D. Scott Phoenix

Scott Phoenix built one of the early AGI companies and has thought seriously about its consequences ... Scott is the real thing.

Eric Schmidt, Former CEO and Chairman of Google

Most books on AI treat it as a software problem. Scott Phoenix treats it as a physics one. Drawing on his experience founding one of the earliest AI companies and his deep understanding of complex systems, Scott argues that humanity’s merger with AI is a thermodynamic inevitability. This is a 'Big Think' book in the truest sense: provocative, rigorous, and profoundly important for anyone trying to navigate the future of our species.

Marc Benioff, Co-founder and CEO of Salesforce

I've known Scott for years. He brings a rare combination of technical brilliance and deep moral clarity to the most important conversation of our time. The Second Law is a powerful lens that challenges us to shape the future of intelligence with wisdom and values before the window of opportunity closes.

Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock

I've attended Scott's Progress Valley gatherings and watched him hold his own with Nobel laureates, former presidents, and the founders building our future. He earned his perspective the hard way: by actually creating the technology he's now helping us understand.

Reed Hastings, Co-founder and Chairman of Netflix

Evolution, AI, and the Path Towards a Human Future

AI’s capabilities are compounding much faster than most people understand. Once its systems reach a certain threshold of autonomy, its creators will lose whatever leverage over it they have. 
 
D. Scott Phoenix argues that AI is not an optional invention at all, but the inevitable outcome of the same thermodynamic pressures that have shaped the universe since the Big Bang. Once you start from that premise, the familiar conversation about ‘alignment’ looks radically different. Drawing on his own experience building one of the earliest AGI companies, Phoenix takes the reader from stars and cells to neural networks and autonomous systems. Artificial intelligence is part of a much longer story about energy, complexity, survival, and the universe itself. 
 
Phoenix does not offer a utopian vision of upgraded humanity, nor a reassuring fantasy in which AI remains safely subordinate. He argues instead that integration is the most realistic path through the coming transition – and that the window for negotiating that relationship is closing fast. Provocative and timely, The Second Law argues that it is time for us to merge with AI.

The Second Law

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D. Scott Phoenix

Praise for The Second Law

Scott Phoenix built one of the early AGI companies and has thought seriously about its consequences ... Scott is the real thing.

Most books on AI treat it as a software problem. Scott Phoenix treats it as a physics one. Drawing on his experience founding one of the earliest AI companies and his deep understanding of complex systems, Scott arg ...

I've known Scott for years. He brings a rare combination of technical brilliance and deep moral clarity to the most important conversation of our time. The Second Law is a powerful lens that challenges ...

Scott Phoenix built one of the early AGI companies and has thought seriously about its consequences ... Scott is the real thing.

Most books on AI treat it as a software problem. Scott Phoenix treats it as a physics one. Drawing on his experience founding one of the earliest AI companies and his deep understanding of complex systems, Scott arg ...

I've known Scott for years. He brings a rare combination of technical brilliance and deep moral clarity to the most important conversation of our time. The Second Law is a powerful lens that challenges ...

Scott Phoenix built one of the early AGI companies and has thought seriously about its consequences ... Scott is the real thing.

Most books on AI treat it as a software problem. Scott Phoenix treats it as a physics one. Drawing on his experience founding one of the earliest AI companies and his deep understanding of complex systems, Scott arg ...

I've known Scott for years. He brings a rare combination of technical brilliance and deep moral clarity to the most important conversation of our time. The Second Law is a powerful lens that challenges ...

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