Handover By Runciman, David

Lost City Books
(2412)
Registered as a business seller
US $14.50
Approximately£10.76
or Best Offer
Condition:
New
Postage:
Free USPS Media MailTM.
Located in: 20009, United States
Delivery:
Estimated between Sat, 4 Oct and Tue, 7 Oct to 94104
Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab reflect seller's dispatch time, origin postcode, destination postcode and time of order receipt, and will depend on the delivery service selected and receipt of cleared paymentcleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods, and are an estimate only.
Returns:
No returns accepted.
Payments:
    Diners Club

Shop with confidence

eBay Money Back Guarantee
Get the item you ordered or your money back. Learn moreeBay Money Back Guarantee - opens new window or tab
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:135320682891
Last updated on 11 Jun, 2025 16:25:40 BSTView all revisionsView all revisions

Item specifics

Condition
New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. See the ...
ISBN
9781631496943
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Liveright Publishing Corporation
ISBN-10
1631496948
ISBN-13
9781631496943
eBay Product ID (ePID)
25058616448

Product Key Features

Book Title
Handover : How We Gave Control of Our Lives to Corporations, States, and Ais
Number of Pages
336 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2023
Topic
Intelligence (Ai) & Semantics, History & Theory, Corporate & Business History
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Computers, Political Science, Business & Economics
Author
David Runciman
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
1.3 in
Item Weight
19.9 Oz
Item Length
9.3 in
Item Width
6.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2024-441450
Dewey Edition
23/eng/20231122
Reviews
Surely one of the most luminously intelligent [writers] on politics to have been published for many years., Amid a headlong international panic about a looming robot insurrection, David Runciman offers a searching history of earlier takeovers by other artificial creatures of our own making--states and corporations--and a stirring call for a new and fortified commitment to all that is human.--Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United States David Runciman is always fascinating.--Adam Tooze One of the great modern writers of democracy.--Anne Applebaum Surely one of the most luminously intelligent [writers] on politics to have been published for many years.--New Statesman (UK), Amid a headlong international panic about a looming robot insurrection, David Runciman offers a searching history of earlier takeovers by other artificial creatures of our own making--states and corporations--and a stirring call for a new and fortified commitment to all that is human., [A] searching meditation on creeping dehumanization . . . Runciman's approach to these issues is less technological than social and psychological . . . The result is a shrewd and stimulating look at society's drive toward an inhuman perfection., [W]itty and refined . . . Runciman's basic argument, which unfolds in the elegantly shaggy manner of a Peripatetic seminar, is that the alignment problem is not in fact an anomaly, and that the coming singularity might best be historicized as the Second Singularity. . . . he turns a standard argumentative form on its head. It's not that we can look to the past to help us solve the alignment problems of the future. It's that the alignment problems of the future help clarify our existing sense that everything is intractable and wrong. . . . Runciman's point is that the alliance between even a democratic government and a safe-ish A.I. could derail civilization.
TitleLeading
The
Dewey Decimal
128.4
Synopsis
An eminent political thinker uses our history with states and corporations--"artificial agents" to which we have granted immense power--to predict how AI will remake society., "[W]itty and refined . . . Runciman's point is that the alliance between even a democratic government and a safe-ish A.I. could derail civilization." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker An eminent political thinker uses our history with states and corporations--"artificial agents" to which we have granted immense power--to predict how AI will remake society., Countless books, news reports, and opinion pieces have announced the impending arrival of artificial intelligence, with most claiming that it will upend our world, revolutionizing not just work but society overall. Yet according to political philosopher and historian David Runciman, we've actually been living with a version of AI for 300 years because states and corporations are robots, too. In The Handover, Runciman explains our current situation through the history of these "artificial agents" we created to rescue us from our all-too-human limitations--and demonstrates what this radical new view of our recent past means for our collective future. From the United States and the United Kingdom to the East India Company, Standard Oil, Facebook, and Alibaba, states and corporations have gradually, and then much more rapidly, taken over the planet. They have helped to conquer poverty and eliminate disease, but also unleashed global wars and environmental degradation. As Runciman demonstrates, states and corporations are the ultimate decision-making machines, defined by their ability to make their own choices and, crucially, to sustain the consequences of what has been chosen. And if the rapid spread of the modern state and corporation has already transformed the conditions of human existence, new AI technology promises the same. But what happens when AI interacts with other kinds of artificial agents, the inhuman kind represented by states and corporations? Runciman argues that the twenty-first century will be defined by increasingly intense battles between state and corporate power for the fruits of the AI revolution. In the end, it is not our own, human relationship with AI that will determine our future. Rather, humanity's fate will be shaped by the interactions among states, corporations, and thinking machines. With clarity and verve, The Handover presents a brilliantly original history of the last three centuries and a new understanding of the immense challenges we now face., Countless books, news reports, and opinion pieces have announced the impending arrival of artificial intelligence, with most claiming that it will upend our world, revolutionizing not just work but society overall. Yet according to political philosopher and historian David Runciman, we've actually been living with a version of AI for 300 years because states and corporations are robots, too. In The Handover , Runciman explains our current situation through the history of these "artificial agents" we created to rescue us from our all-too-human limitations--and demonstrates what this radical new view of our recent past means for our collective future. From the United States and the United Kingdom to the East India Company, Standard Oil, Facebook, and Alibaba, states and corporations have gradually, and then much more rapidly, taken over the planet. They have helped to conquer poverty and eliminate disease, but also unleashed global wars and environmental degradation. As Runciman demonstrates, states and corporations are the ultimate decision-making machines, defined by their ability to make their own choices and, crucially, to sustain the consequences of what has been chosen. And if the rapid spread of the modern state and corporation has already transformed the conditions of human existence, new AI technology promises the same. But what happens when AI interacts with other kinds of artificial agents, the inhuman kind represented by states and corporations? Runciman argues that the twenty-first century will be defined by increasingly intense battles between state and corporate power for the fruits of the AI revolution. In the end, it is not our own, human relationship with AI that will determine our future. Rather, humanity's fate will be shaped by the interactions among states, corporations, and thinking machines. With clarity and verve, The Handover presents a brilliantly original history of the last three centuries and a new understanding of the immense challenges we now face.
LC Classification Number
JC11.R86 2023

Item description from the seller

Seller business information

I certify that all my selling activities will comply with all EU laws and regulations.
About this seller

Lost City Books

100% positive Feedback6.7K items sold

Joined Dec 2001
Registered as a business seller
We are a used, new, and rare bookstore located in Washington DC. We have only a small portion of our inventory on Ebay - please visit our website, www.lostcitybookstore.com to see more.

Detailed seller ratings

Average for the last 12 months
Accurate description
5.0
Reasonable postage cost
4.9
Delivery time
5.0
Communication
5.0

Seller Feedback (2,623)

All ratings
Positive
Neutral
Negative
  • 4***0 (411)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past month
    Verified purchase
    Seller was quick to communicate, pack, and ship. Items were as described and photos were accurate. I can recommend this seller and would shop again, thank you!
  • k***0 (1147)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    Exactly as described and fast shipping. However, I suggest using packaging that is water resistant. Mailman put the movie on the porch and was completely soaked. Maybe try using a padded plastic envelope. Just a thought.
  • c***1 (487)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    Thank you very much for this great book that was delivered safe and sound today. Nicely packed in cardboard container and wrapped in brown paper. Book is very good condition, as described and good value. Thank you. Cherry.