Leaders are Readers: The Chaos Machine

Leaders are readers - and from time to time I'll share thoughts on books that I have finished or (in this case) have just started. Topics include leadership, nonprofits, social issues, or whatever catches my eye!

My reading list of late has been pretty genre-heavy. Re-read Night Shift by Stephen King. Knocked out both Wanderers and Wayward by Chuck Wendig. Re-read Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Barely made it through The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy (RIP).

I decided to get back to my nonfiction list - and a book recommended to me by my friend (and all-around polymath) Kevin Staniec. The book is The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World by Max Fisher.

I'm about 1/3 of the way done with this one - and it's one of the scariest books I've read in a while. Fisher examines how social media algorithms - driven by AI and capitalism in equal measure - are designed to promote and accelerate extremist thoughts, misinformation, and the worst elements of tribalism.

It's chilling to read, but it does explain an lot about the past few years - and how what started as "here's a picture of my cat" seems to have devolved into a showcase of cruelty, racism, and misogyny.

Eager to finish this one ... while I don't think there will be a happy ending to the story, I hope there's a bit of optimism.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Read more about the book here.

You can follow me on GoodReads to see my reading list.

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