{"product_id":"the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai-how-to-think-about-artificial-intelligence-before-its-too-late-paperback","title":"The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late (Paperback)","description":"\u003ch1\u003e\u003cb\u003eby Cory Doctorow\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDescription\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA short, provocative guide to what's good, bad, and stupid about AI and the discourse around AI, by the author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.mrwelltravelled.com\/products\/enshittification-why-everything-suddenly-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it-hardcover\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Enshittification by Cory Doctorow\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnshittification\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI \u003c\/em\u003eis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAI 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor 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 \u003cem\u003eThe Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI\u003c\/em\u003e—as he so successfully did in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.mrwelltravelled.com\/products\/enshittification-why-everything-suddenly-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it-hardcover\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Enshittification by Cory Doctorow\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnshittification\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e—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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eCory Doctorow\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003ebestselling science fiction author, activist, and journalist. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Born in Toronto, Canada, he lives in Los Angeles and London.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCategory: \u003c\/b\u003eNonfiction, Technology\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\/Binding: \u003c\/b\u003ePaperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBook Condition: \u003c\/b\u003eNew\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003e037462156X\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/b\u003e978-\u003cspan\u003e0374621568\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMCD\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDate Published:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003eJune 23, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages: \u003c\/b\u003e240\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerms of Sale\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll book sales are final. No returns or exchanges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePurchaser will receive a new book that has never been read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book will be shipped within 7 to 10 business days of receipt of order via a major mail carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEX, or DHL) and may take up to 14 days to arrive depending on the carrier and destination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational shipping is also available.\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr. Well-Travelled","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50490553401537,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/4756\/3713\/files\/The_Reverse_Centaur_s_Guide_to_Life_After_AI-_How_to_Think_about_Artificial_Intelligence--Before_It_s_Too_Late_-_mrwelltravelled_-_black_owned_online_bookstore.jpg?v=1786561026","url":"https:\/\/shop.mrwelltravelled.com\/products\/the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai-how-to-think-about-artificial-intelligence-before-its-too-late-paperback","provider":"Mr. Well-Travelled","version":"1.0","type":"link"}