Crunch Time

• By Illah Nourbakhsh, Michael Druckman
• Release Date: Oct 27, 2026
• ISBN: 9781591813798
• 375 Pages
• Paperback

The AI revolution is underway, and none of us are fully prepared. In Crunch Time, education and AI experts Illah Nourbakhsh and Michael Druckman confront one of the central questions of our time: How will artificial intelligence reshape careers, education, and opportunity, and what should we do about it now?

Rather than predicting a single future, Crunch Time presents AI as a dynamic, uncertain force that demands informed participation. Originally conceived for educators and parents, the book expands its lens to include students, alumni, mid-career professionals, employers, policymakers, and anyone navigating work and learning in the age of AI.

Crunch Time weaves together perspectives from AI inventors, business leaders, educators, technologists, and community leaders, featuring more than forty contributors including AI experts Daniela Rus, Hoda Heidari, Michael Genesereth, Sanjay Sarma, university presidents Nancy Cantor, Lisa Ryerson, Laura Walker, Juan Salgado; business leaders David Siegel, Steve Malony, Dan Draper; visionaries Dame Diane Coyle, William Haseltine, Paul LeBlanc; and leading K to 12 educators. Readers will encounter competing viewpoints, practical guidance, and concrete steps for action.

Crunch Time is an invitation to understand, to prepare, and to actively shape a more equitable and human-centered AI future.