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Top 11 AI Books to Read in 2026

AI is everywhere, and we're not always sure which resources are the best at helping us continue learning or look at AI through a specific lens. Cut through the hype and improve your AI understanding with our list of AI books to add to your "to-be-read" list.

Kelly Dell
published Apr 28, 2026
|
9 min read
Woman sitting at a desk and holding a book while smiling looking into distance.

Table of Contents

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been thinking a lot about AI lately. I keep coming back to a few simple questions: how do we make AI safer? What’s actually new and worth understanding? And which tools will truly help people in their work?

So, I did what any book lover would do. I went looking for answers on the page. After digging through a stack of titles, I’ve pulled together 11 AI books that stand out for how clearly and thoughtfully they explore these questions.

So, whether you’re a developer, a curious entrepreneur, or an employee wondering how to use AI to be more competitive, these are the AI books you should add to your “to-be-read” list.

1. Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine

  • Author: Hannah Fry
  • Published: September 1, 2018

The Times (UK) called it “a beautifully accessible guide…One of the best books yet written on data and algorithms.” This book takes an honest look at the immense power and true limitations of algorithms in key medical, transportation, crime, and commercial use cases. This book doesn’t question whether machines should control societal functions but rather looks at how these algorithms are already shaping our lives.

A recommended read for non-tech profiles looking for an engaging (and at times funny) discussion of AI’s impact rather than the computer technology behind the algorithms.

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It’s rarely obvious what our data can do, or, when fed into a clever algorithm, just how valuable it can be. Nor, in turn, how cheaply we were bought.

Hannah Fry

Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine

2. There Is No Such Thing as Artificial Intelligence

  • Author: Luc Julia
  • Published: January 24, 2019

French inventor and co-creator of Apple’s voice assistant Siri, Luc Julia, explores the misconceptions and myths around AI in this book. He claims that the term “artificial intelligence” was mistakenly coined in 1956 to describe a discipline that doesn’t deal with intelligence. So, whether you’re terrified that evil robots will take over the world or just want to hear a new perspective on AI, this book is for you.

A recommended read for non-technical profiles looking to better understand AI, learn about its challenges and progress, and debunk common misconceptions.

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I prefer to speak of augmented intelligence, which enables intelligent people to be more capable and to perform better in specific domains. But people are the ones who have control, empathy and common sense, because what we teach machines is just general knowledge, which is an infinitely small part of intelligence.

Luc Julia

There Is No Such Thing as Artificial Intelligence

3. The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

  • Author: Brian Christian
  • Published: October 6, 2020

This book explores the various crises and alarm bells that go off with each new advancement in machine learning. We want AI to be more capable and autonomous, but when these systems don’t do what we want or expect, what are the risks and ethical considerations? The Alignment Problem looks both at technology and culture to explore how blind spots and biases within humans create contradictory goals.

A recommended read for non-technical profiles looking to understand the history and challenges of machine learning, as well as how it interacts (and sometimes clashes) with human psychology, behavioral economics, and humanity.

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As we’re on the cusp of using machine learning for rendering basically all kinds of consequential decisions about human beings in domains such as education, employment, advertising, health care and policing, it is important to understand why machine learning is not, by default, fair or just in any meaningful way.

Brian Christian

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values

4. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

  • Author: Ethan Mollick
  • Published: April 2, 2024

This book is on everyone’s recommendation list, and for good reason. It promises to ignore the hype of both AI evangelists and AI doom-mongers, instead offering a clear and practical look at how AI tools can transform our jobs, lives, and humanity. Looking at AI through an educator’s lens, Mollick emphasizes the importance of agency and experimentation.

A recommended read for business leaders looking to understand how to tackle key organizational challenges that emerge following AI adoption.

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Current systems are not good enough in their understanding of context, nuance, and planning. That is likely to change.

Ethan Mollick

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

5. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

  • Author: Yuval Noah Harari
  • Published: September 10, 2024

From the author of Sapiens, this story examines the history of information — how it flows, who uses it, and how to tell if it’s true — throughout human history. After covering centuries of complex human relationships with information and the opposing powers of bureaucracy and mythology, this book looks at the urgent choices we will need to make regarding AI.

A recommended read for someone who wants to take a step back and learn about AI through a wider philosophical lens of humanity.

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Knives and bombs do not themselves decide whom to kill. They are dumb tools, lacking the intelligence necessary to process information and make independent decisions. In contrast, AI can process information by itself, and thereby replace humans in decision making. AI isn’t a tool—it’s an agent.

Yuval Noah Harari

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

6. The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions

  • Author: Geoff Woods
  • Published: September 16, 2024

This book helps strategic thinkers learn how to make smarter AI decisions that lead to accelerated business development and a clear competitive advantage. It aims to tackle the operational overwhelm leaders often feel when navigating the accelerating and shifting demands of AI. By reframing AI as a strategic “Thought Partner”, companies can outpace competition and increase productivity.

A recommended read for executives and team leads looking to achieve business goals smarter, by proactively using AI instead of running after trends and trying to keep up.

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People are often unaware of their biases and assumptions. If you ask AI to build on flawed foundations, it will simply magnify the mistakes.

Geoff Woods

The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions

7. Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation

  • Authors: Jay Alammar and Maarten Grootendorst
  • Published: October 15, 2024

This book takes a more instructional approach by providing a solid foundation of the core concepts in AI. It goes deep into the technology of transformers, semantic search engines, generative models, and more to explain how AI advancements are enabling new features, use cases, and products. The featured diagrams and illustrations demystify complex concepts and enhance readers’ understanding.

A recommended read for developers, engineering managers, or digital natives looking to deepen their technical understanding of AI tools and systems.

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Text is unstructured in nature and loses its meaning when represented by zeros and ones (individual characters). As a result, throughout the history of Language AI, there has been a large focus on representing language in a structured manner so that it can more easily be used by computers.

Jay Alammar and Maarten Grootendorst

Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation

8. Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life

  • Authors: Pascal Bornet, Jochen Wirtz, Thomas H. Davenport, David De Cremer, Brian Evergreen, Phil Fersht, Rakesh Gohel, Shail Khiyara, Nandan Mullakara, and Pooja Sund
  • Published: March 12, 2025

In this book, a team of AI experts explores the latest revolution in AI technology: AI agents. The authors outline real-life examples of how they implemented agentic AI into organizations, highlighting both their successes and failures. This comprehensive guide to agentic AI provides a strategic roadmap, high-value opportunities, common pitfalls, a list of the skills required, and an outlook of agentic AI’s societal impact.

A recommended read for non-technical business leaders, entrepreneurs, and those curious about the next evolution of AI technology.

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The highest-impact opportunities often aren’t your most complex processes. Instead, look for the routine tasks that are preventing your best people from doing their best work. When evaluating impact, ask: If this task were automated tomorrow, what would your team be able to accomplish instead?

Pascal Bornet

Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life

9. Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI

  • Author: Karen Hao
  • Published: May 20, 2025

This investigative piece takes a genuine look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of AI, engineering, and the larger global impact. It covers the true story behind the rise of Sam Altman, interviews with Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists. Together these diverse viewpoints give an insider’s view of the politics at play in the field of AI, the merits of OpenAI, and the wider societal implications.

A recommended read for those interested in going beyond daily use cases and benefits to look at the sociopolitical implications of business decisions.

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Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be what it is today. We don’t need to accept the logic of unprecedented scale and consumption to achieve advancement and progress. So much of what our society actually needs—better health care and education, clean air and clean water, a faster transition away from fossil fuels—can be assisted and advanced with, and sometimes even necessitates, significantly smaller AI models and a diversity of other approaches.

Karen Hao

Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI

10. Beat The Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in The Age of AI

  • Author: Jane K. Cleland
  • Published: August 12, 2025

This book guides writers through a series of science-backed creativity techniques meant to help them create stories with a level of emotion and imagination that AI cannot replicate. Cleland uses engaging FAQs, pro tips, and AI weigh-ins to help readers apply lessons to improve their writing and creativity.

A recommended read for writers and marketers looking to update their tactics for an AI world and lean into the creative capabilities that AI cannot replicate.

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No matter how sophisticated AI becomes, it can’t tell your unique stories in your distinctive voice.

Jane K. Cleland

Beat the Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI

11. If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

  • Authors: Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares
  • Published: September 16, 2025

Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares were two of the hundreds of AI luminaries who signed an open letter warning of the threat that AI poses to human extinction. These researchers pull on decades of experience to outline why they believe sufficiently smart AIs will develop their own goals in conflict with human life, leading to a swift and easy defeat of humanity.

A recommended read for technical teams looking to engage in public conversations about the risks and necessary governance of AI alongside its accomplishments.

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Sometimes the engineer learns better at the cost of only time and money. Sometimes the engineer kills only themselves or only consenting volunteers; and Science writes down what happened.

Eliezer Yudkowsky

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

Further Recommendations

From high-level business strategies to social considerations, effective applications, and technological deep dives, each book provides a unique lens into the world of AI. Whether you read one or all, you’ll walk away with a new perspective that fills in some of the gaps of AI understanding.

For future AI book recommendations, we recommend following along with Tom Johnson’s AI book club.

Looking to go deeper into AI topics, but need something shorter than a book? We recommend these articles:

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