Top 10 AI Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge
Why Is It Important to Stay Up to Date on AI?
Artificial intelligence is moving fast, and the people who keep learning are the ones who spot opportunities first. In 2024, 78% of organisations reported using AI, a steep rise in a single year; that tells you how quickly tools are landing in day-to-day work and why staying informed matters. Continuous learning also pays off personally; across OECD countries, around 40% of adults take part in learning each year, often to build skills that make life and work easier. Employers expect two-fifths of key skills to change by 2030, so keeping pace with AI isn’t a luxury, it’s a practical habit that helps you make better decisions, lead confidently and inspire others to embrace change. In the UK, adult participation in learning has climbed, with 52% of adults saying they’ve learned in the last three years; that momentum is a chance to make AI part of your regular reading, podcasting and professional development routine.
What Are the Best AI Books to Read?
This official selection is based on vetted data from recent AI-themed events, exclusive speaker evaluations and comprehensive audience polls; it highlights authors who both write clearly and deliver powerful talks.
- Life 3.0 – Max Tegmark – Big-picture scenarios, AI safety and choices leaders face.
- AI Superpowers – Kai-Fu Lee – China–US AI landscape, careers and entrepreneurial openings.
- Atlas of AI – Kate Crawford – Social, environmental and political costs of AI systems.
- Hello World – Hannah Fry – Algorithms in daily life and how to stay human-centred.
- Rebooting AI – Gary Marcus & Ernest Davis – Limits of deep learning and paths to trustworthy AI.
- Prediction Machines – Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans & Avi Goldfarb – The economics of AI as cheap prediction.
- Rule of the Robots – Martin Ford – How AI will reshape industries, jobs and society.
- Genius Makers – Cade Metz – Inside stories of the people and breakthroughs behind modern AI.
- Deepfakes: The Coming Infocalypse – Nina Schick – Synthetic media, trust and resilience.
- AI Without the BS – Brett Schklar – No-jargon CEO playbook to turn AI into ROI.
Life 3.0 – Max Tegmark
Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark looks at how artificial intelligence could transform society, from jobs and politics to war and global governance. The book sets out a range of possible futures, balancing optimism about problem-solving potential with warnings about loss of control, and provides readers with frameworks for thinking through these outcomes. Tegmark, a professor at MIT and President of the Future of Life Institute, has long worked at the intersection of physics, machine learning and technology ethics. He writes with clarity, making complex ideas accessible without oversimplifying them. What makes Life 3.0 valuable is the way it connects imagination to practical decisions. It encourages leaders and teams to consider not just how AI works, but how it should be directed, governed and integrated responsibly. For organisations planning ahead, it is a book that combines foresight with usable strategy.
AI Superpowers – Kai-Fu Lee
AI Superpowers explores the competitive landscape between China and the United States in artificial intelligence, outlining how both nations built powerful ecosystems and what that means for jobs, entrepreneurship and global policy. Kai-Fu Lee draws on his experience leading teams at Apple, Microsoft and Google China, as well as investing in start-ups at Sinovation Ventures, to give readers an insider’s perspective on the speed of innovation. His background as both a technologist and investor makes him uniquely placed to explain how AI moves from research into products and markets. The book is valuable because it grounds abstract debates in real-world business shifts, offering practical insights into how organisations can adapt and compete. Readers come away with a pragmatic view of adoption, careers and opportunity, making it a useful guide for leaders, entrepreneurs and policy makers looking to understand where the next wave of disruption will come from.
Atlas of AI – Kate Crawford
Atlas of AI reveals the hidden costs of artificial intelligence, tracing the resources, labour and politics behind the systems we use. Kate Crawford examines the extraction of minerals and energy, the treatment of data workers and the regulatory gaps that shape global deployment. Far from being abstract, the book grounds AI in material realities, helping readers see how technological progress connects to people and the planet. Crawford, a leading scholar of AI’s social impacts, has spent years researching technology, policy and ethics, and her work has influenced debates at the highest levels. The value of Atlas of AI lies in its ability to sharpen critical thinking, giving teams a lens to balance innovation with responsibility. For leaders, it provides context to design programmes that are ethical and sustainable without losing momentum. It is a vital text for anyone tasked with oversight or governance in this space.
Hello World – Hannah Fry
Hello World shows how algorithms shape everyday decisions in health care, justice, transport and finance, while reminding readers where human judgement still matters most. Hannah Fry, a mathematician and well-known BBC presenter, brings warmth and storytelling skill to complex subjects, making them familiar and engaging. Her ability to take abstract systems and anchor them in real examples makes the book accessible to general readers and valuable to professionals alike. Fry’s background in mathematics and her talent for broadcasting allow her to explain technical detail without jargon, turning difficult concepts into stories that stick. The book is useful because it balances enthusiasm for innovation with caution about unintended consequences, encouraging readers to be curious, critical and confident when engaging with AI. For anyone who wants to understand automation without losing sight of the human element, Hello World provides clarity and reassurance.
Rebooting AI – Gary Marcus & Ernest Davis
Rebooting AI argues that current systems, impressive as they seem, lack genuine understanding and the ability to reason. Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis set out the shortcomings of deep learning and outline ways to build AI that can explain itself, generalise and act more reliably. Their critique is sharp but constructive, offering a roadmap for moving beyond hype to trustworthy technology. Marcus, a cognitive scientist and entrepreneur, is known for his outspoken views on AI’s limits, while Davis brings decades of computer science expertise. Together they balance insight with humour, making the book engaging as well as rigorous. Its value lies in helping readers pressure-test vendor claims, plan evaluation processes and understand hybrid approaches to deployment. For business leaders, technologists and policy makers, it is a practical guide to safer AI – a reminder that true progress depends on systems that can be trusted.
Prediction Machines – Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans & Avi Goldfarb
Prediction Machines reframes artificial intelligence as a simple economic shift: the falling cost of prediction. This lens turns a complex subject into something familiar, linking AI to business design, pricing, risk and workflow. The authors – Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb – are economists with strong track records in innovation and entrepreneurship research. Their strength lies in showing how economic principles can clarify decisions that often feel overwhelming. The book gives readers a shared language for identifying use cases, calculating value and avoiding common pitfalls. Its usefulness is clear for non-technical teams, as it bridges strategy and execution without requiring coding knowledge. Leaders gain tools to assess opportunities realistically and to prioritise projects with measurable impact. By stripping AI down to prediction as a service, the book delivers a practical framework for making smarter investment and design choices across industries.
Rule of the Robots – Martin Ford
Rule of the Robots surveys the broad impact of artificial intelligence across industries, from health and finance to logistics and education. Martin Ford looks at how technology is transforming productivity while raising profound questions about employment, inequality and the structure of society. His analysis balances enthusiasm for efficiency with concern about disruption, creating a rounded picture of change. Ford, a futurist and bestselling author, has written extensively on automation and the future of work, and his perspective combines technological insight with economic and social analysis. The book’s value lies in its ability to connect macro trends with practical planning, helping organisations think through reskilling, policy and business models. For boards and teams, it provides a guide to balancing growth with responsibility. It equips readers to prepare for transitions thoughtfully, ensuring AI adoption strengthens resilience while addressing the human challenges that inevitably follow.
Genius Makers – Cade Metz
Genius Makers tells the story of modern artificial intelligence through the people behind it, from early pioneers to the rise of deep learning. Cade Metz, a journalist with The New York Times, uses his background in reporting to capture the personalities, rivalries and breakthroughs that have shaped the field. The book reads like reportage but doubles as a primer, explaining the science in a way that is both memorable and clear. Metz brings characters and turning points to life, showing how research becomes products and eventually reshapes markets. Its usefulness lies in providing context that strategy documents often miss; leaders gain insight into the forces and motivations driving AI’s trajectory. For readers, it makes the history of AI accessible and engaging, while for organisations, it deepens understanding of the human side of innovation, a critical factor in anticipating where the next breakthroughs may emerge.
Deepfakes: The Coming Infocalypse – Nina Schick
Deepfakes: The Coming Infocalypse examines the rise of synthetic media and the risks it poses to trust, politics, security and brand safety. Nina Schick was among the first to track the growth of deepfake technology and its implications for society, giving her book both authority and urgency. Drawing on her work as an adviser on technology and geopolitics, Schick explains how manipulated media challenges everything from democracy to corporate reputation. What makes the book valuable is its focus on resilience and verification, offering practical steps organisations can take to safeguard credibility without stifling creativity. For professionals in communications, marketing, security and governance, it provides a clear-eyed view of the threats ahead and the tools to prepare. By making complex technology understandable and its consequences tangible, the book is an essential read for anyone concerned with information integrity in the age of AI.
AI Without the BS – Brett Schklar
AI Without the BS by Brett Schklar is a straight-talking field guide for CEOs and business owners who want to move from dabbling in AI to getting results. Subtitled ‘The CEO’s Playbook for ACTUALLY Getting AI Right’, it lays out a practical roadmap across sales, marketing, HR, finance and operations, and introduces a simple metric, Return on AI (ROAI), to judge progress. Schklar is an AI-first leadership coach and international author; he leads AI-First Leadership and regularly briefs executive groups, with a standout Vistage recommendation score cited by his speaker profile. The book is useful because it turns hype into decisions, with checklists for assessing use cases, risk and governance, then sequencing pilots that matter. One example it walks through is picking a single workflow, like proposal drafting or inventory forecasting, setting a ROAI target, and proving value within a quarter before scaling. If you want a clear, no-BS playbook for adoption, this is a reliable place to start.
What are the Top 10 AI Books to Read in 2025 to Boost Your Knowledge?
Reading any of these titles will raise the quality of your conversations, your decisions and your plans; hiring the authors elevates that impact for your whole audience, turning complex ideas into clear next steps. To explore more AI speakers, visit our full listings today; for bespoke recommendations and to secure a speaker for your event, visit our Contact Us page or call us on 0203 410 9897 to get started today.
- Top 10 Lists
- 26 September, 2025
