PanInside Higher Ed... I remain unconvinced by the central reverse-globalization thesis of The Levelling ... I found the arguments of The Levelling unconvincing because I had trouble following the book\'s logic. O\'Sullivan has created a mix of trend analysis with anecdotal observation. Rather than developing a hypothesis to be tested with the data, he uses every story as confirmation of his conclusions ... For those wishing to understand the future of higher education through a globalization lens, The Levelling will be a frustrating read ... What the book does do is remind us that succeeding on the global stage is not a foregone conclusion.
Mick Cornett with Jayson White
PositiveInside Higher EdThe Next American City is best when it sticks to the OKC [Oklahoma City] story. Mayor Cornett is a compelling character. It is hard not to like someone who transitioned from a popular local sportscaster and news anchor to the Mayor’s office. The book is less strong once Cornett leaves OKC to try to discover other medium-sized cities that have survived deindustrialization to emerge as viable 21st-century creative class destinations. As a lifelong OKC resident, Cornett has a feel for how his city works. He knows everybody. His tells some good stories. Lacking that sort of insider knowledge of places such as Indianapolis, Charlotte, Albuquerque, Charleston, Louisville, Sacramento, Buffalo, or Des Moines, Cornett is unable to provide much in the way of convincing analysis or generalizable lessons. What he does do is motivate us to know more about these mid-sized metropolitan success stories.
Kai-Fu Lee
MixedInside Higher EdAI Superpowers is one of those good books with bad titles. This is a book that is tempting to pass over because its cover makes it sound sensationalistic and shallow. The contents of the book are neither ... If you can get past the title, what you will find is a fascinating story of how both Chinese and US companies are leveraging narrow AI to build the next generation of world-changing companies ... The description that Lee provides of the fundamentals and potential impact of artificial intelligence is among the best that I’ve encountered. His focus is on narrow AI, and the incredible advances in this technology made possible by deep learning ... While I learned a great deal from AI Superpowers, the book does have its blindspots. While I enjoyed reading about the rough and tumble Chinese startup culture (no nap pods or free meals), I was surprised that Lee seems untroubled by China’s political system. Lee points out that China can mobilize large-scale investments in new technologies. What he fails to mention is the brittleness of a society that lacks basic individual freedoms of expression and dissent. Lee lives and works in China, and I’m certain that his unwillingness to critique the Chinese government has everything to do with how much control the government exerts in every sector of the economy. This uncritical stance towards the Chinese government ultimately weakens Lee’s case that China is better poised than the US to navigate the coming AI revolution.
