The Coming Wave
Mustafa Suleyman helped build DeepMind, one of the leading AI labs, so he writes about the coming wave of technology from the inside. He argues that artificial intelligence and synthetic biology are spreading too cheaply and too quickly for old methods of control to keep up, and that this combination could reshape power, work, and even what it means to be human. The central problem he names is containment: how do you keep powerful, fast-moving technology from causing harm without crushing its benefits or sliding into surveillance? The book lays out the stakes and a set of steps he believes could help governments and companies steer.
What you might want to know about The Coming Wave
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A co-founder of DeepMind argues that AI and synthetic biology are about to arrive faster than society can manage, and asks how we contain them.
It was written by Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of the AI lab DeepMind, with writer Michael Bhaskar. It was published in 2023.
Yes. Bill Gates has called it his favorite book on AI and the one he most often recommends to people who want to understand the subject.
The Coming Wave is 352 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Coming Wave takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
The Coming Wave is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.