Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late
Language: English
Published by MCD, 2026
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Eureka Books, Eureka, CA, U.S.A.Eureka Books
AbeBooks seller since November 2, 2010
Condition: Used
£ 17.36
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
A new copy. AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER National Indie Bestseller "[Doctorow] resembles the great rock critics of an earlier era, a high-tech Greil Marcus or even a Lester Bangs." --Stephen Marche, The New York Times Book Review A short, provocative guide to what's good, bad, and stupid about AI and the discourse around AI, by the author of Enshittification. In modern tech parlance, a centaur is a person who is able to use technology to be a better, more productive version of themself. A reverse centaur is a person who is forced by technology to work at an inhuman pace--a driver made to deliver all day long, nonstop; a warehouse worker made to work without food or bathroom breaks; a programmer made to crank out impossible amounts of code. The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI is not another anti-AI screed. Cory Doctorow uses AI in his work every day. As a creative person, he has no moral or dogmatic issue with AI--he thinks the technology is useful, even exciting, and full of potential. And yet. AI has arrived surrounded by unprecedented hype driven by a tech industry desperate to maintain its unprecedented valuation based on its own promises of endless financial growth. Despite the fact that almost all of AI's real-world implementations have proved underwhelming, AI is projected to be worth more than $16 trillion--a number that only makes sense if AI replaces vast swathes of the wage-earning human workforce. To justify that level of "value," every story about AI must be presented as inevitable, world-changing disruption. Even the tales of the robot apocalypse are a calculated attempt to bolster the fearsome power of AI. For Doctorow, it is imperative to see through that hype to the real story, to understand the technology not just for what it does, but for who it does it to and who it does it for. From that point of view, the story of AI is indeed dramatic and unprecedented, having generated an investment bubble so big that it endangers the entire world economy. In The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI--as he so successfully did in Enshittification--Doctorow recounts both how we found ourselves in this dire situation and how we can get through it, to a life "after" AI in which the tools work for us, not the other way around.…
Seller Inventory # 438859
- Title
- Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late
- Author
- Doctorow, Cory,Doctorow, Cory
- Publisher
- MCD
- Publication year
- 2026
- Binding
- Trade Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 037462156X
- ISBN 13
- 9780374621568
- Seller catalogs
- Technology
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Eureka Books
Eureka, CA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since November 2, 2010
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 6.74 | £ 14.23 |
Payment methods
Store description
Eureka Books is a full-service antiquarian bookstore in the heart of the redwood coast of far northern California. Opened in 1987, our shop is in an historic Victorian storefront in the heart of Eureka, California's, Old Town district. We are open seven days a week and welcome phone and email inquiries. Visit is online at www.eurekabookshop.com.
Specialty
Eastern Religion, Metaphysics and Occult, Art, California, Humboldt CountySeller's business information
Eureka Books
426 2nd St
Eureka, CA U.S.A. 95501
Terms of sale
We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described on the Abebooks web sites. If you're dissatisfied with your purchase (Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged) or if the order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30 days of the estimated delivery date. If you've changed your mind about a book that you've ordered, please use the Ask bookseller a question link to contact us and we'll respond within 2 business days.
Eureka Books, LLC
P. Scott Brown, Manager
426 2nd Street
Eureka, CA 95501
707-444-9593
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Eureka Books, Eureka, California, U.S.A., +1 707-444-9593, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Orders usually ship within 2 business days. Standard shipping covers shipment of all books to U.S. addresses via Media Mail. We won't ask you for extra shipping unless you request expedited or international shipping for a particularly heavy or large book.