The books that readers can’t wait to get their hands on this year
2023 is already shaping up to be a banner year for our books publishing program—and we are only two weeks in. We’re pleased to highlight a selection of titles that are already grabbing the attention of critics and readers alike. These books cover topics including bias in tech; data privacy (and how laws surrounding it have failed us); the intersection of machine learning and art; and more.
Read on to explore more of the books that readers are looking forward to this year, and sign up for our newsletter to hear news about our latest publications.
Publishers Weekly recommends:
More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech by Meredith Broussard
As a top 10 science pick: “Combining sociological analysis with computer science, data scientist Broussard exposes how the designs of technological systems and devices perpetuate bias.”
Beyond Data: Reclaiming Human Rights at the Dawn of the Metaverse by Elizabeth M. Renieris
As a politics and current events pick: “Argues that laws focused on data privacy and data security have failed to adequately protect people in the internet age, and calls for a shift to a policy framework based on human rights.”
Now in paperback: The Intermittent Fasting Revolution: The Science of Optimizing Health and Enhancing Performance by Mark P. Mattson
As a lifestyle pick: “Lays out the benefits of moving from three meals a day to a schedule that includes periods of negligible food consumption.”
Building a New Leadership Ladder: Transforming Male-Dominated Organizations to Support Women on the Rise by Carol J. Geffner
As a business and economics pick: “Provides guidelines for companies looking to take a more active role in cultivating women leaders.”
Inside the Competitor’s Mindset: How to Predict Their Next Move and Position Yourself for Success by John Horn
As a business and economics pick: “Shares strategies for understanding and outmaneuvering one’s competition.”
Workforce Ecosystems: Reaching Strategic Goals with People, Partners, and Technologies by Elizabeth J. Altman, David Kiron, Jeff Schwartz and Robin Jones
As a business and economics pick: “Suggests ways to maintain a successful workplace that draws on freelancers, as well as full-time employees.”
Architectures of Spatial Justice by Dana Cuff
As a top 10 art, architecture, and photography pick: “The architecture field needs to reexamine itself, argues UCLA architecture professor Cuff, in order to confront the ways it has contributed to racism and environmental issues.”
Computational Formalism: Art History and Machine Learning by Amanda Wasielewski
As an art, architecture, and photography pick: “Examines the effect that machine learning has had on art and the interconnected future of the two.”
Yasmeen Lari: Architecture for the Future edited by Angelika Fitz, Elke Krasny, Marvi Mazhar and Architekturzentrum Wien
As an art, architecture, and photography pick: “Highlights the accomplishments of architect Yasmeen Lari, the first woman to open her own architecture firm in Pakistan in 1964.”
The Next Big Idea Club recommends:
More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech by Meredith Broussard
As a nonfiction book to watch out for in 2023: What if racism, sexism, and ableism aren’t just bugs in mostly functional machinery—what if they’re coded into the system itself? Meredith Broussard demonstrates in More Than a Glitch how neutrality in tech is a myth—and why algorithms need to be held accountable.
Fast Company recommends:
Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall
As a design book to look forward to in 2023: “The design field has historically been dominated by a narrow Eurocentric set of perspectives. This has resulted in a string of harmful stereotypes, biases, and the culture-erasing homogenization of design. Here to dismantle these power structures is design anthropologist Dori Tunstall, who is also dean of design at OCAD University. In her book, Decolonizing Design, Tunstall explores how modernist design has perpetuated colonial thinking, and how design can help abolish it.”
Enterprisers Project recommends:
More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech by Meredith Broussard
As a must-read tech book for 2023: “Why you should read it: You’re a tech leader who understands that there is always bias in modern technologies—you recognize the fallibility of humans—but you want to learn about potential solutions to this problem. Explore the frameworks that target specific demographics as “other” in the first place. This is essential reading for anyone invested in building a more equitable future.”
Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging through Science Fiction by Emanuelle Burton, Judy Goldsmith, Nicholas Mattei, Cory Siler and Sara-Jo Swiatek
As a must-read tech book for 2023: “This book is for IT leaders who are curious about the major ethical frameworks (deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, communitarianism, and the modern responses of responsibility ethics, feminist ethics, and capability ethics) and how they apply to many of the modern issues arising in technology ethics including privacy, computing, and artificial intelligence.”
Working with AI: Real Stories of Human-Machine Collaboration by Thomas H. Davenport and Steven M. Miller
As a must-read tech book for 2023: “Curious about the implications of human collaboration with smart systems? This book shares specific use cases of humans working with AI successfully, e.g., a digital system for life insurance underwriting that analyzes applications and third-party data in real-time, allowing human underwriters to focus on more complex cases. Read this book if you want reassurance on the positive potential outcomes of AI versus the ominous view that artificial intelligence is a job stealer.”
The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization through Uncertain Times by Gerald C. Kane, Rich Nanda, Anh Nguyen Phillips and Jonathan R. Copulsky
As a top leadership book for 2023: “You’re a business leader looking for advice on how to adapt in an era of continuous disruption. COVID-19 was the ultimate acute crisis; are you prepared for the next one? Learn how to thrive amid the chaos by reading this leadership book.”
Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It by Cass R. Sunstein
As a top leadership book for 2023: “A must-read for any public sector IT leader charged with improving customer experience and service delivery. This book brings to light much of the red tape we’ve all seen in government processes and their societal and economic impacts.”
Lit Hub recommends:
Invention and Innovation: A Brief History of Hype and Failure by Vaclav Smil
As a most anticipated book of 2023: “In what is essentially a history of invention (and therefore, in many ways, a history of civilization) Smil reminds us that human beings tend to fail a lot more than they succeed. And yet we are forever striving after better ways to do things, straining toward some perfectible society that no single generation will ever reach. Though Smil warns against our seemingly innate compulsion to overpromise, he also celebrates our capacity for collective innovation, and recognizes we’re going to need a lot of good ideas to get us out of the 21st century.”
Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness by Nicholas Humphrey
As a most anticipated book of 2023: “The history of science has alwyas relied on hard lines and clear categories, and for a long time one of the hardest of those lines was that between sentience and non-sentience. But as theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey explores in Sentience, that line may not be as clear as initially thought, as discoveries in machine-learning, neurobiology, and animal consciousness raise more questions than they answer.”