# What Computers Can't Do by Hubert Dreyfus

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/what-computers-can-t-do/

2 people recommended What Computers Can't Do by Hubert Dreyfus in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

1 of the 2 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “"They're made out of weights"”.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its analysis of the assumptions behind AI research, still relevant to today's debates. Critics call its ideas outdated because it predates modern machine learning.

Summary written by Claude from 7 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Still relevant to today's AI debates (2 comments in the sample): "if you read the book today, you'll find lots of similar situations and a similar way of thinking about the possibilities of AI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48419239)) "The reference to What Computers Can't Still do is precisely relevant because it narrates exactly this same discussion" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48411943))
- Explains AI research assumptions in detail (1 comment in the sample): "this books explains the assumptions the AI research programme is based on, and why they are problematic." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48497971))

## What people warn about

- Ideas predate modern AI, seen as outdated (1 comment in the sample): "their theories and ideas are highly outdated, even ancient" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48399638))

## Other philosophy books people recommend

- [Tao Te Ching by Laozi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tao-te-ching-translated/): 28 recommend, 2 mixed, 3 criticize
- [Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize
- [I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-am-a-strange-loop/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Meditations by Marcus Aurelius](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "What Computers Can't Do by Hubert Dreyfus", https://hackerapproved.com/p/what-computers-can-t-do/ (2 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.