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The Thieves of Artificial Intelligence is a research book that examines the impacts of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on individuals, society, and privacy. In an era where technological transformation accelerates rapidly, the book aims to raise awareness by scrutinizing the consequences of these processes on personal freedom and social structures.

Subject and Content

The book explains how techno-social systems based on digitization and artificial intelligence direct and control human life. It emphasizes that digital platforms knowingly manipulate individuals by utilizing their desires, fears, and vulnerabilities for the purpose of control.

By citing Ray Kurzweil’s statement, “To express this another way, it isn’t the case that we’ll experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century. Rather we’ll witness on the order of twenty thousand years of progress — at today’s rate of progress, that is”^【1】  the book draws attention to the speed of technological change. It discusses the increasing predictability of human behaviors and the reduction of privacy to digital data, arguing that individuals lose their uniqueness and freedom, becoming mere objects of the system.

Key Themes

• Technological Acceleration: The progress of the 21st century is stated to accelerate at an incomparable rate relative to previous centuries.
• Loss of Digital Privacy: The data left by users in digital environments is used to determine their behaviors.
• Manipulation and Control: The ways in which techno-social systems direct individuals are highlighted.
• Artificial Intelligence and Social Transformation: The reshaping of individual and societal life by artificial intelligence is underscored.

Future Predictions and the Emphasis on 2030

The book claims that artificial intelligence will transform the world by 2030 in an unprecedented manner in history. These changes are said to deeply affect people’s everyday lives as well as their cognitive processes. The message conveyed to readers is that they will be at the very center of this transformation and thus must be prepared.

Purpose and Message

The Thieves of Artificial Intelligence aims to raise awareness about the invisible effects of the digital age on individuals. It reminds readers that technological developments bring not only benefits but also risks such as loss of privacy and manipulation. The book’s fundamental warning is concreted with the phrase: “Remember, what is stolen is your life!”