Although the field of Artificial Intelligence has been around since the 1950s, it's only in the last few years, with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), that the general public has truly taken notice. Apps based on LLMs, like ChatGPT, have already upended the labor market, creating productivity gains in some roles, while eliminating others. In James Wang's new book, What You Need to Know About AI, he walks us through not only how modern machine learning works, but also what one needs to know to stay competitive in an AI-inclusive world. The book provides a wide perspective including historical context, practical advice, recent developments, and enough technical explanation to give everyone a sense of the possibilities and limits of this exciting technology. Join us as we talk to James about the book and this transformative time for our economy.

Thank you to our friends at Audible for sponsoring this episode. Check out AudibleTrial.com/biz for a 30-day free trial of Audible and free credits toward an audio book.

• What You Need to Know About AI via Amazon

• Weighty Thoughts

• James on X

Follow us on X @BusinessBooksCo and join our Amazon book club.

Edited by Giacomo Guatteri

Find out more at https://businessbooksandco.com

Read transcript

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini is one of the best-selling books on social psychology of all-time. Influence explains the essential ingredients that make what it calls "compliance professionals" (salespeople, marketers, negotiators) successful. Namely, seven levers of influence: reciprocation, liking, social proof, authority, scarcity, commitment, and unity. In this episode we’ll walk through all seven levers, share some of Cialdini’s memorable examples of each, and some areas where they have applied in our own careers. We’ll also discuss the merits of the book as a whole and what we most got out of reading Influence.

Thank you to our friends at Audible for sponsoring this episode. Check out AudibleTrial.com/biz for a 30-day free trial of Audible and free credits toward an audio book like Influence.

• Influence by Robert Cialdini via Amazon
• Season 4 Episode 1 How to Win Friends and Influence People via Business Books & Co.

Follow us on X @BusinessBooksCo and join our Amazon book club.

Edited by Giacomo Guatteri

Find out more at http://businessbooksandco.com

Read transcript

The development of quantitative trading has led to an enormous accumulation of wealth amongst a few large hedge funds. A pioneer in this space was Renaissance Technologies and its founder, Jim Simons. Instead of relying on traditional financial metrics and corporate news, quantitative models, like those utilized at Renaissance, look at much larger swaths of data fed into sophisticated machine learning algorithms. In this episode we discuss The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman. Join us as to learn about how quantitative investing has changed the financial sector.

Thank you to our friends at Audible for sponsoring this episode. Check out AudibleTrial.com/biz for a 30-day free trial of Audible and free credits toward an audio book like The Man Who Solved the Market.

• The Man Who Solved the Market via Amazon
• Renaissance Technologies via Wikipedia

Follow us on X @BusinessBooksCo and join our Amazon book club.

Edited by Giacomo Guatteri

Find out more at http://businessbooksandco.com

Read transcript