Reprogramming the American Dream

** #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller **

In this essential book written by a rural native and Silicon Valley veteran, Microsoft’s Chief technology officer tackles one of the most critical issues facing society today: the future of artificial intelligence and how it can be realistically used to promote growth, even in a shifting employment landscape.

There are two prevailing stories about AI: for heartland low- and middle-skill workers, a dystopian tale of steadily increasing job destruction; for urban knowledge workers and the professional class, a utopian tale of enhanced productivity and convenience. But there is a third way to look at this technology that will revolutionize the workplace and ultimately the world. Kevin Scott argues that AI has the potential to create abundance and opportunity for everyone and help solve some of our most vexing problems.

As the chief technology officer at Microsoft, he is deeply involved in the development of AI applications, yet mindful of their potential impact on workers—knowledge he gained firsthand growing up in rural Virginia. Yes, the AI Revolution will radically disrupt economics and employment for everyone for generations to come. But what if leaders prioritized the programming of both future technology and public policy to work together to find solutions ahead of the coming AI epoch? Like public health, the space program, climate change and public education, we need international understanding and collaboration on the future of AI and work. For Scott, the crucial question facing all of us is this: How do we work to ensure that the continued development of AI allows us to keep the American Dream alive?

In this thoughtful, informed guide, he offers a clear roadmap to find the answer.

Kevin Scott is executive vice president and chief technology officer of Microsoft and has held executive and engineering positions at LinkedIn and Google. He built and led the technology team of pioneering mobile advertising startup AdMob, which was acquired by Google in 2010. He has received a Google Founder's Award, an Intel PhD Fellowship, and an ACM Recognition of Service Award. He is an adviser to several Silicon Valley start-ups, an active angel investor, the founder of the nonprofit organization Behind the Tech, the host of the Behind the Tech podcast, and an emeritus trustee of the Anita Borg Institute. Scott holds an MS in computer science from Wake Forest University and a BS in computer science from Lynchburg College, and has completed most of his PhD in computer science at the University of Virginia. A native of rural Virginia, he lives in Los Gatos, California, with his wife and two children.