The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
The DeepMind co-founder on why containment of AI and biotech is the defining challenge of our era.
What it covers
Suleyman argues that AI and synthetic biology represent a technological wave that will be impossible to stop, and lays out the governance frameworks needed to manage it.
Why it matters
This isn't armchair theorizing — Suleyman was at the center of Google DeepMind. His insider perspective on the tension between innovation speed and safety gives this book a credibility that most AI governance writing lacks.
What it made me think
The 'containment problem' framing is powerful. It forced me to think about how every system I build either contributes to containability or erodes it.
The short version
The best book on AI governance, written by someone who actually built the technology in question
My take
Suleyman doesn't moralize — he lays out the physics of the problem. The wave is coming regardless. The question is whether we build the institutions to channel it.
How it connects
- AI safety and alignment
- technology governance
- builder responsibility
Bottom line
Essential reading for anyone building AI. It'll make you a more responsible builder without turning you into a doomer.
Takeaways
- AI and biotech constitute a 'coming wave' that cannot be uninvented or stopped
- The core challenge is containment — keeping powerful technology within beneficial bounds
- Historical waves (printing press, industrial revolution) offer both hope and warning
- Nation-states are poorly structured to regulate technologies that transcend borders
- Technical safety research and governance frameworks must advance in parallel
Brendon Score: 8.8/10
- Relevance: 9.0/10 — +2.25
- Depth: 9.0/10 — +2.25
- Actionability: 7.0/10 — +1.75
- Freshness: 10.0/10 — +2.50
- Average: 8.75
- Total (rounded): 8.8/10
Why this is here
Checks cleared: owner-pinned.