Looking for something to read over the Christmas holidays that can expand your horizons? Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has offered his selection of books to enjoy a quiet moment with as 2024 draws to a close.
The quartet of non-fiction works focus on a common theme, and unsurprisingly, most relate to the technological advances shaping civilization during the fourth industrial revolution he helped co-found Microsoft.
“All four are, in one way or another, about making sense of the world around you,” Gates wrote in a blog post titled “Books that will warm you up this holiday season.”
Social upheaval in the 1960s
While the list is largely about technology and its impact on society, it begins with a personal account of author Doris Kearns Goodwin in her book An unfinished love story.
Gates said he was fascinated by her recounting of the upheavals of the 1960s, all seen through her own eyes as the wife of an aide to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson during their time in the Oval Office.
“Doris is such a talented writer that the chapters on her love story are as compelling and enlightening as the chapters on the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War,” he wrote.
The link between digital natives and mental illness
Gates further recommends Anxious generation by Jonathan Haidt. The Microsoft co-founder called it a “must read” for anyone who interacts with today’s youth on a daily basis, whether it’s parents raising their children or teachers teaching students.
This digitally native generation grew up spending more time watching TikTok videos or watching Twitch livestreamers, like Kai Cenat, rather than wandering in the forest with the neighbors.
The breakdown of traditional social interaction symbolized by putting smartphones in the hands of children has resulted in rising levels of mental illness and anxiety, according to Gates.
“Haidt explains how the transition from a game-based childhood to a phone-based childhood changes the way children develop and process emotions,” he says.
Answers to questions you didn’t know you had
Too often people pass by the marvels of modern society that blend into the background of our industrial landscape, largely unnoticed..
A book by Grady Hillhouse Engineering in sight explores the various devices that enable our modern lifestyle and how they work.
The author takes the mystery out of everyday necessities like cell phone towers and explains in plain English what we’d lose if they suddenly stopped working quietly in the background.
“It’s the kind of read that will reward your curiosity and answer questions you didn’t know you had,” says Gates.
Risks and opportunities of AI
The incoming wave explains how artificial intelligence will “reshape every aspect of society,” according to the philanthropist.
The author is none other than Mustafa Sulejmanco-founder of AI Research Lab DeepMind later acquired Google ten years ago.
After leaving the Silicon Valley giant, he founded his next AI startup, Inflection AI, and has been a vocal advocate of the need for AI regulation.
“If you want to understand the rise of artificial intelligence, this is the best book to read,” Gates recommends. (For those readers who are still hungry, Fortune own Jeremy Kahn has followed the industry for years and published his own survival guide for the AI future)
Gates acknowledges that the recurring theme of making sense of the world around us during transformative periods of history was not intentional.
Still, today’s turbulent events mean he wasn’t surprised to find these four books useful reading in the past year.
“It’s natural to try to get your head around things in times of rapid change, like we’re living in now,” he said.
