recommended by Brian

The books Brian Christian references, cites, and recommends most frequently.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

star4.2

Kahneman reveals that our minds run on two systems: fast intuition and slow deliberation. Most errors in judgement come from trusting System 1 when the situation demands System 2's careful analysis.

psychology
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Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

Superintelligence

by Nick Bostrom

star3.9

Bostrom warns that once artificial intelligence surpasses human cognition, controlling it becomes nearly impossible. The real danger isn't malice but misaligned goals pursued with superhuman competence.

technologyphilosophy
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Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark

Life 3.0

by Max Tegmark

star4.1

Tegmark explores how artificial superintelligence could reshape civilisation. The central question is not whether AI will surpass us, but whether we can steer it towards beneficial outcomes.

technologyscience
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The Precipice by Toby Ord

The Precipice

by Toby Ord

star4.5

Ord argues that humanity has entered an unprecedented period of existential risk, estimating a roughly one-in-six chance of civilizational catastrophe this century driven chiefly by engineered pandemics and unaligned AI. He builds an ethical case, rooted in longtermist philosophy, that safeguarding humanity's long-term potential is the defining moral task of our era.

philosophyhistory
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Influence Map

Who Brian draws from, and who draws from Brian — aggregated across every book in this collection. Counts show the number of citation links, not the depth of each one.

Brian cites most often

  1. 1Daniel Kahneman
    2 links
  2. 2Nick Bostrom
    1 link
  3. 3Max Tegmark
    1 link
  4. 4Toby Ord
    1 link

Authors who cite Brian most often

  1. 1Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth
    1 link