In our Fall 2025 issue, SchoolCEO Excellence in School Marketing Award finalist Christopher Villarreal recommended Ethan Mollick’s book Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. It’s one of our team’s faves, too, so we’d encourage you to pick up a copy—but it’s just one of many books about AI to discover. Below, we share a few titles with practical and forward-looking takes on AI to get you thinking about how to integrate it into your work and personal life, both now and later.
One quick note: While we’ve only included books published in the last two years, AI technology is advancing so rapidly that some details might need updating. On the whole, though, we think you’ll find these books useful and relevant. Happy reading!
Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning by Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson
As the title suggests, this book provides tactical advice for educators struggling to navigate the rise of AI in education. To help readers understand the newest technology, the authors define terms, highlight different tools and provide prompt suggestions teachers can use to enhance lessons. They don’t shy away from concerns about cheating, but demonstrate how to recognize it and how to respond. “Understanding cheating is essential not because [AI] detectors will eliminate it, but so we can redesign assignments that will make cheating less rewarding and useful while also improving learning,” they write. They also include a chapter on how AI is changing work across industries. And that’s perhaps the best reason for teachers to embrace AI—to prepare students for the increasingly AI-powered workforce.
While the book was written for higher ed instructors, K-12 leaders will appreciate its guidance on shaping clear district policies for AI use and providing staff with professional development. No doubt comms pros will also find this short and practical book useful when crafting messaging to different stakeholders about AI use in classrooms.
The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions by Geoff Woods
“Successful change often requires strong, visionary leadership that can inspire and guide the transformation,” writes the author Geoff Woods. Any organization—whether it’s a corporate giant or a K-12 school district—has a lot to gain if their leaders can shepherd them through learning and adopting AI tools. But first, leaders themselves have to embrace new ways of thinking.
This book shows leaders how to make AI a partner in strategic decision-making using a framework for creating clear, context-rich prompts. Woods shares stories of real leaders who used this framework to engage AI in a two-way conversation—and save their businesses. Throughout, he emphasizes the point that mastering AI is not about increasing speed or productivity—it’s about freeing up your time to focus on the most meaningful aspects of your job. It’s about thinking deeper and elevating the work that matters. And once leaders understand that, they can communicate it to their employees.
Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future by Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato
This book authored by tech writer Greg Beato and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman is not a fearful prognosis. According to Ariana Huffington, it’s actually “a refreshingly optimistic and welcome perspective” about the incredible potential of AI. The authors envision AI breakthroughs across several fields: AI tutors tailoring lessons to every child, life-saving medicine being developed faster, and everyday people getting much-needed help to navigate complicated processes. To varying extents, the future the authors imagine is already here.
The book doesn’t ignore risks like disinformation, job disruption or bias, but its emphasis is on opportunity: how AI, used thoughtfully and inclusively, might revolutionize education, healthcare and so much more. In AI, Hoffman and Beato see the tools to help individuals accomplish their goals and help society flourish.
The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World by Allison Pugh
To paraphrase one online book review, this is not a relaxing read. However, it is an in-depth look at AI’s impact on different industries, such as healthcare and education. Pugh, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University, writes about the thing these fields have in common—something she calls “connective labor,” the kind of work that involves human contact, spontaneity and empathy. Connective labor, she says, enriches the lives of individuals in these professions and the people they serve, and ultimately binds communities together. But as our society becomes ever more automated, the future of this kind of work is uncertain. Through interviews with connective labor professionals and her own observations, the author makes what The Nation calls “a compelling case for valuing care as a societal good and as skilled labor.” And in K-12 education, no matter your job title, caring for your community is what you do best.