If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All: Yudkowsky, Eliezer, Soares, Nate: 9780316595643: Amazon.com: Books

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From the Publisher

Max Tegmark

Tim Urban

Suzanne Spaulding

Sir Stephen Fry

Ben Bernanke

Jon Wolfsthal

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Yudkowsky and Soares’s] diagnosis of AI’s potential pitfalls evinces a sustained engagement with the subject…they have a commendable willingness to call BS on big Silicon Valley names, accusing Elon Musk and Yann LeCun, Meta AI’s chief scientist, of downplaying real risks.”―San Francisco Chronicle

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies makes a compelling case that superhuman AI would almost certainly lead to global human annihilation. Governments around the world must recognize the risks and take collective and effective action.”―Jon Wolfsthal, former special assistant to the president for national security affairs

“Soares and Yudkowsky lay out, in plain and easy-to-follow terms, why our current path toward ever-more-powerful AIs is extremely dangerous.”―Emmett Shear, former interim CEO of OpenAI

“Essential reading for policymakers, journalists, researchers, and the general public. A masterfully written and groundbreaking text, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies provides an important starting point for discussing AI at all levels.”―Bart Selman, professor of computer science, Cornell University

"While I’m skeptical that the current trajectory of AI development will lead to human extinction, I acknowledge that this view may reflect a failure of imagination on my part. Given AI’s exponential pace of change there’s no better time to take prudent steps to guard against worst-case outcomes. The authors offer important proposals for global guardrails and risk mitigation that deserve serious consideration."―Lieutenant General John (Jack) N.T. Shanahan (USAF, Ret.), Inaugural Director, Department of Defense Joint AI Center

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies isn’t just a wake-up call; it’s a fire alarm ringing with clarity and urgency. Yudkowsky and Soares pull no punches: unchecked superhuman AI poses an existential threat. It’s a sobering reminder that humanity’s future depends on what we do right now.”―Mark Ruffalo, actor

“A serious book in every respect. In Yudkowsky and Soares’s chilling analysis, a super-empowered AI will have no need for humanity and ample capacity to eliminate us. If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies is an eloquent and urgent plea for us to step back from the brink of self-annihilation.”―Fiona Hill, former senior director, White House National Security Council

“A clarion call…Everyone with an interest in the future has a duty to read what [Yudkowsky] and Soares have to say.”―The Guardian

“This book outlines a thought-provoking scenario of how the emerging risks of AI could drastically transform the world. Exploring these possibilities helps surface critical risks and questions we cannot collectively afford to overlook.”―Yoshua Bengio, Full Professor, Université de Montréal; Co-President and Scientific Director, LawZero; Founder and Scientific Advisor, Mila - Quebec AI Institute

“A clearly written and compelling account of the existential risks that highly advanced AI could pose to humanity. Recommended.”―Ben Bernanke, Nobel laureate and former chairman of the Federal Reserve

“The definitive book about how to take on ‘humanity’s final boss’―the hard-to-resist urge to develop superintelligent machines―and live to tell the tale.”―Jaan Tallinn, philanthropist, cofounder of the Center for the Study of Existential Risk, and cofounder of Skype

“A.I. is coming, whether we want it or not. It’s too late to stop it, but not too late to keep this handy survival guide close and start demanding real guardrails before the edges start to fray.”―Patton Oswalt, actor

“You’re likely to close this book fully convinced that governments need to shift immediately to a more cautious approach to AI, an approach more respectful of the civilization-changing enormity of what's being created. I’d like everyone on earth who cares about the future to read this book and debate its ideas.”―Scott Aaronson, Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin

“Fascinating and downright frightening…argues that AI companies’ unchecked charge toward superhuman AI will be disastrous, lays out some theoretical scenarios detailing how it could lead to our annihilation and suggests what might be done to change our doomed trajectory…[Yudkowsky and Soares] make a pretty convincing case that we are playing with fire.”―AARP

“An incredibly serious issue that merits ― really demands ― our attention. You don’t have to agree with the prediction or prescriptions in this book, nor do you have to be tech or AI savvy, to find it fascinating, accessible, and thought-provoking.”―Suzanne Spaulding, former undersecretary, Department of Homeland Security

“The most important book I’ve read for years: I want to bring it to every political and corporate leader in the world and stand over them until they’ve read it. Yudkowsky and Soares, who have studied AI and its possible trajectories for decades, sound a loud trumpet call to humanity to awaken us as we sleepwalk into disaster.”―Stephen Fry, actor

“The most important book of the decade. This captivating page-turner, from two of today’s clearest thinkers, reveals that the competition to build smarter-than-human machines isn’t an arms race but a suicide race, fueled by wishful thinking."―Max Tegmark, author of Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of AI

“Claims about the risks of AI are often dismissed as advertising, but this book disproves it. Yudkowsky and Soares are not from the AI industry, and have been writing about these risks since before it existed in its present form. Read their disturbing book and tell us what they get wrong.”―Huw Price, Bertrand Russell Professor Emeritus, Trinity College, Cambridge

“Everyone should read this book. There’s a 70% chance that you—yes, you reading this right now—will one day grudgingly admit that we all should have listened to Yudkowsky and Soares when we still had the chance."―Daniel Kokotajlo, OpenAI whistleblower and executive director, AI Futures Project

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies may prove to be the most important book of our time. Yudkowsky and Soares believe we are nowhere near ready to make the transition to superintelligence safely, leaving us on the fast track to extinction. Through the use of parables and crystal-clear explainers, they convey their reasoning, in an urgent plea for us to save ourselves while we still can.”―Tim Urban, cofounder, Wait But Why

“A stark and urgent warning delivered with credibility, clarity, and conviction, this provocative book challenges technologists, policymakers, and citizens alike to confront the existential risks of artificial intelligence before it’s too late. Essential reading for anyone who cares about the future.”―Emma Sky, senior fellow, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies is a sharp and sobering read. As someone who has spent years pushing for responsible AI policy, I found it to be an essential warning about what’s at stake if we get this wrong. Yudkowsky and Soares make the case with clarity, urgency, and heart.”―Joely Fisher, National Secretary-Treasurer, SAG-AFTRA

“This book offers brilliant insights into history’s most consequential standoff between technological utopia and dystopia, and shows how we can and should prevent superhuman AI from killing us all. Yudkowsky and Soares’s memorable storytelling about past disaster precedents (e.g., the inventor of two environmental nightmares: tetra-ethyl-lead gasoline and Freon) highlights why top thinkers so often don't see the catastrophes they create.”―George Church, Founding Core Faculty & Lead, Synthetic Biology, Wyss Institute at Harvard University

“A sober but highly readable book on the very real risks of AI. Both skeptics and believers need to understand the authors’ arguments, and work to ensure that our AI future is more beneficial than harmful.”―Bruce Schneier, Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School and author of A Hacker’s Mind

“Silicon Valley calls it inevitable. Your survival instinct knows better. Humanity is funding its own delete key—an unblinking intelligence that never sleeps, never stops, perfectly indifferent. Wonder-time is over; this is our warning. Read today. Circulate tomorrow. Demand the guardrails. I’ll keep betting on humanity, but first we must wake up.”―R.P. Eddy, former director, White House, National Security Council

"A compelling introduction to the world's most important topic. Artificial general intelligence could be just a few years away. This is one of the few books that takes the implications seriously, published right as the danger level begins to spike."―Scott Alexander, creator, Astral Codex Ten

“You will feel actual emotions when you read this book. We are currently living in the last period of history where we are the dominant species. Humans are lucky to have Soares and Yudkowsky in our corner, reminding us not to waste the brief window of time that we have to make decisions about our future in light of this fact.”―Grimes, musician

“[An] urgent clarion call to prevent the creation of artificial superintelligence…A frightening warning that deserves to be reckoned with.”―Publishers Weekly

“The best no-nonsense, simple explanation of the AI risk problem I've ever read.”―Yishan Wong, former CEO of Reddit

“A timely and terrifying education on the galloping havoc AI could unleash—unless we grasp the reins and take control."―Kirkus

“If we build superintelligent machines without guardrails, we’re not just risking jobs or art, we’re risking everything. This book doesn’t exaggerate. It tells the truth. If we don’t act, we may not get another chance.”―Frances Fisher, actor

“The authors present in clear and simple terms the dangers inherent in 'superintelligent' artificial brains that are 'grown, not crafted' by computer scientists. A quick and worthwhile read for anyone who wants to understand and participate in the ongoing debate about whether and how to regulate AI.”―Joan Feigenbaum, Grace Murray Hopper Professor of Computer Science, Yale University

“A good book, worth reading to understand the basic case for why many people, even those who are generally very enthusiastic about speeding up technological progress, consider superintelligent AI uniquely risky."―Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum

“A shocking book that captures the insanity and hubris of efforts to create thinking machines that could kill us all. But it's not over yet. As the authors insist: ‘where there's life, there's hope.’”―Dorothy Sue Cobble, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Labor Studies, Rutgers University

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies is an urgent, well-reported and persuasive warning about the grave danger humanity faces from reckless AI development.”―Alex Winter, actor and filmmaker

"If you want to be able to assess the risk posed by AI, you will need to understand the worst-case scenario. This book is an exceptionally lucid and rigorous account of how very wrong humankind's quest for a general AI could go. You have been warned!"―Christopher Clark, Regius Professor of History, University of Cambridge

“Once only the realm of sci-fi, superintelligence is almost at our doorstep. We don't know for sure what is going to happen when it arrives, but I'm glad we at least have this book raising the tough questions that needs to be asked while the rest of the industry buries its head in the sand.”―Liv Boeree, philanthropist and poker champion

"A landmark book everyone should get and read."―Steve Bannon, The War Room

“A fire alarm for anyone shaping the future. Whether one agrees with its conclusions or not, the book demands serious attention and reflection.”―Booklist (starred review)

“Surprisingly readable and chillingly plausible.”―The Guardian

About the Author

ELIEZER YUDKOWSKY is one of the founding researchers of the field of AGI alignment, which is concerned with understanding how smarter-than-human intelligences think, behave, and pursue their goals. He appeared on TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People In AI, was one of the twelve public figures featured in The New York Times’s “Who’s Who Behind the Dawn of the Modern Artificial Intelligence Movement,” and was one of the seven thought leaders spotlighted in The Washington Post’s discussion of “AI’s Rival Factions.” He spoke on the main stage at 2023’s TED conference and has been discussed or interviewed in The New Yorker, Newsweek, Forbes, Wired, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Economist, and many other venues. He has close to 200,000 followers on X, where he frequently dialogues with prominent public figures including the heads of frontier AI labs.

NATE SOARES is the President of MIRI. He has been working in the field for over a decade, after previous experience at Microsoft and Google. Soares is the author of a large body of technical and semi-technical writing on AI alignment, has been interviewed in Vanity Fair and the Financial Times, and has spoken on conference panels alongside many of the AI field’s leaders.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 16, 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316595640
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316595643
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #3,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Social Aspects of Technology
- #6 in Artificial Intelligence & Semantics
- #6 in Engineering (Books)
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(1,286)

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Eliezer Yudkowsky
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Eliezer Yudkowsky is a founding researcher of the field of AI alignment and played a major role in shaping the public conversation about smarter-than-human AI. He appeared on Time magazine's 2023 list of the 100 Most Influential People In AI, was one of the twelve public figures featured in The New York Times's "Who's Who Behind the Dawn of the Modern Artificial Intelligence Movement," and has been discussed or interviewed in The New Yorker, Newsweek, Forbes, Wired, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Post, and many other venues.
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Nate Soares
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Nate Soares is the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. He has been working in the field of AI alignment since 2014, after previous experience at Microsoft and Google. Soares is the author of a large body of technical and semi-technical writing on AI alignment, including foundational work on value learning, decision theory, and power-seeking incentives in smarter-than-human AIs.
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Customers find the book well-written and easy to comprehend, making complex concepts accessible. Moreover, they appreciate its thoughtful introduction and crystal-clear arguments, with one customer noting how the authors use analogies to make their points. Additionally, customers consider it an important book on a crucial topic, with one review highlighting its role as an essential read for government officials. However, the subject matter receives mixed reactions, with customers describing it as both sobering and somewhat terrifying.

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69 customers mention content, 64 positive, 5 negative

Customers find the content of the book compelling and engaging, with one customer describing it as a page-turner.

Compelling, insightful and scary. I wish all political and business leaders would read this book and think about the implications....Read more

Great book; I enjoyed reading it more than I expected....Read more

Overall it is an enjoyable, well written, and well argued book. I really enjoy Eliezer Yudkowsky's style but other people seem to really dislike it....Read more

Terrifying but a MUST READ!Read more

56 customers mention informative, 46 positive, 10 negative

Customers find the book informative, making complex concepts understandable and providing a thoughtful introduction to the subject.

very informativeRead more

Thought provoking and well written…Read more

...What I loved: - Crystal-clear models and examples: you’ll actually understand what he’s talking about without being lost in jargon. -...Read more

Compelling, insightful and scary. I wish all political and business leaders would read this book and think about the implications....Read more

33 customers mention writing style, 28 positive, 5 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it well-crafted, with one customer noting it is written by experts in AI and serves as an informative overview of the topic.

Very important book that everyone should read. Well written and accessible, you don’t need a background in tech or AI to read it.Read more

I found this book to be very well-written, an easy read and to the point....Read more

Great book for laymen to grasp AI and see its potential. Very well written. Great presentation. Everyone should read it.Read more

Extremely well written. Draws on good examples from other areas of science and history to show why its conclusion shouldn't be surprising....Read more

27 customers mention readability, 23 positive, 4 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and comprehend.

...This book is clear, easy to read, and let's you see why the question of whether to let these companies try to build gods, or to stop them, is a big...Read more

...This book is easy to read and I recommend it.Read more

easy to understand and hard to believeRead more

A very readable book designed for general audiences, but as someone who has worked for years in AI and AI security, I believe this book is the best...Read more

23 customers mention relevance, 23 positive, 0 negative

Customers find the book highly relevant, describing it as the most important topic of our lifetimes.

This book is compelling and important....Read more

This is arguably the most important book of the 21st century....Read more

Very important book that everyone should read. Well written and accessible, you don’t need a background in tech or AI to read it.Read more

Great book on an important topic.Read more

22 customers mention argument, 16 positive, 6 negative

Customers find the book's arguments compelling and crystal clear, with one customer noting how the author uses memorable scenarios to pressure-test assumptions.

It is speculative but soundly researched in presenting a logical perspective based on human nature and what AI engineers already know about AI...Read more

The authors make a cogent and convincing argument that urgent action is needed to prevent artificial super intelligence from ever being created....Read more

...A TRUE horror story that's happening before our eyes, written by two computer scientists who have been in on the development of this incredibly...Read more

...It presents basic, compelling arguments, some of which everyone agrees on. For example, these AI’s are grown, not coded up....Read more

16 customers mention explaining, 14 positive, 2 negative

Customers appreciate how the book explains concepts, with one customer noting it uses simple terms and another mentioning it is complete in and of itself.

...They also put together the best explanation of how a modern AI is 'grown' in 2-3 short pages that I have seen period....Read more

...more than vibes and stereotypes, this book actually teaches you, in simple terms, how today's AIs are built, why they already act strangely, and why...Read more

A cogent and logical explanation of why we are totally screwed unless we do something....Read more

“If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” is the rare book that explains in plain, logical English why powerful AI systems could go catastrophically...Read more

26 customers mention subject matter, 12 positive, 14 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's subject matter, finding it both sobering and scary, with one customer noting how convincingly it lays out the dangers.

Terrifying but a MUST READ!Read more

Compelling, insightful and scary. I wish all political and business leaders would read this book and think about the implications....Read more

...Overall very informative and a bit scary. Worth a read.Read more

...I found the conclusions alarmists, but sobering....Read more

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