Mo Gawdat | |
|---|---|
| محمد جودت | |
 Gawdat in 2022 | |
| Born | 20 June 1967 |
| Education | Ain Shams University Maastricht School of Management |
| Occupations |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Website | mogawdat |
Mohammad "Mo" Gawdat (Arabic: محمد جودت; born 20 June 1967) is an Egyptian software engineer, entrepreneur, author, podcaster, and public speaker. He previously served as chief business officer for Google X and is the author of the books Solve for Happy[1][2] and Scary Smart.[3]
Early life
Gawdat was born in Egypt, the son of a civil engineer and an English professor. He showed an early interest in technology.[4]
Career
Gawdat studied civil engineering at Ain Shams University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1990. He went on to obtain an MBA from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.[5]
He began his career at IBM Egypt as a systems engineer, before moving to a sales role in the government sector.[6] Moving to the United Arab Emirates, he joined NCR Abu Dhabi to cover the non-finance sector.[6] At Microsoft, he held various roles over a span of seven-and-a-half years.[6] He joined Google in 2007[7] and eventually rose to the position of chief business officer at Google X.[8]
Gawdat is the author of Solve for Happy: Engineering Your Path to Joy (2017). Dedicated to his son Ali, who died in 2014, the book outlines methods for managing and preventing disappointment.[9] In 2021, Gawdat published Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World through Macmillan.[10] In 2022, his next book, That Little Voice in Your Head: Adjust the Code That Runs Your Brain, was released by Macmillan. It presents suggestions for using the human brain optimally to thrive and avoid suffering.[11] In 2024, Gawdat, along with co-author Alice Law, published Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living.[12]
Personal life
Gawdat is separated from his wife, whom he met at university. They have a daughter as well as a son, who died in 2014 after an appendectomy.[4][13]
Publications
- Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy (2017) ISBN 978-1501157585[14]
- Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World (2021) ISBN 978-1529077629
- That Little Voice in Your Head: Adjust the Code That Runs Your Brain (2022) ISBN 978-1529066142[15]
- Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living (2024) ISBN 978-1035022724
References
- ^ Blair, Olivia. "One man's mathematical formula for happiness", The Independent, 11 April 2017.
- ^ Tucker, Ian (30 April 2017). "Google's Mo Gawdat: 'Happiness is like keeping fit. You have to work out'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Book Review". eandt.theiet.org. 4 October 2021.
- ^ a b Rifkind, Hugo (29 September 2021). "Can this man save the world from artificial intelligence?". The Times.
- ^ Spiegelberger, Sophie (10 August 2021). "Die konstruktion von glück" [The Construction of Happiness]. Forbes (in German).
- ^ a b c "Mo Gawdat". speakersacademy.com.
- ^ "Meet Mo Gawdat, the AI expert who wants you to chill out". British GQ (Conde Nast). 26 June 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Emergency Episode: Ex-Google Officer Finally Speaks Out on the Dangers of AI! – Mo Gawdat | E252, June 2023, retrieved 1 October 2023
- ^ Joung, Frank (19 December 2017). "Formel für Zufriedenheit "Glück ist, wenn das Gehirn die Klappe hält"" [Formula for satisfaction "Happiness is when the brain shuts up"]. Spiegel Online (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Scary Smart". panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ Gawdat, Mo (26 May 2022). That Little Voice in Your Head: Adjust the Code that Runs Your Brain. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-5290-6615-9.
- ^ "Unstressable: A Practical Guide to Stress-Free Living". Goodreads. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ Clifford, Catherine (24 August 2018). "This former Google X exec reverse engineered happiness — here's what he found". NBC News.
- ^ Solve for Happy. 2 January 2018. ISBN 978-1-5011-5758-5.
- ^ "Books by Mo Gawdat (Author of Solve for Happy)". goodreads.com. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
