Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

The Second Renaissance: How AI Will Transform Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship by Robert H. Hacker ’73.

December 5, 2025

Tags Alumni Book

(De Gruyter, 2025).

“Humanity is in a period of dramatic change - the risk of near-time impact from environmental degradation; political and socioeconomic challenges exacerbated by the manipulation of social media; and an interconnected, networked world where Artificial Intelligence and widespread computational science offer both peril and promise.”

So notes the author, a professor in the Honors College at Florida International University and co-founder and director of StartUP FIU, who argues that AI’s functionality has now surpassed human cognition and can be used to advance scientific, economic, and societal endeavors for humankind.

Throughout the book, the author shares five pillars to reimagine the future, shows how two paradigms are shaping the technology and business models of the 21st century, and presents the wide-ranging benefits and applications of AI that signal the dawn of a new era — what he calls the Second Renaissance. Hacker concludes with practical illustrations and real-world examples for corporate leaders, researchers in innovation and AI, policymakers, business and entrepreneurship students, and anyone invested in adapting AI for the exciting era that lies ahead.