6 eye-opening books on AI’s rise, risks, and realities

AI is changing how we detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats. From traditional networks to emerging spaces, it is shaping security operations, identity management, and threat response. This collection of AI books offers diverse perspectives, including practical implementations, strategic defense models, and future trends.

AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand

Author: Adam Brotman, Andy Sack

What does the rapid rise of AI mean for brands in the next five years? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told authors Adam Brotman and Andy Sack that AI will soon handle 95% of what marketers currently rely on agencies and creative pros for, quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Inspired by this, the authors set out to explore what an AI-first world means. They interviewed top tech leaders like Altman, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman, plus practitioners embracing AI change, including one who required all employees to experiment with AI.

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want

Author: Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna

Is AI really going to take over the world? Have tech scientists created a thinking artificial lifeform? Will it put creators out of work or make computers better than humans at everything?

Linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna say no, no, no, and definitely not. They call this AI hype, exaggerated claims that serve to justify data theft, boost surveillance capitalism, and replace meaningful jobs with soulless work.

In The AI Con, the authors expose AI hype by showing you how to spot it, break it down, and push back. Their goal is to help you see through Big Tech’s profit-driven spin and stand up for real people whether at work, in the marketplace, or as a citizen.

AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence

Author: Gary Rivlin

In AI Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Rivlin takes you inside Silicon Valley’s AI boom. Over more than a year, he follows founders and investors trying to seize this moment, including LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, called “the most connected person in Silicon Valley” by the Wall Street Journal.

Through Hoffman, Rivlin visits AI companies like Inflection AI and OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT. He also introduces AI leaders such as OpenAI cofounder Sam Altman and DeepMind’s Mustafa Suleyman. The book takes you inside Microsoft, Meta, Google, and other giants racing to keep up.

Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity

Authors: Bojan Kolosnjaji, Huang Xiao, Peng Xu, Apostolis Zarras

This book introduces how AI fits into cybersecurity projects. It explains AI methods, tools, and how to design and apply AI solutions to real cybersecurity challenges. With exercises and code examples, you’ll learn to use AI and avoid common pitfalls.

By the end, you will understand where AI can be applied in cybersecurity and how to build and test AI-based solutions. You will learn how to analyze cybersecurity data using AI, follow the AI solution workflow, design and test AI tools, evaluate your solutions, and explain their benefits.

Adversarial AI Attacks, Mitigations, and Defense Strategies: A cybersecurity professional’s guide to AI attacks, threat modeling, and securing AI with MLSecOps

Author: John Sotiropoulos

This book explains adversarial attacks and teaches you how to secure AI systems beyond common practices. You’ll learn to defend AI and large language models against threats like poisoning, trojans, and model extraction using methods such as DevSecOps and MLOps.

It provides a strategic guide to AI security. The first part covers AI basics and adversarial attack concepts. The next sections detail different attack types and defenses. Later chapters focus on secure-by-design strategies, including threat modeling and industry standards like OWASP and NIST. The book ends with a plan for advancing enterprise AI security, covering ethics and safety within trustworthy AI principles.

AI-Powered Cybersecurity: Defend Against Tomorrow’s Threats Today

Author: Christopher Williams

This book covers both the technical and business sides of cybersecurity, including current threats, ethics, and governance. You’ll learn why traditional cybersecurity is falling short and how AI is changing the landscape. It explains AI-powered threat detection, real-time monitoring, and automated responses. The book also explores how attackers use AI and how to defend against them. You’ll find practical AI strategies for organizations of all sizes, along with guidance on how business and security teams can work together to implement them. It also examines future cybersecurity trends and how to prepare for them.

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