As AI hype accelerates and geopolitics grows more entangled with technology, I believe that understanding who controls what — and why — becomes essential.
This summer, here’s what I’m reading, re-reading, and recommending.
A mix of deep books, sharp essays, and brilliant voices that have informed my own work at 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗞 — where we explore the power structures behind innovation, AI, and global infrastructure.
𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁-𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
- 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘞𝘢𝘳 by Chris Miller - A geopolitical page-turner on the chip industry’s past, present, and centrality in the next great power rivalry.
- 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 by Patrick McGee - A sharp dissection of Apple’s dependency on China — and what it reveals about modern globalization.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘐 by Karen Hao - The best long-read on AI geopolitics you’ll find — soft power, cloud infrastructure, and techno-hegemony.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 by Giuliano da Empoli - A political technothriller on how spin doctors and social media strategists hacked modern democracies.
- 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 by Asma MHALLA - A sharp, urgent diagnosis of how digital power reshapes democratic life — from infrastructures to ideologies.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘶𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘪 by Eva Dou - How Huawei became a global telecom giant — and why it drew fire from the West.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 by Robert D. Kaplan - A dark mirror of the post-industrial West — where economic decline feeds geopolitical drift.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 by Shoshana Zuboff - The definitive critique of how tech firms monetize behavior at scale — and reshape society.
- 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘴 by John Gribbin - Quantum physics meets next-gen computing. Accessible, mind-bending, and timely.
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳 by Jason Silver - A more personal, perspective-shifting read on growth and mental clarity — a useful contrast to the heavy geopolitics above.
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𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺)
If you’re looking to sharpen your feed this summer, here’s a curated list of voices I follow closely. From AI policy and geopolitics to infrastructure and digital sovereignty: these thinkers help me cut through noise and see the bigger picture. Happy reading!
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬
Elisabeth Braw — on critical infrastructure and national security
Ophélie Coelho — the political economy of code and digital dependences
Anne Leslie — IBM leader on cloud governance and European digital sovereignty
Marine Champon — risk, crisis, and geopolitical strategy. Watch my webinars with Marine about Technopolitics, where power meets tech here:
𝘈𝘐, 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺
Luiza Jarovsky, PhD — on AI policy, regulation, and digital rights
Stephen Klein — decoding “Curious AI” with sharp, system-level analysis
Linas Beliūnas — AI trends with a pragmatic, global lens
Pascal BORNET — focused on Agentic Intelligence and automation
Andreas Horn — IBM technologist connecting AI, infrastructure, and enterprise leadership
Rana el Kaliouby, Ph.D. — pioneer in Emotion AI and advocate for human-centered tech
Alison McCauley — bridging behavioral science, business, and “thinking with AI”
Natalie Monbiot — expert on virtual humans and synthetic media.
Dr. Ayesha Khanna — founder, advisor, and speaker on AI innovation and smart cities
Sol Rashidi, MBA — Chief AI Officer with a sharp focus on enterprise-scale AI transformation
Stuart Winter-Tear — founder of Dataception, offering deep insights into data-centric AI and strategic risk
Marlene Vicaire — expert voice on digital transformation and geopolitical foresight
Ned Lowe - on engineering teams and building products.
𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 & 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
Peter Csathy - decoding the business of media, IP, and AI-generated content
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Podcasts That Challenge and Inform
I started listening to podcasts only recently, while training for my very long runs (4h+ sessions)... preparing my last ultra-trail.
I enjoyed learning & running: some of the sharpest ideas don’t come from books but from the voices in your ears...
These podcasts shape how I think about technology, geopolitics, and systems change.
If you want to go beyond the headlines and explore the 𝘸𝘩𝘺 behind the 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, here is where you can start...
𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 — Ryan Faulkner
Long-form conversations connecting geopolitics, economics, and power dynamics across continents.
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 — Azeem Azhar
One of the most consistently insightful podcasts on systems change, technological disruption, and future governance.
Your front-row seat to Southeast Asia’s tech evolution — infrastructure, strategy, and emerging markets decoded.
𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 — Margot Bletterie
A smart, contrarian lens on AI, society, and policy — grounded in European nuance with Middle Eastern flavours; no hype and no shortcuts.
𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 (new) — Arno Pons
A European deep-dive on digital sovereignty, innovation policy, and the future of democratic tech governance.
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 — Timothy "Tim" Hughes
Practical, insightful conversations about sales, influence, and leadership in an AI-transformed business world. Consider listening to my interview with Tim here:
Timely and business-savvy conversations from across Asia’s tech and policy landscape. Direct, grounded, and smart. Consider listening to my interview with Elliott here:
A thoughtful exploration of how technology intersects with leadership, ethics, and real-world systems thinking.
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 — Varia Pechurina
A refreshingly honest look at ambition, identity, and reinvention in a world where work is being redefined.
Happy reading!
Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear from you
Damien
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