Esther Dyson

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In Defense of Limits: Human Time and AI Scale

Out on March 9, 2027, from MIT Press

In the age of AI — an era obsessed with measuring, quantifying, and trading everything — how can we recognize and realize the value of each unique and precious human life? The answer, Esther tells us in her highly anticipated second book, is good questions: How can we flourish within our limits — of time, scale, and scope — even as we consider what we can share while we’re alive and pass along when we leave? What are the differences in limits between humans and AI, and what are the implications of those differences? How can we use our own limits to set priorities to realize our own immeasurable value during our finite lives? What role should limits play in formal sectors such as business, government, and philanthropy, where the interplay between power and money corrupts intentions and destroys value?

Observing her own limits, Esther does not try to explain or predict everything. Instead, she prompts us not just to consider some solutions, but also to ask our own questions and consider our own relationships with AI.

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