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Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
Named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly.
A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial intelligence, revealing the perils and inequities of our growing reliance on automated decision-making
On the surface, a British poet, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh, an Indian doctor, and a Chinese activist in exile have nothing in common. But they are in fact linked by a profound common experience—unexpected encounters with artificial intelligence. In Code Dependent, Murgia shows how automated systems are reshaping our lives all over the world, from technology that marks children as future criminals, to an app that is helping to give diagnoses to a remote tribal community.
AI has already infiltrated our day-to-day, through language-generating chatbots like ChatGPT and social media. But it’s also affecting us in more insidious ways. It touches everything from our interpersonal relationships, to our kids’ education, work, finances, public services, and even our human rights.
By highlighting the voices of ordinary people in places far removed from the cozy enclave of Silicon Valley, Code Dependent explores the impact of a set of powerful, flawed, and often-exploitative technologies on individuals, communities, and our wider society. Murgia exposes how AI can strip away our collective and individual sense of agency, and shatter our illusion of free will.
The ways in which algorithms and their effects are governed over the coming years will profoundly impact us all. Yet we can’t agree on a common path forward. We cannot decide what preferences and morals we want to encode in these entities—or what controls we may want to impose on them. And thus, we are collectively relinquishing our moral authority to machines.
In Code Dependent, Murgia not only sheds light on this chilling phenomenon, but also charts a path of resistance. AI is already changing what it means to be human, in ways large and small, and Murgia reveals what could happen if we fail to reclaim our humanity.
Named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly.
A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial intelligence, revealing the perils and inequities of our growing reliance on automated decision-making
On the surface, a British poet, an UberEats courier in Pittsburgh, an Indian doctor, and a Chinese activist in exile have nothing in common. But they are in fact linked by a profound common experience—unexpected encounters with artificial intelligence. In Code Dependent, Murgia shows how automated systems are reshaping our lives all over the world, from technology that marks children as future criminals, to an app that is helping to give diagnoses to a remote tribal community.
AI has already infiltrated our day-to-day, through language-generating chatbots like ChatGPT and social media. But it’s also affecting us in more insidious ways. It touches everything from our interpersonal relationships, to our kids’ education, work, finances, public services, and even our human rights.
By highlighting the voices of ordinary people in places far removed from the cozy enclave of Silicon Valley, Code Dependent explores the impact of a set of powerful, flawed, and often-exploitative technologies on individuals, communities, and our wider society. Murgia exposes how AI can strip away our collective and individual sense of agency, and shatter our illusion of free will.
The ways in which algorithms and their effects are governed over the coming years will profoundly impact us all. Yet we can’t agree on a common path forward. We cannot decide what preferences and morals we want to encode in these entities—or what controls we may want to impose on them. And thus, we are collectively relinquishing our moral authority to machines.
In Code Dependent, Murgia not only sheds light on this chilling phenomenon, but also charts a path of resistance. AI is already changing what it means to be human, in ways large and small, and Murgia reveals what could happen if we fail to reclaim our humanity.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2026
Quello che più mi ha colpito di questo libro non è tanto l’aspetto inquietante che può avere un uso acritico dell’Intelligenza Artificiale, quanto come un uso sbagliato possa alimentare le disuguaglianze, sia nell’aspetto dei diritti dei lavoratori che nei paesi poveri vengono utilizzati per alimentare i sistemi AI, sia per quanto riguarda le discriminazioni riguardante i sistemi di sorveglianza o di riconoscimento facciale. Aspetti umani che di solito non vengono considerati quando si parla di AI.
December 28, 2025
È un libro da leggere. No, è il libro da leggere. Ha spalancato un mondo che sarà difficile ignorare d'ora in poi. Unisce i punti tra quel poco che sapevo e delinea un puzzle da cui non si può prescindere se si vuole navigare con una bussola nel mare magnum della Ai. Non demonizza ma non si possono tralasciare i danni di un potere senza limiti. Ai decisori spetta dare limiti a questi nuovi chierici.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2025
Il tema è spaventosamente inquietante.Purtroppo non si tratta più di un episodio di Black Mirror ma è realtà attuale. Però ho trovato l'esposizione del libro piuttosto lenta e dispersiva
December 29, 2025
Argomento molto interessante ed estremamente attuale.
Ben proposti e ben scritti i vari argomenti trattati.
Ben proposti e ben scritti i vari argomenti trattati.
March 11, 2026
un libro che apre ad altre prospettive in tema di AI, facendo leva sul coinvolgimento delle vite umane e le disparità di classe e sociali che ne conseguono. molto interessante!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews