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Top 10 Books on AI (for educators, parents, and anyone who still believes we can steer the ship) [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-08-31

Look, friends: it’s easy to say “just say no” to AI—until you’re staring at a stack of essays you can’t tell apart from bot output, or your district rolls out new tech without you even at the table. The truth is, there’s no walking backward. The answer isn’t retreat—it’s literacy + leverage: knowing what AI is, where it breaks down, how to optimize it, and how to curb its costs in energy, labor, and power. This list blends the how-to with the how-not-to—a guide to building guardrails and capturing real classroom wins.

Disclaimer: This Top-Ten List is unranked and Informed by books I could access and read.

1) AI for the Rest of Us — Phaedra Boinodiris & Beth Rudden

A plain-spoken starter kit on trustworthy AI: fairness, explainability, privacy, and the social work of earning trust. Their thesis: trust in AI is socio-technical—culture, process, and people count as much as code. A must for educators and leaders who need language and checklists to do AI responsibly.

A human-first field guide from a Head of School who leads with belonging and moral courage. This one is for the teacher/leader who refuses to outsource humanity: how to center relationships, accountability, and purpose while using AI as a tool, not a crutch.

3) AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference — Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor

Cuts through marketing fog. Clear distinctions between what works (pattern-matching on narrow tasks) and what’s hype; strong guidance on where AI causes harm and why governance matters more than sci-fi bogeymen. Assign it to your board and your PTA.

4) The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want — Emily M. Bender & Alex Hanna

Two of the sharpest critics of AI hype detail the labor, environmental, and policy realities behind the curtain. They show how to spot overblown claims and reclaim public agency—useful antidote to “AI will fix everything.”

A bracing read on how certain AI deployments can intensify social control and exclusion—and how community organizing can push back. Whether you agree with every claim or not, it’s essential for seeing past classroom gadgets to structural impacts.

6) Smart Until It’s Dumb — Emmanuel Maggiori

An insider’s tour of brittle models, inflated promises, and the gap between demos and production. Great for decision-makers who want to avoid buying shiny tools that under-deliver in real schools.

7) More Everything Forever — Adam Becker

A skeptic’s scalpel for utopian tech narratives—especially around AI “overlords,” immortality, and limitless growth. Becker redirects attention to tangible priorities (like climate) and reminds us to separate evidence from techno-myth.

Deep reporting on power, secrecy, labor, and resources across the AI boom—from Silicon Valley boardrooms to Kenyan moderation shops and water-stressed regions. Pairs perfectly with energy/water modules in civics or environmental science.

9) Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines — Joy Buolamwini

A personal, rigorous account of the “coded gaze”—how biased systems fail people at the margins—and a blueprint for artistic, civic, and policy action. If you teach ethics, equity, CS, media studies, or design, this belongs on your desk.

10) The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education — Dan Fitzpatrick, Amanda Fox & Brad Weinstein

Practical, classroom-ready tactics: workflow, lesson design, accessibility, and time-savings. Use alongside the critical books above to build a program that is both hands-on and values-driven.

For the “Just Say No” camp (and the “Yes, But” crowd)

Your commenters raised real concerns—energy, oligarchic control, labor harms. They’re not wrong. But opting out won’t stop any of that; literacy + oversight will. A few receipts:

Energy : The IEA projects data-center electricity use roughly doubling to ~945 TWh by 2030, with AI a major driver; growth far outpaces other sectors. (See the IEA.)

Labor : Investigations document low-paid, traumatizing moderation and data-labeling work—often outsourced to the Global South. (see Business & Human Rights Resource Center)

Water: Data centers in arid regions are sparking pushback over water use. (see The Guardian)

These realities are exactly why we need the mix above: critical books (Bender & Hanna, Hao, McQuillan, Becker, Maggiori) and practitioner guides (Boinodiris & Rudden; Fitzpatrick/Fox/Weinstein)—so we can set rules, demand transparency, and still capture genuine classroom gains.

Lefty take: you don’t win by refusing to step into the batter’s box; you win by learning the pitch, re-wiring the stadium to run cleaner, and making sure the profits fund the community field.

Bonus shelf: fiction & media-literacy sparks

How to use this list (schools & families)

Read in pairs (one “how-to,” one “how-not-to”) and host a staff/parent salon. Adopt checklists from AI for the Rest of Us while you pilot small workflows. Audit vendors with AI Snake Oil questions before you sign anything. Teach the controversy with Empire of AI and Unmasking AI alongside civics & environmental units.

Pairing #1 & #2: Trust and Humanity—Two Books, One Mission

If you’re looking for an educator’s compass you can confidently hand to your department chair or school board, you won’t go wrong with making both of these your foundation:

AI for the Rest of Us by Phaedra Boinodiris & Beth Rudden

This is your policy-and-practice guide for responsible AI. In their two‑year reflection for CognitiveWorld, the authors underscore how “lean” AI—smart, targeted systems—outshines the “bigger is better” rush; how ontologies serve as the AI’s guiding rulebook; and why corporate opacity must end if we’re to truly earn trust in AI systems.

Speaking Truth, Teaching Humanity by Kalyan Balaven

This 2025 release is your heart‑of‑the‑classroom playbook. It centers human relationships, accountability, purpose—and shows how AI can elevate, not erode, the soul of teaching. The official site delivers a concise, inspiring synopsis built on reminding educators that belonging and moral courage are not outdated—they’re essential.

Together, they form a complete playbook: systemic trust walks hand-in-hand with relational humanity. That’s the power duo educators and leaders need today.

Conclusion: A Unified Case for Hope, Literacy, and Action

This curated list isn’t about selling AI or ceding ground—it’s about reclaiming it. Each book offers a lens for seeing—and shaping—AI in ways that honor equity, sustainability, and human dignity. When we layer critical analysis (Bender, McQuillan, Becker, etc.) with practitioner guidance (Boinodiris, Balaven, Fitzpatrick et al.), we don’t just stay in the game—we change how it’s played.

Our classrooms, boards, and communities deserve tools that are not magic and not misleading—but wise, intentional, and empowering. That’s the list. That’s the hope. And that’s how we move forward: equipped, accountable, and human.

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