Reprogramming the American Dream: From Rural America to Silicon Valley—Making AI Serve Us All by Kevin Scott

Reprogramming the American Dream: From Rural America to Silicon Valley—Making AI Serve Us All Reviews

• 
  Maire

  This reads like a memoir of a poor rural kid making it big in tech, while also convincing your uncle that the machines aren't going to take all of the jobs.
• 
  Max Wolffe

  Oof - I wanted to like this book. I love Kevin Scott, he's an amazing engineer and clearly has his heart in the right place, but it's hard to recommend this book.
  
  Quick Summary:
  - Scott is currently the CTO of Microsoft. He was previously the CTO of LinkedIn, led engineering teams at Google, and founded AdMob, he's objectively a badass.
  - He grew up in rural Virginia and is a bit of an outlier in his journey to great success in Silicon Valley.
  - He is concerned about the growing geographic (and racial - to a lesser extent) opportunity gap due to economic changes (movement of jobs to the coast, centralization of agriculture, etc).
  - He believes AI is going to create opportunity and is working to a) educate folks about the opportunity of AI (as an antidote to anti-AI folks e.g. Elon Musk), and b) to create opportunity in rural areas.
  
  The Good:
  - Interesting personal story about his journey from rural upbringing, through university, PhD, and into Silicon Valley.
  - Great penultimate chapter (Politics and Ethics) - in which Scott discusses what he sees as the principle roles in the future of AI and the responsibilities of each of those roles.
  
  The Bad:
  - Each chapter is too broad - Scott jumps from discussing how technology is being used in farms, to the politics of 5G deployment in Washington, to what types of work AI can replace, to what services cloud providers can offer, all in a single chapter, though he has separate chapters ostensibly covering each of these sections. It just bounces around a bit too much without following a clean thread. I could probably switch the titles on the chapters and it would read similarly.
  - Because it's so broad, it is repetitive. The stuff he covers about what types of work AI will replace in the farm chapter, he recovers in the chapter about the type of work AI can replace, and again in the chapter about the future of AI.
  - Dude's an engineer - there is sooooooo much detail in some of the encounters in the book it can be painful. He describes the ads he's seeing on the TV for a whole page in one chapter. Scott clearly did a ton of research for this, and it he's included every meeting and all the backstory of each one.
  
  Overall - great ideas from a great and caring man, but I'd have preferred each idea to be sharpened and packaged in a much more succinct format (blog post perhaps - coalesced into a book?) before I'd recommend it to a friend.
• 
  Charlie

  One of the more interesting, and thought-provoking, books I've read in a while.
  
  Bottom line theme of the book: "The sooner that we stop viewing AI as a substitute for human labor and start imagining how it can be a force multiplier for human ingenuity, the better" (from the book's Conclusion).
  
  The author Kevin Scott was raised in rural Virginia, and has had a remarkable career as an engineering/technologist at numerous leading firms including Google, AdMob, LinkedIn, and most recently as the CTO of Microsoft reporting to their CEO Satya Nadella. A good portion of the book is devoted to discussions of how AI technologies can transform the fortunes of rural America, hence the book's title: "Reprogramming The American Dream."
  
  A telling example has to do with a former Microsoft executive, Jeff Raikes, who has has returned to his native Nebraska to run his family's large farm. Over the years, the "minimum viable economic unit", or MVE, of farms has grown significantly, from 400 acres in the 1970s, and today it is about 1,000 - 1500 acres...and common knowledge is that he only farms that will be able to survive in the future will only be the largest. The book spends quite a bit of time demonstrating how advances in AI could actually reverse that trend, causing the return of the small family farm. Lots of things need to happen, but when you absorb all of Scott's arguments it makes a lot of sense.
  
  Another noteworthy part of the book is the Forward by J.D. Vance, author of The Hillbilly Elegy. Vance and Scott were from rural areas that today's economy appears to have moved beyond, but both are working, in different ways, to jumpstart new opportunities in America's flyover states. It's one of the more hopeful and interesting developments that is getting very little press, but could have significant positive effects.
• 
  Caroline

  I'm not sure how to rate this one. I am trying to learn/understand about Artificial Intelligence and this book definitely explained what it is and what it isn't. If your only information and exposure to Artificial Intelligence is what you see in movies then this book is for you. It isn't as scary as movies make it out to be and computers aren't going to take over the world. This author dreams of using AI to enhance our lives, particularly lives of those living in the rural areas. (Rural life and the future of it is another one of my interests.)
• 
  Rick Wilson

  I wanted to significantly more from the “CTO of Microsoft.”
  
  this is mostly collection of feel good AI/ML use cases, low-grade Microsoft propaganda, and some average storytelling. There’s some sweeping statements about how the technology is going to reshape everything that we know about work, and so on and so forth. other people have done it better. The use cases with agriculture I agreed with, and there was an attempt to kind of bridge the technical to the human, but It just didn’t quite work.
  
  I thought the attempts to wrestle with national and regional economics around rural communities and across the US mostly failed. Most of it is super service level and seem to mostly the window dressing. It’s like hearing ESPN statistics about football players. They’re kind of cool I guess but they don’t really tell you anything deeper about what’s going on in the game.
  
  there’s some nods to how Microsoft is trying to work with local communities and encourage people to go into a career at Microsoft. Cool I guess. Mostly a miss and at worst these parts felt like PR nonsense.
  
  And lastly, there’s some personal stories that were decent, but realistically not super well written or incredibly compelling. The rest of the book was pretty mediocre, so I wish this had been the focus and I might have at least learned a bit about what it takes to be CTO of a multinational tech company.
  
  I think this book tried to be too many things and ended up not being very good at any one thing. It’s interesting at times but not anything special.
• 
  Cassidy McDonnell

  A really insightful approach and perspective. Scott is obviously an intelligent and passionate individual committed to using his place in the world and the skills he has to concretely improve communities. If slightly idealistic, he provides applicable solutions to rather abstract and pressing problems and does so in a way that is relatively accessible to those who are less expert than him in his field of study. A must read for anyone interested in artificial intelligence and the social and cultural impact of technology.
• 
  Bryan

  Ai is going to displace some workers, but the future is not a dire as some would like to paint it. It will displace jobs that humans find boring or repetitive. Broadband is going to be a requirement to keep people from being disadvantaged in society, especially in rural America.
  
  The biggest take away for me, was don't limit your thinking to jobs and AI as a zero sum game. Companies that think that way and only displace employees will fall behind and loose out to companies that use employees in new ways to improve their products and services to provide more value.
• 
  Jason Morales

  I enjoyed his take on AI but it might be a little more in the weeds for some to enjoy.
• 
  Sam

  Kevin Scott is optimistic about Artificial Intelligence - that makes sense: he serves as the CTO for Microsoft, a company that is investing heavily in the technology. He's also from rural Virginia and writes about how the common viewpoint is that AI will eliminate jobs and leave many, especially those in places like rural Virginia, behind. His contention, though, is that AI will actually increase the number of jobs available. Some will need to retrain, but just like in previous industrial revolutions, technologies that have been thought to eliminate the need for workers actually increased opportunities.
  
  I understand why he added in the focus on rural America, though it wasn't until he talked about broadband availability that I felt the perspective fit in well. The forward of the book was by JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy (a book I didn't really enjoy), and I thought Scott tried to use that same frame occasionally, but unnecessarily.
  
  I, too, am an optimist about AI, though I think the challenges are great. Scott calls out that our local elected leaders need to get educated on the policy considerations around AI, and incentives should be thought of just as much as restrictions. Almost weekly, we see ways that AI can be hyper-problematic (facial recognition systems that are not accurate, predictive policing gone wrong, improper use of data). Scott acknowledges those problems and says they need true focus, though I don't know that there were concrete solutions that he offered.
  
  His section on broadband was really best, and the entire book could have been based just on internet access. Without it, AI doesn't work because transmission of data is so important to powering AI systems. He focuses on the need in rural America - which is absolutely true. There are now numerous federal and state programs incentivizing broadband access. He could have also focused on lack of broadband access in cities, too. This is not because of a lack of internet cables, but instead because of cost. In Syracuse, about half of the households in the city don't have broadband and a computer at home. In the poorest parts of the city, only about 25% of the households have broadband and a computer. This will need to change, too.
  
  I liked his ideas about low-skilled work that could increase because of AI - jobs like data labeling. I've long though that jobs like hanging and maintaining sensors around cities will also be critical work where someone doesn't necessarily need a college degree. Any of these types of jobs, though, need creative people guiding educational curriculum. Scott recognizes that even programs with more economic potential, like computer science classes, are not available to enough students. So training for low-skilled jobs enables by the AI economy have definitely not become mainstream.
  
  Last, his call for federal investment in an "AI-moonshot" program, similar to the space program makes a lot of sense. In another book called "Jump Starting America", the authors cite programs that came during World War 2 and the space program that gave the nation focus, invested heavily in academic research and enabling companies to build products based on that research, and ultimately established and grew the economy across the United States. Similar programs around AI could help renew focus and grow a new economic sector - the race against other countries investing heavily in AI is happening right now.
  
• 
  Mark Walker

  This book might be the most accurate explanation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for popular consumption published to date. Kevin Scott's empirical description of the relationship of everyday human experience and advanced computer technology provides an optimistic vision of the beneficial applications of AI that are well within the grasp of society. Scott also addresses head on the challenges rural people face, with the very personal description of his own experiences growing up in a rural community and having to leave it to follow his interests in computer technology. Although having to leave loved ones to pursue a career has been a fact of life for many, Scott convincingly posits that AI can enable most everyone to live where they choose and also contribute meaningfully to society in a personally fulfilling way.
  
  The interweaving of personal human experience with advanced machine learning sets this book apart from otherwise dry discourses on near incomprehensible technical content. Instead, Scott illustrates through real world examples that positive social impact is key to the implementation of AI. The author also addresses the dystopian dangers that are sometimes feared from the misuse of AI, and proposes safeguards against criminal and authoritarian appropriation of this powerful and inevitable technology—for skeptics of human ability to keep AI within safe bounds Scott allays much of this concern. A key theme of this book is human agency when interacting with machines—it's the humans (we) who teach the machines what we want them to do, and not machines deciding what's best for us.
  
  To express empathy with those in rural flyover country Scott would have done better to reference Thomas Frank (Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?), instead of J. D. Vance (Hillbilly Elegy) who wrote the foreword to this book. It's likely the parts in Scott's book that Vance said in the foreword he disagreed with were ones of solid social and economic common sense.
  
  Empathy with and respect for persons who choose not to live in large urban centers is long overdue, and it's healthy to note that rural economic disadvantage is both unjustified and readily avoidable. In this book Kevin Scott demonstrates how AI together with actual broadband throughout rural areas can be a positive game changer for everyone everywhere—let's so change the game.
• 
  Adam

  When I picked this up, I thought it was going to be a more digitally fluent version of Hillbilly Elegy (maybe because the forward was by J. D. Vance). Could not have been more wrong, and I thought that this was the most thoughtful treatment on the subject of Artificial Intelligence that I have read. Unlike the others, it is not a treatise on why we should fear AI as a job-destroying tool of a technocracy. Nor is it a doe-eyed view that AI will bring us a nirvana where the robots do all the work. Through story telling, simple-to-understand frameworks, and thoughtful proposals, this is a book about how how AI can expand the pie - if we engage and pay attention. It is about how we can use AI to feed a world and make healthcare accessible to all - if we engage and pay attention. And about how AI can bring new jobs that add new value while closing existing gaps...if we engage and pay attention. He has guidance for those who are building AI, those who are using AI, and those who are regulating AI. And, if you happen to be looking for a beautifully accessible way of understand what AI is and how it works, that alone makes this a wonderful read. I'll be thinking about this one for some time.
• 
  Jim Henderson

  This book offers an interesting, and more hopeful, view of a future where AI is far more pervasive than now.
  
  The author proposes technical and political things that could be done to ensure that AI is applied in ways that help more people. This includes public policy, government funding, and tax policy. In particular, he proposes a future where AI (and other technology) help revive rural communities.
  
  His insights are interesting and he brings out some good ideas. However, he sometimes conflates AI and high-tech in general to strengthen his point, so it's not really just focused on AI. I'm also not sure how realistic his ideas for government funding and involvement are. It's more advocacy than prediction.
• 
  Solomon Mcharo

  This was a very inspiring book. Kevin Scott’s tale of his rise from rural Virginia to big tech was eye opening and his compassion for Rural America really stands out throughout the book. I found that the book really shone when Kevin discussed the fundamentals of AI and how it has evolved over the past century or so. As a computer science student, these parts were extremely riveting to read. Not only does it show what it takes to stay at the top of your game when you are at Scott’s level, but showed how much knowledge he has of the subject. Looking forward to more content from him, I had a great experience reading this book. 5/5
• 
  Craig Rodrigues

  Reading about Kevin Scott’s life journey from a rural region of the U.S. to the pinnacles of success in Silicon Valley was very interesting. Mr. Scott genuinely cares for the people in regions of U.S. that are often ignored and looked down upon by Silicon Valley. The rest of the book seemed like an overeager sales pitch of the saving power of AI. AI will cause a lot of disruption and will throw a lot of people out of work. After reading this book, I’m not convinced the ensuing disruption will be a net positive.
• 
  Thomas Resing

  There are some great nuggets hidden in here. Overall, I have a hard time recommending this book when there are better books out there covering these topics.
  On the surface, a book about AI and rural America from Kevin Scott sounds great. However, I really struggled to read it.
  If you're interested in what Microsoft's doing to help people, I have two better recommendations.
  1) Hit Refresh - Satya Nadella
  2) Tools and Weapons - Brad Smith
  If you've already read those two, you might pick up a few new things from Kevin Scott's book. If not, start there.
• 
  Keith L. Breinholt

  Very few people are qualified to give insight into what AI is capable of, where it can lead us and what we should be watching for. Kevin Scott is deeply qualified and in a situation to see where AI has been applied, where it is going and the probable applications and jobs that will be effected by these changes.
  
  The first chapters are personal history and where he gained his insight. The later chapters get into the meat of where AI has had an impact and the most probably directions we are headed and the impacts and opportunities for the future.
  
  Great read.
• 
  Jason Kim

  This is a timely book for the future. AI is about the change the world in unimaginable ways. Kevin Scott shows us how we can adopt to make AI work for us rather than against us. The book includes a section that describes the state of AI research in a way that anyone can understand.
  
  Scott is aware of the possibility where AI can be a net negative instead of being net positive. He proposes ways in which that does not happen. Scott still is an optimist that AI will be a force for good that will help all of us.
• 
  Doug

  I would call this a competent book. No sensationalism (no computers taking over the human race), but not a lot of vision ala Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines. Mostly quite readable except for the middle third which gets very techie, Scott sees AI as a means of uplifting all work to make it more meaningful. I liked the pragmatism, but as a good Microsoft employee, I do think he treats too lightly the dangers AI poses to our society. Worth a critical read.
• 
  Blaze K

  I suspect the questions and arguments posed by this book will be discussed at kitchen tables across rural America sooner than we think. There will be those fearful of change caused by AI, and with some good reason. There will also be myths and misinformation about AI as Kevin Scott points out. However, if handled correctly and ethically, AI can be a boon to rural America. Wether or not AI interest you, if you care about Rural America, you should consider giving this book a read.
• 
  Wendy Yan

  I didn't know much about AI until I read this book. It's a truly revolutionary technology that I hope will bring economic prosperity to the world. This book also made me reevaluate my views of rural America- it's not that the people living in rural areas are wary of new technologies, don't want to "develop" or be innovative, instead they have limited access to educational opportunities like CS classes and technologies like broadband internet that hinder their development.
• 
  Josh Ingleby

  Fascinating dive into AI and it’s ability to transform our lives dramatically. I’m a big fan of Hillbilly Elegy, it’s author JD Vance wrote the foreword to this book, which is how I found it. I was particularly intrigued about how AI can be used to improve the quality of life and economy of rural America. Some of the tech bits were a bit over my head. The tech parts are overlaid over the authors own story and that of other believers in rural America, thus, making it a enjoyable read.
• 
  Nasir Ali

  Really like the way Kevin has put togather this book as kind of his biography, the current issues with rural America and how AI can be a savior rather then a curse, I do feel that AI will significantly alter the way we work, and that some jobs will get impacted more in the end we all needa to reskill and use this as an opportunity to augment meaningful work.
• 
  Xin Gao

  Kevin Scott is not the best writer, but he has deep thoughts and is down to earth. He provided great insights into how AI can affect non-techies and his perspectives on education, inequality, and rural development. I especially liked how non-pretentious he is (opposite to tech people I know) and the fact he's still learning and getting involved in the details of DL/AI.
• 
  Cara

  I’m going with 4 starts but would really like the 3.5 option. Very interesting and helpful if you have a technical background - it could be intimidating if you don’t feel tech savvy to understand some of the AI concepts. I loved what was discussed on the workforce front and really hope these ideas can get some momentum!!!
• 
  David Given Schwarm

  Microsoft has hired a lot of smart people recently. Kevin is smart. This book is a great promotional piece for smart guys at Microsoft--not much new around AI or Investing, but smart. Not very technical, but smart. I do not know--I did like this book, but I did not really learn anything--just fun examples.