Reading Group Guide
Infinite Wisdom
Thomas R. Weaver
The sequel to Artificial WisdomA letter from the author
Welcome back
Infinite Wisdom was written twice. My first draft came out of a temporary loss of faith in humanity that crept into me in late 2024. My editors helped me see past it, and I rewrote the book around the more powerful ideas that had emerged while I wrote it. It was a huge risk. I think it was the right one.
Five years after Artificial Wisdom, Solomon offers the world one final choice. Upgrade, and merge with artificial intelligence to leave the worst of our nature behind. Or Unplug, and begin again without any technology at all. One vote. No appeal. I have asked readers that question at every event, and I still don’t think the answer is easy.
So vote at your first meeting, and vote again at the end. Argue about it. This book might not be for everyone, but if it makes those of you who loved Artificial Wisdom happy, I’m happy.
To the future, again,
Thomas R. Weaver
About the book
It is five years since a global vote elected an AI leader, Solomon, to give humanity one last chance of survival. The world might be in recovery, but humankind is suffering—and rebelling—under Solomon’s governance. So Solomon offers a final choice. Upgrade: irrevocably merge with artificial intelligence. Unplug: brick every chip, Solomon included, and begin again in a pre-digital age. Eighteen days. One vote. No appeal. A simple majority wins.
This guide gives away how Artificial Wisdom ends. The ending of Infinite Wisdom stays on the sealed sheet.
Discussion questions · ending sealed
Questions for your club
Safe before you start, once everyone has finished Artificial Wisdom. The questions about the ending are on the sealed “After the Last Page” sheet.
Five years of Solomon
- You closed Artificial Wisdom with Solomon about to take office. What did you expect his Protectorate to look like five years on?
- Solomon was elected to save humanity from the climate crisis. How should we judge a leader who is right about the numbers and wrong about the people?
- Tully bent the truth once to swing an election. Can he still be a truthteller? Can anyone?
- Martha built two artilects: Solomon to save the species, and Djinn to protect one nation. Which mandate would you trust more?
Upgrade or Unplug
- Upgrade: merge with artificial intelligence and lose the worst of human nature. Unplug: brick every chip and begin again in a pre-digital world. Before you read a page, which would you choose?
- One vote, no appeal, a simple majority. Is that fair for a decision this big? What would you ask for instead?
- Eighteen days to decide the future of the species. Would more time change your answer?
- If everything digital stopped tomorrow, what would you miss first? What would you be glad to lose?
Discussion questions · ending sealed
Minds and machines
- Tom says the duology is about manipulation: what persuasion looks like when the persuader is smarter than you and never sleeps. Where has persuasion worked on you lately?
- If a machine could take the sting out of grief and anger, would you let it? What would you lose?
- In the Protectorate, every citizen carries a neurochip. What would make you accept one, and what would make you refuse?
The book and you
- Infinite Wisdom is set in 2055. Which of its technologies do you think we will see first?
- Tom says hope is not naive optimism but “a critical part of being human that carries us through challenging times.” What gives you hope about the future?
- Asked Upgrade or Unplug, Tom said he loves the romance of Unplug but thinks we would have to Upgrade. Do you agree with him?
Reading together
The five-week readalong
The book counts down to the referendum. Each week’s questions cover only those chapters. Chapter numbers follow the Del Rey hardcover: check them against your edition.
Five years on. A warning from an old friend, a tower in the ice, and a choice for the whole species.
- “The greatest risk to humanity was always, and will forever be, yourselves.” Is Solomon right? At the end of chapter 14, which way would you vote?
- Livia keeps a simulation of Martha in Revenant. Is it comfort, therapy or avoidance?
- Central burns, and the world picks a culprit within hours. What do the characters actually know by chapter 12, and what are they assuming?
- October is losing time and hides how bad it is. Why does she keep going?
New Baghdad: a speakeasy that trades in truths, a speech for the caliph, and a very long night.
- Raad says, “Once spoken, a truth is spent.” How does his trade in truths compare with Tully’s journalism? Should Tully have used leverage on Khayal Nazem?
- The caliph’s speech praises our “beautiful, messy, flawed species”, then he goes off script. Was that principle, strategy or both?
- Livia gives Revenant Martha admin rights to the Fates. Would you have?
- Lottie insists that no one gets left behind, while Livia argues for whoever can still run. Who is right, in the moment?
Into the Protectorate. Arrivals, chipping, orange bands and purple, and a city on edge.
- “The doors don’t care. They look for chips, not your outrage.” Would you take the chip to eat, sleep and move freely? Where is your line?
- On the Skywhale, Tully argues Unplug, Randall Upgrade, and Livia is unhappy either way. Whose argument lands for you?
- Carmen calls the Legacy Clinics a mercy. Does her story change how you read Solomon’s lifeboat speech?
- Solomon stops a riot with one word. Protection, a show of power, or both? How should it count in the vote?
Seven days to go. Old friends underground, a tower coming down, and a familiar face on Continuum.
- “Human pronouns belong to humans.” Is the word “it” a small point, or the heart of the referendum?
- Valente worked with people he knew were planning something at Central. Where does responsibility land?
- Solomon can only repair October’s brain if the world votes Upgrade. Is that an honest limit, or leverage?
- Using only what the characters have found so far, who do you think burned Central?
Four days to the referendum. Finish together, then open the sealed sheet.
- This week’s questions give away how the duology ends. Open the sealed “After the last page” sheet only when everyone has finished.
The author
About Thomas R. Weaver
Thomas R. Weaver writes stories about tomorrow to help make sense of today.
His debut novel, Artificial Wisdom, was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and published internationally by Penguin Random House. It has been translated into German, Vietnamese and French. The sequel, Infinite Wisdom, is published in November 2026.
Before writing fiction, Thomas spent two decades in tech: building, scaling and selling a startup to Just Eat Takeaway, and thinking about where technology is headed. He studied computer science. He lives just outside London.
More for your club
The Referendum Ballot
Four cut-out ballots: Upgrade or Unplug. Vote at the first meeting, and again at the last.
Arca-1 Citizenship Cards
A citizen card for every member, after the cards at the London launch.
The Arca-1 Dossier
Eight documents from 2055, word for word from the book: broadcasts, notices, a campaign poster.
Host Kit
Citizenship night: arrivals, a menu from the book and six icebreakers.
Register your club
Tell Tom you are reading. Send your referendum count, ask a question, or request signed bookplates and a video visit at thomasrweaver.com/book-clubs.