Artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous today as both a technology and a buzzword. Therefore, the question of its influence on society as a whole is an obvious one. The author compares the current situation in the digitized world with Gutenberg’s, and therefore also speaks of “the Inverse Gutenberg Revolution.” However, the author does not limit himself to AI, but rather aims to present as complete a picture of the digital world as possible. The topics addressed range from the relationships and communication between man and machine; the role of icons and images in communication; the role of digital platforms based on the treatment of the general infrastructure and business models derived from this; and the influence on the job market and the effects on the entire value chain, in order to finally deal with ethical and legal questions as well as guidelines for future transformations.

The structure of this book is obtuse. The author makes do with an especially large number of Wikipedia entries, which makes comprehension-oriented reading more difficult. Ultimately, the work appears as a rather superficial list of many dimensions of the digital world. The envisaged readership is those who have little or no detailed knowledge of AI but are interested in topics related to digital transformation.

For Klaus Henning, the foundations of this (AI-oriented) digital world are intelligent objects/systems/algorithms with their own consciousness (at least at a--from his point of view--low level), where everything is connected to everything worldwide based on the availability of very many data (big data). This obliges us to rethink the relationship between people and objects and to give space to a new image of man, Homo zappiens. This interplay takes place in the triangle of people, organization, and technology, which the author discusses in detail. In the end, of course, God must not be missing either (on two pages) and AI must be seen as “a gift from God.”

Unfortunately, central terms of the author’s argumentation are not explained in the work. This leaves open what an intelligent object is. Of course, where there are intelligent objects there must also be stupid objects. On what basis can an object be called “intelligent,” and what does intelligence mean in this context? Maybe it’s just increased performance when solving a specific problem. Likewise, it remains unclear what distinguishes between strong and weak creativity. The concept of consciousness, which is central to the material, is particularly critical. There is a lack of neuroscientific and philosophical reflections on this difficult question, offering instead only rather apodictic definitions. The AI-based chess system AlphaZero certainly does not know that it is playing chess. In general, the reader wonders what the author actually means by the term AI (at least in this work). Many examples are simply named as AI applications, that is, provided with the label “AI,” without explaining which specific methodology that can be assigned to AI is actually in the specific application and for what purpose. The difference between AI-controlled and classic automatic processing of processes also remains unexamined. The more frequently the label AI is assigned (without explanation), the more unclear the meaning becomes.

In summary, it can be said that this book might be worth reading for someone who wants to inform themselves about the challenges of coming digital transformations (including AI) in popular style, avoiding explanations to promote a deeper understanding. On the other hand, if this reader is looking for a deeper understanding of what is encountered on this journey, what is or can be behind AI, they will end up being quite disappointed.