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The cover of Superagency

Superagency

Reid Hoffman, Greg Beato, 2025

Worried that AI will take control of your life? This book argues that AI in billions of hands can expand human agency instead.

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13 parts, about 22 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Argues that AI's real promise is to amplify individual agency, and that broad public use makes it safer rather than riskier
  • Offers a lens for judging AI news: ask what could go right, and whether a tool works with you or on you
  • Makes an openly optimistic case through historical parallels like cars and data fears, and the author discloses his own AI investments

Who it is for

  • Professionals anxious about AI taking their jobs
  • Policymakers weighing how tightly to regulate AI
  • Readers who want the optimist's case to test against critics

What the summary covers

  1. A Long History of Technology Fears2 min
  2. Humanity Has Entered the Chat3 min
  3. Big Knowledge2 min
  4. What Could Possibly Go Right?2 min
  5. The Triumph of the Private Commons2 min
  6. Testing, Testing1 min
  7. Innovation Is Safety2 min
  8. Informational GPS1 min
  9. Law Is Code2 min
  10. How Freedom Grows1 min
  11. Luddites and the Loss of Liberty1 min
  12. Rational Discussion at Scale1 min
  13. You Can Get There from Here2 min

Recommended by

  • Yuval Noah HarariAuthor of Nexus and Sapiens
    Superagency is a fascinating and insightful book, providing humanity with a bright vision for the age of AI.
  • Fei Fei LiAI pioneer and Stanford professor of computer science
  • Satya NadellaChairman and CEO of Microsoft
    In Superagency, Reid Hoffman brilliantly accomplishes what he so often does: assess challenges, present solutions, and work toward equitable opportunities.

About the authors

  • Reid HoffmanCofounder of LinkedIn and venture capitalist
    • Born 5 August 1967 in Palo Alto, California
    • Graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a degree in symbolic systems and cognitive science
    • Studied philosophy at Wolfson College, Oxford, on a Marshall Scholarship, earning an MSt in 1993
    • Joined PayPal full time as chief operating officer in January 2000
    • Cofounded LinkedIn in December 2002; it launched on 5 May 2003
    • Named a partner at Greylock Partners in 2009
    • Became a Microsoft board member on 14 March 2017
    • Announced in March 2022 as cofounder of Inflection AI
  • Greg BeatoTechnology and culture writer and contributing editor at Reason
    • Contributing editor at Reason
    • Has written for dozens of publications including SPIN, Wired, Business 2.0 and the San Francisco Chronicle

Read it alongside

  • Pushes backIf Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

    Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato argue that banning feared futures will not by itself deliver a good one and that democracies must lead AI with experimentation; Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares argue that pushing toward superintelligence with today's methods must be made illegal in every country, whoever leads

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