Q: You’ve described your love of books, storytelling, and technology as living two parallel lives. How do you navigate and merge these seemingly contrasting worlds in your writing? Q: The Coming Wave was published in September 2023; what has surprised you most about recent developments in AI? Q: As a bestselling non-fiction writer, how do you approach challenging readers' worldviews while inspiring them to embrace bold ideas and imagine a brighter future? Q: In your 2021 book, Human Frontiers: The Future of Big Ideas in an Age of Small Thinking you explore how risk aversion and short-term thinking can hinder progress. In your view, how can technology help overcome these barriers and drive meaningful development? Q: Do you believe AI will impact the human art of storytelling? How can the publishing industry harness these innovations to thrive in the future? Q: As a co-founder of fast-growing digital publisher Canelo, which book releases and emerging voices are you most excited about in 2025? Why do book collections matter? Book a consultation with a ~personal curator Contact Quick Links Follow us @ultimatelibrary Join our community
Michael Bhaskar on AI, Storytelling, and the Future of Big Ideas
20 Feb 2025
Humanity's symbiosis with technology has fascinated great minds for centuries. As early as the 19th century, literary figures like Mary Shelley, Samuel Butler, and George Eliot explored both the wonder and apprehension surrounding artificial intelligence. Today, this once fictious coexistence with intelligent creations, has become an imminent reality.
~To explore this topic further, we enlisted the help of Michael Bhaskar, a
New York Times
bestselling writer, publisher and communications specialist for Microsoft AI, celebrated for his incisive exploration of technology’s impact on society. His most recent book,
The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma
, co-authored with Mustafa Suleyman, examines AI’s transformative power, inherent risks, and its influence on human potential. It has been described as the only book you need to read to understand our new world. ~~We sat down with Bhaskar to discuss his work, the art of writing non-fiction, how technology is reshaping storytelling and the future—and, of course, his love of spy novels.
I’d say working on them has sometimes felt like navigating two parallel worlds… But, in reality, for me, they’re all deeply interconnected, forming a seamless story. That’s why I’ve always been fascinated by how technology is reshaping publishing and storytelling — both in terms of business models and creative possibilities. ~~Equally, storytelling plays a crucial role in shaping new technologies — helping the world understand and embrace them, guiding those developing them to invest in the right areas. People often view a book as something quaint or outdated, but I see it as still the richest form of immersion and the best technology we have for a deep dive. What’s true is that few people move between these different worlds. It’s in the practical side that it feels like contrasting worlds. Through my writing, I hope to bring them together.
What hasn’t surprised me is the continual extraordinary progress in AI systems and their capabilities — that was something we were very clear on in the book. As we were writing it a few years ago, people reading early drafts wondered if it was a bit too punchy, and at times, I even questioned whether the predictions were too bold. But not so. ~~What has surprised me is the scale of the response on a societal level. I thought it would take much longer for AI to become a pressing concern in places like the White House, but from Brussels to Beijing, we’re seeing that AI is now at the top of the policy agenda — whether the focus is safety, ethics, or geopolitical advantage. Politicians and citizens alike have quickly realised the stakes with AI and have begun shaping their responses. Five years ago, very few people in either camp, globally, were interested. That’s generally an encouraging surprise.~
Start with an idea that feels vast and ignored — something that touches on a key aspect of today’s world, something that affects everyone but rarely gets discussed. Once you’ve found that, run with it as far as you can! What I truly enjoy is connecting seemingly unrelated ideas and stories, then weaving them into a coherent narrative. The world is so interconnected, and those connections are often surprising and powerful, which is why they are always my starting point. What’s often missed in nonfiction writing is how creative it really is. While the material isn’t invented, the challenge — on every level from structural to sentence — is equally as large as creative writing. It’s this part that’s often harder than the research, but also the most rewarding, especially when everything clicks, and you feel you've unlocked the perfect way to present your ideas. ~
Despite what many sectors claim, we are not living in a golden age of innovation. Our transport systems haven’t significantly increased in velocity for 60 or 70 years, we lack bold new political ideas, and — if you remove the internet and smartphones — much of our culture and even our homes look remarkably similar to when I was a child. In many ways, we’re stuck.
~There are complex reasons behind this stagnation, and plenty of evidence to support it — something I explore in the book. However, one of the ways out is technology. AI, for example, offers us a chance to break through limitations and create the new. Whether in medicine or the economy, the problem often lies in operating at a complexity level beyond any individual’s full understanding. AI helps us cut through the thickets and build effective new cures or policies. It’s an exciting time, and since writing the book, we’ve started to see that promise come to life.~
No question, I believe AI will impact every aspect of creativity, with storytelling being the first among them. We’re already seeing this unfold. While most creatives haven’t yet admitted to using AI, I imagine many, if not most, are. Not to write, not to generate broad ideas, but to help refine, improve, and brainstorm. At its best, AI isn’t about wholesale replacement — it’s an augmentation that makes us more creative, helping us go further.~The publishing industry needs to do a few things. One is to avoid knee-jerk negative reactions. Fear and loathing have been the dominant responses, but that’s not a viable long-term strategy. Instead, experiment and see what works. The more you actually use and engage with AI, the less threatening it becomes, and the more you can make use of it.
~Secondly, publishers and writers possess content and skills of immense value to AI — this is an opportunity to make the most of it. Lastly, imagine a different future. There was a chance for publishers and writers to rethink things with the advent of the internet. That didn’t really happen in the book world, but perhaps this time we can try again and create a durable, thriving new ecosystem. I’m not sure what it looks like, but I’m up for the journey to find out — and crucially, up for making this work.~
I’m excited by the espionage thrillers from authors like Alex Gerlis and Charles Beaumont. Spies are having a big moment both on the page and on the screen (see major series like
Slow Horses
or
Day of the Jackal
), and Canelo has been driving this boom forward for some time. We’ve always believed that core genres will either always have a foundation or eventually come back into fashion. That’s why it’s worth backing them, going deep, understanding the authors, the readers, the community, and building a publishing program around them. All that — and of course, they’re great fun.
Thank you to Michael Bhaskar for discussing his books and the impact of AI with us. For more on Bhaskar's books, visit his
website.
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