Pre-orders ship June 2026 · Wide release Sept 15 · Nation Books
The AI Industry's Trillion Dollar Race to Replace You — and How to Stop It
Is AI a bubble or humanity's last invention? An existing harm or existential threat? Obsolete cuts through the hype and false binaries to answer all the AI questions you have, while raising some you probably aren't prepared for.
01 · Pre-order
Early orders signal to bookstores how many copies to stock and give the publisher data to invest more in promotion. Order direct at 15% off.
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02 · Early Praise
The best book I've read on AI. It's supremely timely, it takes no prisoners, and Sam Altman would hate it.
Luke Kemp · author of Goliath's Curse
"With admirable clarity, Lovely's analysis cuts straight through the contentious and dizzying discourse surrounding AI…an invaluable and urgent warning about the threat it poses to democracy—and, as he convincingly argues, to the future of our civilization itself."
Luke Savageauthor of The Dead Center
"Garrison Lovely is exactly what the left needs at this moment in technological history."
Robert Wrightauthor of Nonzero & Why Buddhism Is True
"A deeply researched cutting-edge exposition of the grim situation humanity finds itself in with respect to AI, and what we can do about it…even-handed while expressing a strong and correct view of what is happening."
Anthony Aguirretheoretical physicist; executive director, Future of Life Institute
03 · The Book
The richest companies in history are racing to build a machine that replaces human labor — all of it. And, as this provocative new book insists, the only surefire way they won't succeed is if we stop them.
Many today don't get further than seeing AI as a boondoggle — a new shiny object for techno-capitalists to sink their cash into as we barrel toward climate disaster. Obsolete takes those concerns seriously, but implores us to keep our eye on the ball: the attempt to render you obsolete.
The scale of their project has no real precedent. What we think of as big — the Gilded Age monopolies, the Manhattan Project, the Apollo program — doesn't even come close to capturing its size. Almost none of us want this vast transformation to succeed. Yet we're letting it proceed virtually unabated. Why? Because we don't know it's happening, we don't believe it will work, or we don't think we can stop it. Obsolete takes on all three.
AI expert and journalist Garrison Lovely's debut is a refreshing reset on an AI debate where basically everyone is getting some big things wrong. With deep access to top researchers, advocates, and industry insiders, Obsolete offers a new way to think about the technology — and a plan for deciding its future democratically.
04 · The Author
05 · How You Can Help
If you believe in what Obsolete is trying to do and want to go the extra mile, here are some ways you can help.