{"id":1433,"date":"2026-08-26T08:09:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2026-08-26T08:09:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:09:46","slug":"book-review-humans-of-ai-by-joe-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/uncategorized\/book-review-humans-of-ai-by-joe-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Humans of AI by Joe Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWhen technology works, it\u2019s invisible\u2026 No matter how good our computing technologies become, they will never write humans out of the picture altogether.\u201d
\u2014 p.280<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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You would be interested in this book if\u2026<\/h3>\n
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  • You are an educator or school leader navigating the rise of generative AI, and want a broader perspective.<\/li>\n
  • You want to understand not just what<\/em> AI does, but who<\/em> is behind it.<\/li>\n
  • You are skeptical of the hype and want a more human-centered, critical lens.<\/li>\n
  • You believe that technology is never neutral \u2014 it reflects culture, values, and power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    1. The \u201cHuman Stack\u201d: Reframing What AI Really Is<\/h3>\n

    One of the most powerful contributions of Humans of AI<\/em> is its reframing of the \u201ctech stack\u201d into what Joseph Wilson calls the \u201chuman stack.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    \u201cThe tech stack is often spoken of as it exists independently of the humans who run it\u2026 we can think about the humans who work throughout the tech stack as an equivalent \u2018human stack.\u2019\u201d
    \u2014 p.9<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    This is the core thesis of the book: AI is not an autonomous force. It is a deeply human system \u2014 designed, trained, maintained, corrected, and interpreted by people. It is not something that is inevitable, either…<\/p>\n

    Wilson structures the book around these people: pioneers, engineers, entrepreneurs, ghost workers, linguists, rationalists, believers, and detractors. Each group represents not just a role, but a worldview \u2014 a way of understanding what AI is and what it could become. In this way, we see beyond the veneer of VCs and into the very physical and human side of AI.<\/p>\n

    For educators, this is critical. It pushes us beyond tool adoption and into cultural analysis<\/strong>. If AI is human, then its biases, limitations, and possibilities are human too.<\/p>\n

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    2. The Power \u2014 and Danger \u2014 of Metaphor<\/h3>\n

    From the earliest days of AI, we have relied on metaphor to make sense of machines. The \u201cbrain,\u201d the \u201cneural network,\u201d the \u201cassistant.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Wilson traces this back to early systems like ELIZA in the 1960s, where users began to treat simple scripts as if they possessed real understanding. This is where he introduces the concept of pareidolia<\/strong> \u2014 our tendency to see human qualities where none exist. The danger is subtle but profound:<\/p>\n

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    We assume the model we use to make sense of a phenomenon\u2026 becomes, over time, literally true.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Neural networks are not brains. They are mathematical models. But the metaphor is so powerful that we begin to forget the distinction. And this may be what fools us the most: it is magic! is it human?!<\/p>\n

    For schools, this matters. When students say AI \u201cknows,\u201d \u201cthinks,\u201d or \u201cfeels,\u201d we must pause. These are not just linguistic shortcuts \u2014 they shape belief systems. This book brings us back to the physical nature of AI, and not just the sodering and wires, either. It brings us back to the conversations, discussions and interactions of the humans who are building, training an UXing.<\/p>\n

    Joe reminds us that belief systems shape behaviour.<\/p>\n

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    3. The Illusion of Automation: Ghost Workers and Hidden Labor<\/h3>\n

    Perhaps the most striking section of the book is Wilson\u2019s exploration of ghost workers<\/strong> \u2014 the invisible human labor behind \u201cautomated\u201d systems.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cA lot of the technology we think is automated\u2026 is in fact performed manually by ghost workers.\u201d
    \u2014 p.101<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    From content moderation to reinforcement learning (RLHF), from data labeling to editing AI outputs, human beings are deeply embedded in every stage of AI development.<\/p>\n

    Even more startling are the examples:<\/p>\n