'Persuasive ... the ever-erudite host of the terrific Talking Politics podcast ... ranges far and wide, from hunter gatherers to Elon Musk, from the wisdom of juries to the (terrifying) implications of autonomous weapons systems' - Tim Adams

'Runciman's erudition is formidable ... a wide-ranging history of the modern state and an exploration of how AI technology may change the world [from] one of our leading public intellectuals' - Jason Cowley

'Compelling ... David Runciman makes salutary arguments [about] the most urgent problem we face' - Blake Smith

'Quirky, meditational, disturbing ... original thinking' - Sherelle Jacobs

'Praise for David Runciman: 'A clear and forceful writer' - Financial Times