[AI Skeptics] The Nerd Reich (Introduction & Chapter 1)
Hi everyone, we're starting a new book this week: The Nerd Reich, by Gil Durán. We're also trying a new meeting time from this week onward (Fridays at 3pm ET), so please take note of that (and update your calendars or whatever else, if needed).
If you haven't already ordered the book, please do that ASAP; we're starting in earnest this week and we'll be reading a few chapters each week (see reading plans below).
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Ok, let's get back to the rest of the thing.
(mostly) routine stuff
As a reminder, there are a few good ways to keep up with the reading group:
- newsletter: I send updates on Mondays and Fridays. In the Monday updates, I'll point to what to read; in the Friday updates, I'll send some reflections and an icebreaker question to think about, and a reminder of where & how to join the video chat.
- video chats: Fridays at 3p ET we'll have a video chat on jitsi where we talk about the week's readings. This is a new time on a new day, so we'll see how it goes and may make adjustments. If you categorically can't make it to this new time, please let me know.
- group chat: if you want to chat with friends, we have a few pretty active group chats: We're using Fluxer, which is similar to Discord or Slack. We also have a signal group chat (but keep in mind that Signal group chats can get overwhelming, especially at large scales like this).
reading plans
My reading plan for The Nerd Reich tentatively looks like this:
| Week | Reading |
|---|---|
| August 31 | Introduction & Chapter 1 |
| September 7 | Chapters 2, 3, & 4 |
| September 14 | Chapters 5 & 6 |
| September 21 | Chapters 7 & 8 |
We're reading this faster than most of our previous books, but I think this will be a pretty accessible read, and we're coming from having spent the last few months reading academic press books, which are generally slower to read, so if you struggled to read 10 or 20 pages of some of our previous books, don't let that past experience discourage you.
(Also, if we're all really having a rough time reading at this pace, we'll reevaluate; so please try to stick with it at least long enough to register that sentiment.)
last thoughts
If you come across something you think we'd like to read, I'd love to hear about it; contact me.
Okay, that's it for now; see you Friday.