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ollyreadsb00ks's review
5.0
I loved this book. Informative but in an accessible and attention grabbing way. I read it for work and I can honestly say it’s made me better at my job. I loved all the sources as well!
hrimgor's review
Terribly written, not factually focused, more emotional and biased with limited useful information
bechols's review
3.0
Some clear recommendations at the end, but mostly described issues I was already familiar with in a pretty sensationalized way. Definitely some striking passages to read during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
rick2's review
2.0
Very frustrating book. Mostly regurgitated fear mongering with very little originality. It’s clear the author doesn’t have a deep technological understanding of what he talks about, yet he waxes polemical about a whole manner of topics, cruising over the top of any sort of deeper message one might hope for in a full length book.
While reading this book I come up with a new word called “policy-splaining” that is very much like mansplaning but used when political wanks patronizingly explain basic tech concepts. Did we really need a history of ARPANET, “the first computer virus,” and basic supply chain information(“iPhones are made in China” didnt ya know). It’s frustrating and off putting.
That said, do I think every US politician over the age of 55 should be forcibly required to read this book? Probably. It’s a good generic high-level brief. And perhaps “baby’s first internet primer” can prevent moronic comments about technology like Joe Manchin recently saying he doesn’t support electric vehicles because “I don't want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery.” Like he did “in 1974 trying to buy gas.” It would be nice to have people in charge who aren’t stupid dinosaurs.
Now, having read this book from the perspective of someone who works in tech and is interested in Chinese policy and tech, this book was junk.
Do I think the author sourced most of his ideas from Twitter? Yes.
Does this book feel outdated less than a year after its publication? Yes.
Could all of this have been edited down to a blog post? Yes.
Is Helberg’s description of China akin to a strawman mixed with a Sauron-esque-all-seeing-eye boogeyman? A strogeyman if you will? (I apologize to the English language) Again, yes.
Does the author oversell the capabilities of Cambridge Analytica and other “malicious” organizations supposedly “manipulating your every thought and action” while simultaneously minimizing his own ex-employers role in your life? Yes.
Do I feel better informed about anything the author talked about? No.
This reads like a dude on Twitter mansplaining the Internet and Chinese policy to you. The core problem with this book is that despite having worked at Google, the author doesn’t really possess any sort of deep relevant knowledge about the significance of various technologies. It’s all reactive. As as a result the author is just regurgitating mainstream talking points smeared with a thin veneer of opinion. As a reader your time is probably better spent scrolling through a couple NYT articles and reading whatever drivel McKinsey & Co has to say lately, you will get exactly the same ideas in a fraction of the time.
If you’re reading this review because you’re interested in learning more, I recommend The Third Revolution for a more in depth look at Chinese policy from a U.S. centric perspective, Kai-Fu Lee’s Ai Superpowers for a pro-China view of Chinese tech, and The Perfect Police State by Jeffery Cain for actual examples of the long term implications of Chinese surveillance tech. Where Wizards Stay Up Late also covers the background internet stuff better than this book.
While reading this book I come up with a new word called “policy-splaining” that is very much like mansplaning but used when political wanks patronizingly explain basic tech concepts. Did we really need a history of ARPANET, “the first computer virus,” and basic supply chain information(“iPhones are made in China” didnt ya know). It’s frustrating and off putting.
That said, do I think every US politician over the age of 55 should be forcibly required to read this book? Probably. It’s a good generic high-level brief. And perhaps “baby’s first internet primer” can prevent moronic comments about technology like Joe Manchin recently saying he doesn’t support electric vehicles because “I don't want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery.” Like he did “in 1974 trying to buy gas.” It would be nice to have people in charge who aren’t stupid dinosaurs.
Now, having read this book from the perspective of someone who works in tech and is interested in Chinese policy and tech, this book was junk.
Do I think the author sourced most of his ideas from Twitter? Yes.
Does this book feel outdated less than a year after its publication? Yes.
Could all of this have been edited down to a blog post? Yes.
Is Helberg’s description of China akin to a strawman mixed with a Sauron-esque-all-seeing-eye boogeyman? A strogeyman if you will? (I apologize to the English language) Again, yes.
Does the author oversell the capabilities of Cambridge Analytica and other “malicious” organizations supposedly “manipulating your every thought and action” while simultaneously minimizing his own ex-employers role in your life? Yes.
Do I feel better informed about anything the author talked about? No.
This reads like a dude on Twitter mansplaining the Internet and Chinese policy to you. The core problem with this book is that despite having worked at Google, the author doesn’t really possess any sort of deep relevant knowledge about the significance of various technologies. It’s all reactive. As as a result the author is just regurgitating mainstream talking points smeared with a thin veneer of opinion. As a reader your time is probably better spent scrolling through a couple NYT articles and reading whatever drivel McKinsey & Co has to say lately, you will get exactly the same ideas in a fraction of the time.
If you’re reading this review because you’re interested in learning more, I recommend The Third Revolution for a more in depth look at Chinese policy from a U.S. centric perspective, Kai-Fu Lee’s Ai Superpowers for a pro-China view of Chinese tech, and The Perfect Police State by Jeffery Cain for actual examples of the long term implications of Chinese surveillance tech. Where Wizards Stay Up Late also covers the background internet stuff better than this book.
mikegray6's review
4.0
Very interesting, engaging book that balances both the challenges we face in what the author terms the "Gray War" with China and the next steps we need to take as a country. Perfect for anyone interested in both technology and geopolitics like myself. If you don't know about the behind the scenes battle happening between the US and China, this is still worth it because you will be very surprised to hear how far along we are! The only thing I felt was missing was there was no mention of decentralization (crypto) as a way to combat authoritarianism, which to me is a no brainer and is already starting to happen.
sylda's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.75
There's some good information there, but a) there are attempted criticisms of the Chinese government that are so badly worded that it's borderline racist to Chinese people
b) the attempts at being even handed when discussing USAmerican politics give the impression that certain things are only bad when the Chinese or Russian government do them.
b) the attempts at being even handed when discussing USAmerican politics give the impression that certain things are only bad when the Chinese or Russian government do them.
andrew_balyk's review
4.0
Wires of War дає чудовий тактичний погляд на фізичні системи, які з’єднують наш світ, і на потенційні вразливі місця в цих системах, на які впливає політика багатьох держав.
Продуманий погляд Джейкоба охоплює політичні мотиви обох сторін і дає зрозуміти, що наші технологічні рішення важливіші, ніж будь-коли. І про них слід думати стратегічно: від розмов на рівні керівництва політичної влади до технічних спеціалістів.
“When asked how far China lags behind Silicon Valley in artificial intelligence research, some Chinese entrepreneurs jokingly answer “sixteen hours”—the time difference between California and Beijing."
Продуманий погляд Джейкоба охоплює політичні мотиви обох сторін і дає зрозуміти, що наші технологічні рішення важливіші, ніж будь-коли. І про них слід думати стратегічно: від розмов на рівні керівництва політичної влади до технічних спеціалістів.
“When asked how far China lags behind Silicon Valley in artificial intelligence research, some Chinese entrepreneurs jokingly answer “sixteen hours”—the time difference between California and Beijing."
the_library_of_larry's review against another edition
5.0
This book should absolutely be required reading/listening for every school in America. If you want to panic about the state of American technological decline and the rise of China's tech edge, then this would be the perfect book for you. Jacob Helberg does a superb job at laying out how the Xi Jinping and the CCP and Vladimir Putin and his Internet Research Agency have been systematically cracking at not just America's place in the world order, but the very concept of the free and open internet that us Americans have come to expect will essentially live on forever. That does not seem to be the case when looking at the near future through the cold lens of the capabilities and policies being pursued by authoritarians around the world. Only massive public and private investment in cybersecurity, tech education, and a global reorientation to the protection of democracy might stem the tide of an internet dominated by a country that assigns social credit scores to its citizens, cracks down on the freedoms that Hong Kong held so preciously, and is actively conducting genocide against a cultural minority.
I particularly enjoyed, or rather was morbidly fascinated, at how well Helberg detailed every step of China's methods of controlling the future of the internet, from pumping massive state funds into 5G tech, AI, and quantum computing, to trying to change internet protocols, to conducting massive intelligence collection on American companies and data through classic spying or by using the growth of Tik Tok. And of course, there is the massive national security problem of supply chain bottlenecks, particularly for rare earth elements that mostly come from China. China's seemingly "society-wide" focus on growth and dominance are extremely concerning, considering the US seems dysfunctional at the best of times these days. Helberg's expertise as an ex-Google employee comes in handy when parsing each bit of the internet that the CCP is trying to usurp for itself, and it's clear through Helberg's words that they have been unfortunately very successful thus far.
I was also impressed with the remedies that Helberg details in order to protect democracy from authoritarian influence over the internet, and usually I would be a little more pessimistic by his somewhat tired call to unite global democracies against authoritarians when we have a huge authoritarian problem right at home. However, recent events in Ukraine have shifted the global narrative around how democracies will need to help each other out. Finland and Sweden applying for NATO is but one example. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could be the key moment America needs to revamp not just military alliances but establish new ones in the cyber front.
I pray this opportunity does not go missed. According to Helberg, the Gray War, a sort of online Cold War, has already been raging for years. The invasion of Ukraine may set off a physical Cold War in the real world. If this is the case, democracies need to prepare for it, and their citizens must be reminded of how precious their freedoms are. The global "new right", the nationalist populist authoritarian movements that have sprung up across the West, will be the trickiest part of this puzzle to solve, and perhaps that's why Helberg doesn't cover it in his book, nor does it seem anybody besides political scientists. An emphasis by small-d democrats must be made to paint nationalist populism as pro-Jinping, pro-Putin, anti-Enlightenment and anti-West. A new quasi-patriotism for the very concept of democracy, liberty, privacy, and the open internet must reassert itself, preferably by overwhelming popular vote.
An urgently high recommend from me, but this book will probably give you anxiety. But this book may also give you the small push you may need to brush up on your own personal cybersecurity. I know it did for me!
I particularly enjoyed, or rather was morbidly fascinated, at how well Helberg detailed every step of China's methods of controlling the future of the internet, from pumping massive state funds into 5G tech, AI, and quantum computing, to trying to change internet protocols, to conducting massive intelligence collection on American companies and data through classic spying or by using the growth of Tik Tok. And of course, there is the massive national security problem of supply chain bottlenecks, particularly for rare earth elements that mostly come from China. China's seemingly "society-wide" focus on growth and dominance are extremely concerning, considering the US seems dysfunctional at the best of times these days. Helberg's expertise as an ex-Google employee comes in handy when parsing each bit of the internet that the CCP is trying to usurp for itself, and it's clear through Helberg's words that they have been unfortunately very successful thus far.
I was also impressed with the remedies that Helberg details in order to protect democracy from authoritarian influence over the internet, and usually I would be a little more pessimistic by his somewhat tired call to unite global democracies against authoritarians when we have a huge authoritarian problem right at home. However, recent events in Ukraine have shifted the global narrative around how democracies will need to help each other out. Finland and Sweden applying for NATO is but one example. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could be the key moment America needs to revamp not just military alliances but establish new ones in the cyber front.
I pray this opportunity does not go missed. According to Helberg, the Gray War, a sort of online Cold War, has already been raging for years. The invasion of Ukraine may set off a physical Cold War in the real world. If this is the case, democracies need to prepare for it, and their citizens must be reminded of how precious their freedoms are. The global "new right", the nationalist populist authoritarian movements that have sprung up across the West, will be the trickiest part of this puzzle to solve, and perhaps that's why Helberg doesn't cover it in his book, nor does it seem anybody besides political scientists. An emphasis by small-d democrats must be made to paint nationalist populism as pro-Jinping, pro-Putin, anti-Enlightenment and anti-West. A new quasi-patriotism for the very concept of democracy, liberty, privacy, and the open internet must reassert itself, preferably by overwhelming popular vote.
An urgently high recommend from me, but this book will probably give you anxiety. But this book may also give you the small push you may need to brush up on your own personal cybersecurity. I know it did for me!