Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
AI 2041 cover art

AI 2041

Written by: Kai-Fu Lee, Chen Qiufan
Narrated by: Feodor Chin, Justin Chien, Soneela Nankani, Mirron Willis, Emily Woo Zeller, Siho Ellsmore, Fajer Al-Kaisi
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $29.14

Buy Now for $29.14

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

How will artificial intelligence change our world within 20 years?

A Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Financial Times Best Book of the Year

“This inspired collaboration between a pioneering technologist and a visionary writer of science fiction offers bold and urgent insights.” (Yann LeCun, winner of the Turing Award; chief AI scientist, Facebook)

“Amazingly entertaining. ... Lee and Chen take us on an immersive trip through the future. ... Eye-opening.” (Mark Cuban)

AI will be the defining development of the 21st century. Within two decades, aspects of daily human life will be unrecognizable. AI will generate unprecedented wealth, revolutionize medicine and education through human-machine symbiosis, and create brand-new forms of communication and entertainment. In liberating us from routine work, however, AI will also challenge the organizing principles of our economic and social order. Meanwhile, AI will bring new risks in the form of autonomous weapons and smart technology that inherit human bias. AI is at a tipping point, and people need to wake up - both to AI’s radiant pathways and its existential perils for life as we know it.

In this provocative, utterly original work, Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of Google China and best-selling author of AI Superpowers, teams up with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to imagine our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by AI. In 10 gripping short stories, they introduce listeners to an array of eye-opening 2041 settings, such as:

  • In San Francisco, the “job reallocation” industry emerges as deep learning AI causes widespread job displacement.
  • In Tokyo, a music fan is swept up in an immersive form of celebrity worship based on virtual reality and mixed reality.
  • In Mumbai, a teenage girl rebels when AI’s crunching of big data gets in the way of romance.
  • In Seoul, virtual companions with perfected natural language processing (NLP) skills offer orphaned twins new ways to connect.
  • In Munich, a rogue scientist draws on quantum computing, computer vision, and other AI technologies in a revenge plot that imperils the world.

By gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, AI 2041 offers urgent insights into our collective future - while reminding listeners that, ultimately, humankind remains the author of its destiny.

©2021 Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan (P)2021 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“An invaluable and entertaining vision of the future.” (Ray Dalio, number-one New York Times best-selling author of Principles)

“To say that AI 2041 is enlightening and valuable, is to understate its significance. ... AI 2041’s scientific fiction gives us a way to open our eyes to what is actually going on all around us and where things are heading.” (John Kao, Forbes)

“By blending imaginative storytelling and technical expertise, Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan bring to life a vision for AI that addresses both our curiosity and our fears. Read this captivating book to better understand how and when certain technologies are likely to mature, and what that could mean for all of us.” (Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft)

What listeners say about AI 2041

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Future AI Existence with Technical Insights

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future gives one a glimpse into a future where everyday life is not only intertwined with AI - but it's the heartbeat of existence. Kai-Fu brilliantly marries captivating tales alongside an in-depth and insightful technical analysis.

Each chapter weaves a captivating narrative that explores an intimate dance between humanity and advanced AI, revealing how these technologies could become woven into the fabric of daily life.

As someone with a master degree in advanced AI, I particularly enjoyed the post-chapter technical dives — exploring the technology implications, feasibility and societal implications. Kai-Fu pushes further to reveal how much of this foundational technology already exists — both surprising and unsettling.

This book is a gem for anyone interested in a future life entrenched with AI. But it's a must-read for those poised to be managers or leaders. It urges prudence and foresight before society completely and irrevocably embeds daily life with intelligent systems.

Any technology that makes human life easier with more 'convenience' will take global hold. How do we prepare for this inevitable AI integration — where AI pervades every aspect of daily existence? It invites the reader to ponder what considerations we must prioritize to ensure a symbiotic coexistence with AI.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ish
  • 2023-12-12

Near Future

The content and provided examples were easily understood, relevant for today and the near future. Enjoyable and easy to listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book about future

It's a great read if anyone wants to look into future and learn about AI and computing power and what it will look like

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Easy to put down, but still entertaining

If you are more than familiar with AI and are looking to learn more, this is probably not the right place. Equally, if you are looking for block buster science fiction stories, this probably isn't it either. But that being said, I found the stories to be light and entertaining and all focused around one subject that I have an interest in. Each story is like a long colorful example that tries to highlight some of the opportunities, dangers, strengths and weaknesses of today's AI projected into the near future. The multiple short story format has made it a great fit for my daily commute.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating!

The short stories themselves aren’t finely crafted science fiction masterpieces, but the commentary between them is extremely up-to-date and interesting. I love AI, and the innovations described in this book can’t arrive too quickly as far as I’m concerned!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking

The mix of fiction & science fiction was interesting at times, but I found myself skipping at least 1 story as they were sometimes a tad dull. However I appreciated the broad scope of topics the authors attempted to cover and the overall positive few of AI.

Overall, not a lot of core details but definitely a great introduction of key concepts and great for anybody new to the topic (such as myself).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shit accent, chapter 2

Who the fuck allowed this accent to appear. You should fucking record this part again

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not worth your time

This is what reality is to generation z. They are so out of touch with the way that the world works and how new things become integrated. Mindless stories and predictions that will look so fantastically naive if you read this book in 2041. The actual analysis lacks depth of understanding and reality.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

The stories were unnecessary long and not very interesting, although some of the analysis after each story was interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!