The Digital Delusion by Jared Cooney Horvath

THE DIGITAL DELUSION by Jared Cooney Horvath discusses “How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning--and How to Help Them Thrive Again.” Horvath, a neuroscientist and educator who specializes in human learning and brain development, has certainly produced a thought-provoking text. He divides it into three sections: defining the problem (including a chapter which looks at the impact on attention, empathy, and transfer of knowledge); a deeper dive into the use of cellphones and artificial intelligence; and an action-oriented section on how to push back. Some of his most interesting comments concern discrepancies between commonly held beliefs and what research shows. For example, he notes that, “although EdTech is frequently promoted as a tool for equity, evidence suggests it most often benefits students who already possess strong knowledge and self-regulation skills. As a result, digital technology tends to amplify existing inequalities rather than eliminate them.” And, in an interview earlier this year with American Enterprise Institute, Horvath explained that high international test scores do not necessarily correlate with tech use, saying, “the countries that use technology the least in schools in the world are Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore.” He continues, “[their] rich digital infrastructure is for adults producing work, not kids learning how to become adults.” He repeatedly probes the difference between knowing something and merely knowing where to find it, writing, “human beings think in stories. … digital technologies largely kill sustained narrative. They flood us with disconnected, context free fragments … with no coherent thread linking one idea to the next. This consistent stream of randomness doesn't just weaken memory, it also disrupts comprehension, deep thinking, and the ability to build usable knowledge.” THE DIGITAL DELUSION offers much to contemplate in what Publishers Weekly calls an “intriguing if flawed treatise … sure to spark plenty of conversation.” References and Appendices accounted for approximately half of the preview copy I received.

Human Raised by Dana Suskind

HUMAN RAISED by Dana Suskind should be on your reading list. It is on several others, including an appearance as the notable non-fiction choice on the LibraryReads July 2026 selections and on the Next Big Idea Club’s summary of July 2026 Must Read Books. Suskind, an MD who writes extensively and is a professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Chicago, focuses this new book on “Nurturing Connection, Curiosity, & Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI.” In chapters with titles like “The Human Edge,” “How Parents Build a Child’s Brain,” or “Robots in the Classroom,” she makes several very compelling and interesting arguments. For example, Suskind writes, “I believe that the relationship between child development and artificial intelligence is one of the most critical and overlooked challenges of our time, one that has the potential to transform childhood, family structures, and ultimately nothing less than our future as a species. And it's up to us as parents and caregivers to decide how these intelligent tools will shape our children's lives.” I found her sharing of Hinton’s comments on embedding maternal instincts in AI models to be quite thought-provoking. And, like many of us, she expressed  concerns about the pervasiveness of AI, asking, “Will a primarily or entirely human-raised childhood be a luxury experience, like a farm-raised diet?” Parents, grandparents, caregivers and educators will find much to consider and discuss in HUMAN RAISED. This book is not anti-technology; rather Suskind is encouraging us to act and to shape the future; she eloquently points out, “In Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, … the birds that no longer sang weren't the tragedy. They were …. a warning that something essential was dying. I hear a similar warning now in a different kind of silence: the eerie, algorithm-induced quiet of children transfixed by technology.” Suskind stresses four guiding principles (HOPE) for raising children alongside AI:  Human connection is irreplaceable; Own your imperfections; Protect the early years; and Enhance—don’t replace—connection. Highly recommended.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Dixon

THE INFINITE SADNESS OF SMALL APPLIANCES by Glenn Dixon is a relatively short (224 pages) but impactful tale that will make readers think, particularly about artificial intelligence and humankind’s relationships with machines. Set in the future, much of the story is told from the perspective of Scout, a young, but advanced model of a vacuum cleaner (like Roomba) who resides at the home of an older couple, Harold and Edie Winters. Scout is a curious and courageous soul (if machines can be said to have souls) who has chosen her name because of listening to Harold read To Kill a Mockingbird to Edie who has a terminal illness. As with any death, changes are necessary and painful. Scout appears to develop empathy for Harold, his daughter Kate, and the young neighbor boy, Adrian, who was a piano student of Edie’s. They all must learn to trust each other and the other sentient machines like Auto, Fridge, Clock and Watch. It is not easy to battle the overarching and controlling Grid which appears to have no feelings at all. Booklist sums it up well: “The plot is tender and suspenseful as Scout begins to grasp love, grief, and resistance.” Definitely Recommended. Book groups, too, would enjoy discussing THE INFINITE SADNESS OF SMALL APPLIANCES.

Two Perspectives: The AI Con & AI for Life

THE AI CON by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna offers a unique perspective on “How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want.” In fact, Kirkus describes this book as “a refreshingly contrarian take on AI” and includes it in a list of “5 Essential New Books That Challenge Big Tech” (Careless People, on my TBR pile, is also included). Bender is a Linguistics professor at the University of Washington and Hanna, a former member of the ethical AI team at Google, is now Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR); both have been critical about promises made and potential societal impact of AI. They have crafted this book with the following goal: “preventing harm from AI hype. [They believe] When people can spot AI hype, they make better decisions about how and when to use automation, and they are in a better position to advocate for policies to constrain the use of automation by others.” Bender and Hanna raise issues such as surveillance (including facial recognition often coupled with biased algorithms) or devaluing creativity, and they point to the importance of more discussion and evaluation. They focus on the application of automation in the areas of decision-making, classification, recommendation, transcription/translation, and text/image generation. Bender and Hanna provide an entire chapter containing questions which “we can each ask, whenever we are in a position to make decisions about automation or influence others who are doing so.” Prompting more thoughtful consideration, they certainly ignited my desire to investigate further with sources such as The Conversation, Journalist’s Resource, CNET’s ai atlas, and think tanks like Brookings Institution or reports from CQ Researcher (citing AI Now Institute, Center for Democracy & Technology, MIT, Pew Research Center, and The Stanford Institute for Human Centered AI, as just a few examples).  As an aide to critical thinking and accountability, roughly a third of their text is devoted to notes and an index. Interested readers may also want to explore their podcast: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000.

In contrast, AI FOR LIFE by Celia Quillian offers “100+ Ways to Use Artificial Intelligence to Make Your Life Easier, More Productive…and More Fun!” PC Magazine recently interviewed the author and begins by quoting her: “Approach AI with curiosity, not fear.” Quillan, who has been featured as a commentator on AI by several business publications, begins by discussing “getting started with generative AI” and then offers numerous helpful suggestions (e.g., “explain it to me like I’m 12” or “ask me 10 questions to better guide your response”) in a chapter titled “Prompting 101.” From there, she delves into using AI and devotes a chapter to each of the following areas: Home Life; Food, Health, and Wellness; Career Development; Personal Finance; Personal Growth and Learning; Relationships; Travel; and Fun and Entertainment. Using travel as an example, readers will find a series of helpful suggestions for personalizing destination ideas (e.g., What is the best time of year to travel? What are some must-do activities? What is the estimated cost per person?), planning road trips, and exploring local cuisine. This should help users new to AI because her prompts are often quite instructive and specific, like this one: “Could you identify 10 upcoming events or performances in and around Philadelphia's music, arts, or nightlights scenes in May 2025? Make note of the date they are happening and provide a brief description of the event.” Packing tips, local etiquette, and translation are other topics she explores in that travel chapter. My teaching experience has reinforced the view that people learn best when they are pursuing a task relevant to them – Quillian highlights numerous ways to experiment with AI in a personally meaningful way. Although her text is not up-to-the minute (e.g., no reference to Deepseek), she does provide information on several models and AI FOR LIFE should propel readers to a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of AI.

This important topic was just addressed in an Atlantic article, “What Happens When People Don’t Understand How AI Works?” by Tyler Austin Harper. Coming full circle, he references Bender and Hanna, expresses concern about the industry’s “tradition of anthropomorphizing,” and argues that large language models “do not think and feel but instead mimic and mirror.” And laments further about “minimizing attention spans, literacy, and social cohesion.” Much to reflect upon and consider. 

Devil in the Stack by Andrew Smith

DEVIL IN THE STACK by Andrew Smith is subtitled “Searching for the Soul of the New Machine.” This text received a starred review from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly, but I initially found it very difficult to read. The prologue discusses coding and shares some firsthand experiences but does little to scaffold content for the remainder of the text. The author’s intent and main argument were not outlined, although he did comment: “from certain angles, life could appear to be getting worse in eerie proportion to the amount of code streaming into it” and “the software being written by a remote community of coders was reshaping society more dramatically than any technology since the steam engine.” I read further and liked learning about resources like freeCodeCamp, but struggled to embrace Smith’s writing style, jumping from one, albeit interesting, interview or interaction with an expert to another. I think he was trying to tie loosely related ideas together, perhaps like Mary Roach, but her work is more accessible and more entertaining. The Times Literary Supplement review recently described DEVIL IN THE STACK as “dense, prickly and rewarding” – give it a try and decide for yourself.