Superhuman

Two of the world's leading researchers on behavior and decision-making join forces to equip readers with the knowledge, tools, and techniques to live our best, most human lives in an age of machines. “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous.” —E.O Wilson Our choices and experience of the world are increasingly shaped by powerful interests and godlike technology. Somebody else is deciding what ‘good’ choices look like—and often that means good for them, not for you. From the social media apps hijacking your attention and algorithms quietly curating your reality, to the markets profiting from confusion and AI systems slowly eroding your thinking: your choices are shaped by people who understand your psychology better than you do, and use that knowledge for their own ends. Against this backdrop, it is easy to feel diminished and 'done to'. This book is about fighting back—individually and collectively—and becoming the best of ourselves. Becoming superhumans. Drawing on over 1,000 experiments run across more than 70 countries, Halpern and Costa show how you can boost your own agency and decision-making, how we can upgrade our systems and institutions so that it is easier for everyone to choose well, and how we can shape AI so that it amplifies human capability rather than replacing it. Superhuman ultimately asks us to make the biggest choice of all: in an age when machines can think, decide and even feel on our behalf—what kind of humans do we want to be?

David Halpern is the President Emeritus and Founding Director of the Behavioural Insights Team, widely known as the original 10 Downing Street "Nudge Unit." David led the team from its inception in 2010. He is now the Director of the Downing Battcock Institute at Cambridge. Previously, David was the Founding Director of the Institute for Government and between 2001 and 2007 was the Chief Analyst at the UK Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. He has served four UK Prime Ministers and served for a decade as the UK's first National What Works Adviser. Before entering government, David was a Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College Oxford and tenured at Cambridge University. He has held Visiting Professorships at Harvard, Kings College London, Imperial, and the National University of Singapore. He has written several books and papers on behavioral insights and well-being, including Social Capital, The Hidden Wealth of Nations, and Inside the Nudge Unit.