AI Book Recommended Reading: Co-Existence by Ethan Mollick

November 7, 2026 - In one of Steve Little's early AI speeches, he recommended a book, "Co-Intelligence" by Professor Ethan Mollick. I was able to find the audio version at the library, and after a wait of several weeks, it was finally my turn. One advantage of library books (besides being free) is that you know it will automatically return so you better get the knowledge you want from them while you can. It was several years ago, but I listened to the book at least twice, maybe three times. I can always fast forward through the parts I already know, and/or skip chapters. As genealogists, we are definitely keen on history so I highly recommend this book if you would like to learn the history of AI. After reading the book, I signed up for Professor Mollick's newsletter, "One Useful Thing" and I follow him on Blue Sky. 

Somehow or other, in all the distractions of life, I had missed the launch of his new book, "Co-Existence" on October 20, 2026. There's no way I'll be patient enough this time around to wait weeks or months to obtain it from the library, but I was able to purchase it on Audible for just one credit! Woo hoo! I am about half way through the book and am pausing to share something with you that Professor Mollick does that would be especially helpful to genealogists: he uses a "council of AIs from different companies" because each AI has different advantages and disadvantages. He gives the example that one will catch a mistake even when others fail to catch it. Talk about feeling validated because I already do this! I think of AI companies like DNA companies in that each has their own proprietary database and tools - it is similar with AI companies. Some AI companies give you agents while others do not have them or charge extra for agents. Professor Mollick also covers training data in the book. The data that an AI is trained on affects the results too. I am using primarily ChatGPT and Claude as a research assistant to compile a family history book. Both AI's find different sources and the nuggets they pull from out-of-copyright books on the Internet Archive are priceless! (BTW - Did you know you can check out books on the Internet Archive just like you can check out e-books at a library?) 

    November 13, 2026 - Finished the book! Professor Mollick covers all the amazing and terrifying aspects of AI, and towards the end of the book in Chapter 11, he encourages showing ways "to use AI to help people flourish". And that, is why I do this blog. I do not have any financial affiliations where I benefit from views of this blog, I am just sharing my AI journey with you to help you in using AI for genealogy. I think sharing the possibilities of AI for ancestral research like using LiDAR on your ancestor's homesites or the way the Google researcher used LiDAR to potentially locate Mayan ruins are some of the ways AI can be used to help mankind flourish.