Impact of science and technology on society Books

Book SynopsisWritten in clear, narrative style, Hackers & Painters examines issues such as the rightness of web-based applications, the programming language renaissance, spam filtering, the Open Source Movement, internet startups and more.

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Book SynopsisRay Kurzweil, one of the world's leading AI researchers, innovators and futurists, offers a provocative exploration of the most important project in human-machine civilisation: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines.Trade Review'Kurzweil's vision of our super-enhanced future is completely sane and calmly reasoned, and his book should nicely smooth the path for the earth's robot overlords, who, it turns out, will be us' New York Times'Kurzweil foresees a disease-free world where no one ages and artificial brains make machines human-like - and he is not one to get things wrong' Daily Telegraph'Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence' Bill Gates'Kurzweil knows a lot about new technology and he knows how to make it sound fun. He is dazzling in his enthusiasm for things to come, and has a grasp of the exciting developments pulsing through the intersection of science and technology' Financial Times

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Book SynopsisHow do we get to know air? Aeropolis: Queering Air in Toxicpolluted Worlds offers a speculative and interdisciplinary framework to reorient common understandings of air and air pollution as matter “out there.” Aeropolis contests regimes of managing air which ultimately operate toward upholding dominant modes of world-making that are dependent on forms of exclusion and inequity. Instead, Aeropolis proposes that air is thought of as a city, to center its social, cultural, political, ecological entanglements. Drawing upon feminist technoscience and queer ecological frameworks, Aeropolis moves away from solutions toward a methodology of “designing-thinking-making” that redirects and connects our understandings of air—as designers, as citizens—with ongoing struggles for just futures. Moving through a series of design interventions, histories of air, and theoretical coordinates, Aeropolis thinks with air across its many forms—through smog and dust, bodies and breath, pollen and weeds, and from urban design to geopolitics, polluted environments to open data, parks to aerial infrastructures. It insists that we acknowledge the diversity of air and its relation to humans, non-humans, and environments, both physically and affectively. That we become sensible to air by following its unruliness—by living, breathing, seeing, holding, touching, queering airs.With contributions from María Puig de la Bellacasa and Timothy K. Choy.Trade ReviewThe airs of Aeropolis are full of political agonism and liberatory potential, and this book serves as a guide to navigating the world of the potently-affective and semi-visible. -- Jaffer Kolb * BOMB Magazine *

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Book SynopsisLiving on a damaged planet challenges who we are and where we live. This timely anthology calls on twenty eminent humanists and scientists to revitalize curiosity, observation, and transdisciplinary conversation about life on earth.As human-induced environmental change threatens multispecies livability, Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet puts forward a bold proposal: entangled histories, situated narratives, and thick descriptions offer urgent “arts of living.” Included are essays by scholars in anthropology, ecology, science studies, art, literature, and bioinformatics who posit critical and creative tools for collaborative survival in a more-than-human Anthropocene. The essays are organized around two key figures that also serve as the publication’s two openings: Ghosts, or landscapes haunted by the violences of modernity; and Monsters, or interspecies and intraspecies sociality. Ghosts and Monsters are tentacular, windy, and arboreal arts that invite readers to encounter ants, lichen, rocks, electrons, flying foxes, salmon, chestnut trees, mud volcanoes, border zones, graves, radioactive waste—in short, the wonders and terrors of an unintended epoch.Contributors: Karen Barad, U of California, Santa Cruz; Kate Brown, U of Maryland, Baltimore; Carla Freccero, U of California, Santa Cruz; Peter Funch, Aarhus U; Scott F. Gilbert, Swarthmore College; Deborah M. Gordon, Stanford U; Donna J. Haraway, U of California, Santa Cruz; Andreas Hejnol, U of Bergen, Norway; Ursula K. Le Guin; Marianne Elisabeth Lien, U of Oslo; Andrew Mathews, U of California, Santa Cruz; Margaret McFall-Ngai, U of Hawaii, Manoa; Ingrid M. Parker, U of California, Santa Cruz; Mary Louise Pratt, NYU; Anne Pringle, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Deborah Bird Rose, U of New South Wales, Sydney; Dorion Sagan; Lesley Stern, U of California, San Diego; Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus U.Trade Review"Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet exposes us to the active remnants of gigantic past human errors—the ghosts—that affect the daily lives of millions of people and their co-occurring other-than-human life forms. Challenging us to look at life in new and excitingly different ways, each part of this two-sided volume is informative, fascinating, and a source of stimulation to new thoughts and activisms. I have no doubt I will return to it many times."—Michael G. Hadfield, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa"Facing the perfect storm strangely named the Anthropocene, this book calls its readers to acknowledge and give praise to the many entangled arts of living which made this planet liveable and which are now unravelling. Grandiose guilt will not do, we need to learn noticing what we were blind to, a humble but difficult art. The unique welding of scholarship and affect achieved by the texts here assembled tells us that learning this art also means allowing oneself to be touched and induced to think and imagine by what touches us."—Isabelle Stengers, author of Cosmopolitics I and Cosmopolitics II"What an inventive, fascinating book about landscapes in the anthropocene! Between these book covers, rightside-up, upside-down, a concatenation of social science and natural science, artwork and natural science, ghosts of departed species and traces of our own human shrines to memory... Not a horror-filled glimpse at destruction but also not a hymn to romantic wilderness. Here, guided by a remarkable and remarkably diverse set of guides, we enter into our planetary environments as they stand, sometimes battered, sometimes resilient, always riveting in their human—and non-human—richness. Arts of Living On a Damaged Planet is truly a book for our time."—Peter Galison, Harvard University"Calling a book ‘mandatory reading’ usually feels hyperbolic, but it's justified in the case of Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet. A stunning collection of essays from scientists, writers and artists on humankind's impact on the planet, and how we all can survive it."—Shelf Awareness"This vibrant, moving, and philosophical two-sided essay collection reminds us of all the ways that human beings and the natural world are interconnected. Deborah Bird Rose’s piece on the “shimmer of life” alone makes the book worth reading."—Chicago Review of Books"There’s a poetry in facts. And as this book reveals, there is an increasing amount of courage and acceptance to be found in understanding even the most destructive changes in plant and wildlife that the overheated Anthropocene will bring us."—Santa Fe New Mexican"Well worth reading: a frank, luminous set of dispatches from future worlds and fractured pasts."—Full Stop"Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet is a strikingly aesthetic object, carefully curated at the level of form as well as content. It makes a convincing case for the relevance of ‘hard science’ to art and politics."—Glasgow Review of Books"The Anthropocene is characterised by extreme and irreversible changes to the environment, resulting in an exponential scarcity of living beings and threats to most life systems on earth. In response to this precarity, the editors and contributors to Arts suggest that we must collectively observe and study the world around us to attune our co-existence more authentically to these ecologies, through increased knowledge about both the impacts of past actions and our embeddedness in multispecies webs."—Environmental Values"By focusing on entanglement and haunting in this double-sided book, the contributors in Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet demand a reconceptualisation of what it means to be active participants in the Anthropocene. They also want us to recognise that our standing is not at all separate from nature, time, or matter."—Gothic Nature Journal"The editors of Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet set out to illustrate through storytelling the ambivalent entanglements of ghosts and monsters in the Anthropocene as a practical means toward broadening our knowledge-creation of the challenges of a world in the making. If the scientific community takes to heart their offering (and the offerings of those who came before them), the scientific paradigm-shift (that started with feminist science studies, the civil rights movement, and environmentalism) from objectivity to subjectivity might just take hold as a dominant epistemology."—Hypatia Reviews"Arts of Living is a provocative dispatch from the edges of humanity’s new condition."—Sedimenta Table of ContentsContentsGhosts on a Damaged PlanetIntroduction: Haunted Landscapes of the AnthropoceneElaine Gan, Nils Bubandt, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, and Heather Anne Swanson1. A Garden or a Grave?: The Canyonic Landscape of the Tijuana-San Diego RegionLesley SternIn the Midst of Damage2. Marie Curie's Fingerprint: Nuclear Spelunking in the Chernobyl ZoneKate Brown3. Shimmer: When All You Love Is Being TrashedDeborah Bird RoseFootprints of the Dead4. Future Megafaunas: A Historical Perspective on the Scope for a Wilder AnthropoceneJens-Christian Svenning5. Ladders, Trees, Complexity, and Other Metaphors in Evolutionary ThinkingAndreas Hejnol6. No Small Matter: Mushroom Clouds, Ecologies of Nothingness, and Strange Topologies of SpacetimematteringKaren Barad7. Haunted Geologies: Spirits, Stones, and the Necropolitics of the AnthropoceneNils BubandtWhat Remains8. Ghostly Forms and Forest HistoriesAndrew S. Mathews9. Establishing New Worlds: The Lichens of PetershamAnne PringleCoda: Concept and ChronotopeMary Louise PrattContributorsIndexContentsMonsters and the Arts of LivingAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Bodies Tumbled into BodiesHeather Anne Swanson, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Nils Bubandt, and Elaine Gan1. Deep in AdmirationUrsula K. Le Guin Inhabiting Multispecies Bodies2. Symbiogenesis, Sympoiesis, and Art Science Activisms for Staying with the TroubleDonna Haraway 3. Noticing Microbial Worlds: The Post Modern Synthesis in BiologyMargaret McFall-NgaiBeyond Individuals4. Holobiont by Birth: Multilineage Individuals as the Concretion of Cooperative ProcessesScott F. Gilbert5. Wolf, or Homo Homini LupusCarla Freccero6. Unruly Appetites: Salmon Domestication “All the Way Down”Marianne Elisabeth Lien7. Without Planning: The Evolution of Collective Behavior in Ant ColoniesDeborah M. GordonAt the Edge of Extinction8. Synchronies at Risk: The Intertwined Lives of Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knot BirdsPeter Funch9. Remembering in Our Amnesia, Seeing in Our BlindnessIngrid M. ParkerCoda. Beautiful Monsters: Terra in the Cyanocene Dorion SaganContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisTechnology has fractured democracy, and now there’s no going back. All around the world, the fringes have stormed the palace of the elites and unleashed data miners, dark ads and bots on an unwitting public. After years of soundbites about connecting people, the social media giants are only just beginning to admit to the scale of the problem. We stand on the precipice of an era where switching your mobile platform will have more impact on your life than switching your government. Where freedom and privacy are seen as incompatible with social well-being and transparency. Where your attention is sold to the highest bidder. Our laws don’t cover what is happening and our politicians don’t understand it. But if we don’t fight to change the system now, we may not get another chance.Trade Review‘Excellent.’ * New Statesman *‘Democracy Hacked gets beyond the headlines – a compelling, informed and highly readable account of how democracy is being disrupted by the tech revolution, and what can be done to get us back on track. One of the best expositions I’ve read yet of what is the biggest political challenge of our generation.’ -- Jamie Bartlett, author of The People Vs Tech and The Dark Net‘Enormously wide-ranging and deeply researched, this is the definitive account of how digital technology has changed the entire political landscape, with profound consequences for democracy. From Brexit to Trump, and from Estonia to the Philippines, Martin Moore uncovers the real stories behind the fake ones. You’ll discover that the truth is often stranger than fiction and that the future is more open than you think.’ -- David Runciman, author of How Democracy Ends‘The world is belatedly waking up to some frightening realities about the intersection of digital technologies and the health of democracies. Martin Moore’s book is a sharp wake-up call – ambitious in its sweep and urgent in its important message.’ -- Alan Rusbridger, author of Breaking News‘Eye-opening… An important, timely, and clearly written look at a crucial subject.’ * Booklist *‘Moore demonstrates how data has affected elections across the world, in the Philippines, Turkey, India, Iran, Britain and beyond... Engrossing, instructive, and urgently necessary.’ * Kirkus *

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Book SynopsisIn our brave new world of Big Tech, work is automated and money melts into air. What comes next as the global capitalist edifice crumbles? Slavoj Žižek shows how the answer is already stealing into sight, like a thief in broad daylight. What we must do is wake up and see it. ''In a world determined to crush hope of radical change, where moral corruption poses as pragmatism and systemic oppression as the new freedom, Slavoj Žižek''s excellent new book serves humanity in a way that only authentic philosophy can'' Yanis Varoufakis''The Elvis of cultural theory'' New Statesman''Master of the counterintuitive observation'' New YorkerTrade ReviewŽižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative * Guardian *Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation * New Yorker *In a world determined to crush hope of radical change, where moral corruption poses as pragmatism and systemic oppression as the new freedom, Slavoj Zizek's excellent new book serves humanity in a way that only authentic philosophy can -- Yanis Varoufakis

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOK OF THE YEARThe award-winning Financial Times columnist exposes the threat that Big Tech poses to our democracies, our economies and ourselves''Powerful'' Sunday Times Google and Facebook receive 90% of the world''s news advertising spend. Amazon takes half of all e-commerce in the US. Google and Apple operating systems run on all but 1% of cell phones globally. And 80% of corporate wealth is now held by 10% of companies - the digital titans. How did these once-idealistic and innovative companies come to manipulate elections, violate our privacy and pose a threat to the fabric of our democracy? Through her skilled reporting and unparalleled access, Rana Foroohar reveals the true extent to which the ''FAANG''s (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) crush or absorb competitors, hijack our personal data and mental space and offshore their exorbitant profits. What''s more, sTrade ReviewA masterful critique of the tech giants that now dominate our world . . . The great thing about her book is that it breaks the mesmerising spell that the tech giants seem to have cast upon governments, mass media and users everywhere -- John Naughton * Observer, 'Book of the Week' *Frightening . . . a readable and well-marshalled indictment of the sins of these new corporate empires. -- James Marriott * The Times *Powerful -- Best Business Books of the Year * Sunday Times *An insightful and powerfully argued investigation into the murky world of 'Big Tech' and its impact on our lives. * Daily Mail *Rana Foroohar is a savvy and wise commentator and a keen observer of the global economy. This book goes beyond the economic problems and examines the broader implications for society of the untrammeled and under regulated Silicon Valley companies. She demonstrates that while the creed 'don't be evil' may have initially inspired the Silicon Valley giants, its principle has long been left behind -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in EconomicsWe are most fortunate to have Foroohar's laser vision and trenchant business analysis turned on the tech giants and the gluttonous anti-democratic surveillance capitalism that is their most far-reaching innovation. A crucial contribution to the growing debate. -- Shoshana Zuboff, author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism and Professor Emerita, Harvard Business SchoolRana Foroohar's urgent message: 'Yes, we really are living in the Matrix,' and it's time to rise up and resist our algorithmic overlords. This book shows us how. -- Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction and CEO of ORCAA

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Book SynopsisCybernetics is often thought of as a grim military or industrial science of control. This title follows the history of cybernetics' impact on the world, from contemporary robotics and complexity theory to the Chilean economy under Salvador Allende.Trade Review"By focusing on the developments in Britain, Andrew Pickering's The Cybernetic Brain opens wide new vistas for exploring cybernetic practice and its legacy.... As a protean science with connections to psychiatry, theater, music, politics, and counterculture, it was a lot more glamorous and fun than previous accounts of the field would have us believe." (Science)"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In this moment when generative AI is being declared the successor to human creativity, Wilf offers us a vital counternarrative. His nuanced ethnographic investigations challenge myths of autonomy in either creative practitioners or computational machines while insisting on the cultural/historical embeddedness and situated practices of meaning-making. This book should become an obligatory reference for anyone speaking about computational creativity.” * Lucy Suchman, author of Human-Machine Reconfigurations *“The Inspiration Machine powerfully unsettles both commonplace imaginaries and banal critiques of how digital technology shapes and reshapes contemporary art-making. Along the way it clearly establishes Wilf as anthropology’s leading theorist of modernity’s vexed relationship to creative practice.” * Steven Feld, VoxLox Media Arts *“The Inspiration Machine is itself a model and an inspiration, a highly original and ethnographically rich exploration of digital art-making. Drawing upon three revelatory case studies—and on a broad and subtle engagement with contemporary theory—Wilf illuminates the complex mutual entanglement of machinic creativity with human practices, aesthetics, and sociality. This is a singular study of emergent relationalities in unexpected places and practices and wonderful to think with.” * Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Toward an Anthropology of Computational Creativity PART I Jazz: Mimicry, Originality, Sociality 1 “I Prefer Playing with It to Playing with Most People”: The Computer as a Musical Conversation Partner 2 An Island of Interactivity in an Ocean of Nonreactivity: The Trade-Offs of a Made-to-Order Artificial Musical World 3 “A Device That Would Generate New Musical Ideas”: The Computer as a Source of Musical Inspiration 4 Separating Noise from Signal: The Ethnomethodological Uncanny as Aesthetic Pleasure in Human-Machine Interaction PART II Poetry: Indeterminacy, Potentiality, Intentionality 5 Computer-Generated Poetry and Some of Its Aesthetic and Technical Dimensions 6 “I Randomize, Therefore I Think”: Computational Indeterminacy and the Tensions of American Liberal Subjectivity 7 Analog Precursors and Their Digital Logical End: The Oulipo 8 Crosscurrents and Opposing Perspectives Conclusion: Neither Our Doom nor Our Salvation: Open-Ended Digital Systems and Cultural Critique Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisWho benefits from smart technology? Whose interests are served when we trade our personal data for convenience and connectivity?Smart technology is everywhere: smart umbrellas that light up when rain is in the forecast; smart cars that relieve drivers of the drudgery of driving; smart toothbrushes that send your dental hygiene details to the cloud. Nothing is safe from smartification. In Too Smart, Jathan Sadowski looks at the proliferation of smart stuff in our lives and asks whether the tradeoff—exchanging our personal data for convenience and connectivity—is worth it. Who benefits from smart technology?Sadowski explains how data, once the purview of researchers and policy wonks, has become a form of capital. Smart technology, he argues, is driven by the dual imperatives of digital capitalism: extracting data from, and expanding control over, everything and everybody. He looks at three domains colonized by smart technologies' collection and control

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Book SynopsisFrom the former president of MIT, the story of the next technology revolution, and how it will change our lives.Trade Review"... entertaining and prescient..." -- Science"Your amazing guide to the future of biology is the former president of the Aladdin's cave that is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology." -- Summer Reading 2019 - New Scientist

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Book Synopsis"Original essay 'The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge' copyright A1939 by Harper's Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduced from the October issue by special permission"--Title page verso.Trade Review"[Flexner's] 1939 essay ... advocates for unfettered inquiry that, paradoxically and unexpectedly, has often resulted in extraordinary utility... Dijkgraaf ... weaves Flexner's personal story together with compelling new examples that support Flexner's thesis... [He] beautifully expounds on Flexner's view of the lengthy and often unpredictable research path."--Craig Tovey, Science "[R]eaders will discover a timeless essay by Abraham Flexner written in 1939 on the Usefulness of Useless Knowledge and a companion essay ... by [Robbert Dijkgraaf] which shows that Flexner's vision is perhaps more relevant today... During recent decades, scholarship and funding for STEM education have reached a critical stage that was foreseen by Flexner. [Dijkgraaf] states that scientists and scholars have a role to play in educating the public on the value of useless knowledge."--Jean Worsley, NSTA Recommends "Flexner's essay needs to be reread, not just by government officials and business leaders but by scientists and voters as well."--Gillian Tett, Financial Times "There is a timeless relevance about Flexner's words in this essay written 78 years ago."--Wan Lixin, Shanghai Daily "A small and hugely powerful book."--Karen Shook, Times Higher Education "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge is a book that should be in the library of all those who undertake any manner of inquiry, be it scientific or humanistic, amateur or professional. Furthermore, it should not be read only once but turned to again and again for inspiration, for motivation, and indeed, even for comfort. For in a world so relentlessly focused on tangible achievement and commercialization, the reminder that there were, and continue to be, those in who knew and still understand the importance of unbridled curiosity to the health of the human mind and spirit is of inestimable importance."--John E. Riutta, Well-Read Naturalist "[L]ively, powerful, and surprisingly timely."--Donald L. Drakeman, Public DiscourseTable of ContentsThe World of Tomorrow - Robbert Dijkgraaf 1 The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge - Abraham Flexner 49 About the Authors 89 Further Reading 91

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Book SynopsisYour life online is their product.In the past, colonialism was a landgrab of natural resources, exploitative labour and private property from countries around the world. It promised to modernise and civilise, but actually sought to control. It stole from native populations and made them sign contracts they didn't understand. It took resources just because they were there.Colonialism has not disappeared it has taken on a new form.In the new world order, data is the new oil. Big Tech companies are grabbing our most basic natural resources our data exploiting our labour and connections, and repackaging our information to control our views, track our movements, record our conversations and discriminate against us. Every time we unthinkingly click Accept' on Terms and Conditions, we allow our most personal information to kept indefinitely, repackaged by big Tech companies to control and exploit us for their own profit.In this searinTrade ReviewI wish that Data Grab was required reading when I was a graduate student working in the field of AI. Perspectives like these are crucial if we are to break the colonial paradigm that pervades computing disciplines -- Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research InstituteA blistering, vital exposure of the predatory world of data colonialism. In this vivid and passionately written book, Mejias and Couldry urge us to wake up to the invasive and extractive world of today’s Big Tech -- Mike Savage, author of 'Social Class in the 21st Century'Remarkable... Data Grab helps us understand that the historical and ongoing relations of power have extended to the realm of data, a new raw material of digital capitalism. Mejias and Couldry place us on a path to recognise, resist, and challenge these forces -- Dr Ramesh Srinivasan, Professor at the UCLA Department of Information Studies and Director of UC Digital Cultures LabAs in their previous work, Mejias and Couldry show how important it is to take the perspective of the colonized, not the colonizer, in explaining how the digital world is governed. Data Grab offers important insights into how we should analyse power and counter-power in terms of data control. I particularly recommend this book for providing examples of local and vocal initiatives across various continents. A true eye-opener -- José van Dijck, Distinguished Professor of Media and Digital Society, Utrecht UniversityIn this essential and original work, Mejias and Couldry lay out a powerful and persuasive analysis of the logical continuity between modern colonialism and the extraction of data by Big Tech and its platforms. Their call to resist data colonialism could not be more urgent or more timely -- Jeremy Gilbert, author of 'Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World' and 'Twenty-First Century Socialism'

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Book SynopsisIn the dying days of the USSR, battlelines have shifted from spycraft to the cut-throat capitalism and it’s intellectual property, not state secrets, that are to be bought, sold, stolen and fought overTrade Review'The definitive telling of one of the most fascinating stories in videogame history.' -- Wired‘A great read on a game that has hypnotized my brain and probably yours too.’ -- Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple'From its launch in 1984 [Tetris] created a generation of gamers drawn by its irresistible block-stacking brilliance...The story of its conception is just as addictive; think courtroom dramas and global intrigue, all relayed in Ackerman's bewitching prose'. * Monocle *'Fascinating' * Sunday Herald *‘How [Tetris] came to the West is a remarkably complicated cloak-and-dagger story…The Tetris Effect is full of fascinating facts.’ * Spectator *‘The Tetris Effect is a page-turning, block-stacking, globe-trotting thriller/history book, covering the epic creation saga of one of the greatest video games ever made or played.’ -- Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One‘The Tetris Effect explains how one guy in Russia with one little game ended up creating a global business and cultural phenomenon... Ackerman tells the story of the first and quintessential start-up.’ -- Douglas Rushkoff‘Tetris broke social, cultural and technological boundaries in a way that nobody, including the meek Russian researcher who designed the game, could have predicted. Ackerman pieces the story together with flair and diligence in a brilliant account of the video game that everybody from the Soviet government to Japanese moguls wanted for their own.’ -- Simon Parkin, author of Death by Video Game and contributing writer, New Yorker.com‘The author provides a meticulous accounting of the rise of “Tetris”…For those fascinated with the way video games are created and intrigued by the history of early computers, the book will provide great entertainment, just like the game…An all-inclusive history behind one of the most popular video games ever.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Ackerman doles out intrigue worthy of Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy. It’s a behind-the-Iron Curtain nail-biter.’ * LA Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisIn the era of far-reaching technological innovation, from artificial intelligence to Big Data, it is possible that there will be conscious machines in our lifetime. This book establishes a foundation for the philosophy of technology and investigates how the digital age might alter our most basic political practices and ideas.Trade Review'Human beings are unprepared for the consequences of artificial intelligence and big data analysis - consequences for human rights, democratic government, public spheres, distributive justice, individual dignity, pursuit of meaningful human lives, and the moral status of potentially self-guided artificial intelligence itself. Drawing on a range of political theories and welcome common sense, Mathias Risse briskly frames the agenda to prepare for a world of 'deepfakes,' surveillance capitalism, and machines that alter human lives while operating without human supervision. Especially helpful in challenging assumptions such as that those who gather our data also own it, this book points the way toward preserving both individual and social lives of meaning and deliberate choices.' Martha Minow, Harvard Law School'In this outstanding book, Harvard's Mathias Risse explores hitherto uncharted terrain of political theory. The liberal-egalitarian tradition, with Rawls as its central figure, has by and large ignored the political nature of technology, thus condemning itself to irrelevance with regard to one of the most pressing political questions of our time: How will digital technology affect human life in the decades to come? [Without appropriate political steps, it is imaginable that humanity will not survive the further development of artificial intelligence. So we, ordinary citizens of the world, had better pay close attention.] Starting from the Rawlsian idea of public reason, Risse's explorative study draws on intellectual traditions ranging from Marxism to science and technology studies in order to toughen up liberal-egalitarian philosophy for the challenge. I hope this well-written book will find a broad readership and inspire much- needed work on this topic of topics.' Michael Schefczyk, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology'Risse could not be more right that we need to do political theory for a digital age, to come to grips with the political dimensions of our social lives as the very notion of social life is transformed by advances in AI in both the near and far terms. Weaving together insights from the philosophy of technology, rights theory, science and technology studies, and traditional political theory and political philosophy, Risse reveals both the depth of challenges we face across a spectrum of issues in the immediate and distant future, and the promise of a reconfigured political theory for resolving them. The breadth and care that Risse takes with both the technological possibilities and the philosophical and political foundations is remarkable. This is a must-read!' John Basl, Northeastern UniversityTable of Contents1. Introduction: digital lifeworlds in human history; 2. Learning from the Amish: political philosophy as philosophy of technology in the digital century; 3. Artificial intelligence and the past, present, and future of democracy; 4. Truth will not set you free: is there a right to it anyway? Elaborating on the work public reason does in life 2.0; 5. Knowing and being known: investigating epistemic entitlements in digital lifeworlds; 6. Beyond porn and discreditation: epistemic promises and perils of deepfake technology; 7. The fourth generation of human rights: epistemic rights in life 2.0 and life 3.0; 8. On surveillance capitalism, instrumentarian power, and social physics: securing the enlightenment for digital lifeworlds; 9. Data as social facts: distributive justice meets big data; 10. God, Golem, and gadget worshippers: meaning of life in the digital age; 11. Moral status and political membership: toward a political theory for life 3.0; Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisScience and politics have collaborated throughout human history, and science is repeatedly invoked today in political debates, from pandemic management to climate change. But the relationship between the two is muddled and muddied. Leading policy analyst Geoff Mulgan here calls attention to the growing frictions caused by the expanding authority of science, which sometimes helps politics but often challenges it. He dissects the complex history of states’ use of science for conquest, glory and economic growth and shows the challenges of governing risk – from nuclear weapons to genetic modification, artificial intelligence to synthetic biology. He shows why the governance of science has become one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century, ever more prominent in daily politics and policy. Whereas science is ordered around what we know and what is, politics engages what we feel and what matters. How can we reconcile the two, so that crucial decisions are both well informed and legitimate? The book proposes new ways to organize democracy and government, both within nations and at a global scale, to better shape science and technology so that we can reap more of the benefits and fewer of the harms.Trade Review“In this groundbreaking book, Geoff Mulgan masterfully dissects the complex dance between science, technology, and power, exposing perilous gaps in oversight. With practical idealism, Mulgan lights a path toward aligning humanity’s scientific powers with our common hopes through politicizing science and scientizing politics. Essential reading for all who care about steering technology for the greater good, When Science Meets Power brims with radical insights to fuse the strengths of science and democracy.”Azeem Azhar, author of The Exponential Age“With his acute practitioner’s lens, Geoff Mulgan has written a timely, provocative yet constructive exploration of the nexus between modern science and the institutions of power and democracy. He highlights the need for a new mindset and new institutions if science is to effectively impact on local and global challenges. An important read for all those interested in how the relationships between politicians, bureaucracies and science need to evolve.”Sir Peter Gluckman, President of the International Science Council, and former President of the International Network of Government Science Advice“A great contribution to the science policy debate! Science Meets Power describes many of my daily experiences, offering stories and examples to back its rigorous and surprising analyses. Mulgan makes a plea for an intelligence about intelligence, proposing ‘knowledge commons’ in which the logic of the scientist, the logic of the politician and the logic of the bureaucrat can interact in constructive ways. A must read for anyone involved in policy-making for science or in science for policy-making. And a good read too…”Caroline Nevejan, Chief Science Officer, City of Amsterdam“I have always said that technology alone can’t solve our political problems. Geoff Mulgan shows us how we got to a point where science and politics seem increasingly at odds – and how we can come to a healthier understanding of the role of science to inform policy.”Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Chair of GoogleTable of ContentsIntroduction: The science–politics paradox PART I. How Science Meets PowerChapter 1: Uneasy interdependenceChapter 2: What is science and how does it connect to power? PART II. How States Have Used ScienceChapter 3: The ages of techne and epistemeChapter 4: Science bites backChapter 5: The scientist’s view of politics as corruptor PART III. The Problem of Truths and LogicsChapter 6: Master, servant and multiple truthsChapter 7: Clashing logics PART IV. The Problem of Institutions: Solving the Science–Politics ParadoxChapter 8: Split sovereignty, or the role of knowledge in corroding the supremacy of politicsChapter 9: Democracy meets scienceChapter 10: The flawed reasoning of democracy and its remedies PART V. The Problem of Scales: Borderless Science in a World of BordersChapter 11: The clash between global and national interestChapter 12: Governing global science and technology PART VI. The Problems of Meaning: Synthesis, Wisdom and JudgementChapter 13: Science, synthesis and metacognitionChapter 14: The dialectics of what is and what matters

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Book SynopsisThe past decade has seen the relentless rise of cryptocurrency as an alternative form of digital currency. But what precisely is it and what potential does it have to change the world of money?In this brilliantly clear, one-stop guide WIRED Senior Editor Gian Vopicelli explains everything you need to know about cryptocurrency. He outlines its development and describes precisely how it operates. He demystifies the jargon it has spawned, from blockchain, Bitcoin and stablecoins to mining, smart contracts and forking. He looks at the political and economic ideologies that drive it. And he addresses the central question: will cryptocurrency have the transformative economic and social impact that its champions claim for it?

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Book SynopsisWhy, with absolutely no idea what Brexit actually meant, did the UK vote for Brexit?Why, rather than vote for the best-qualified candidate ever to stand as US President, did voters opt for a reality TV star with no political experience?In both cases, the winning side promised change and offered hope. They told a story voters longed to hear. And in the absence of greater, more unifying narratives, then true or not, voters plumped for the best story available.Once upon a time our society was rich in stories. They brought us together and helped us to understand the world and ourselves. We called them myths. Today, we have a myth gap – a vacuum that Alex Evans argues powerfully and persuasively is both dangerous and an opportunity. In this time of global crisis and transition– mass migration, inequality, resource scarcity, and climate change - It is stories, rather than facts and pie-charts,that will animate us and bring us together. It is by finding new myths, those that speak to us of renewal and restoration, that we will navigate our way to a better future. Drawing on his first-hand experience as a political adviser within British government and at the United Nations, and examining the history of climate change campaigning and recent contests such as Brexit and the US presidential election, Alex Evans explores: *how tomorrow’s activists are using narratives for change, * how modern stories have been used and abused, * where we might find the right myths that will take us forwardTrade ReviewVery short, very sharp -- Bruce Clark * Economist *Pertinent… Evans is an attractive and persuasive writer … his book will strike many chords’ -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *An important book about the need to bring inspiring narratives back to the heart of progressive politics ... This has traction because it has truth, literally as well as metaphorically. * New Scientist *A really fascinating contribution to answering the question: how do we find new myths to live by. -- Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of CanterburyEveryone should read this. * Tim Smit *

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Book SynopsisIf climate action remains marginal at this late hour, it will fail. In dismay at the inaction of governments, citizen groups are showing how people can use their real power and authentic voice to drive change. In the workplace, in politics and in local communities, people are stepping forward both to demand transformation and to make it happen.Table of ContentsIf climate action remains marginal at this late hour, it will fail. The rapid, system-level change that we need to escape catastrophe will take unprecedented public mobilization. A 'silent majority' of citizens is now concerned about human-made climate change - and as ever more people wake up to the crisis and ask 'What can I do?', the climate movement must answer them without insisting on conformity. In dismay at the inaction of governments on climate, emerging citizen groups are showing how people can use their real power and authentic voice to drive change. In the workplace, in politics and in local communities, people are stepping forward both to demand transformation and to make it happen. At the same time, they're regenerating community and directing the wasted energy of us-and-them polarization back towards solidarity and resilience. This wave will grow if concerned individuals recognize that they're part of a climate majority: a formidable collective force for change. All proceeds from the sale of this book will support work by the Climate Majority Project to catalyse urgent citizen climate action.

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Book Synopsis Personalized and adaptive systems employ user models to adapt content, services, interaction or navigation to individual users’ needs. User models can be inferred from implicitly observed information, such as the user’s interaction history or current location, or from explicitly entered information, such as user profile data or ratings. Applications of personalization include item recommendation, location-based services, learning assistance and the tailored selection of interaction modalities. With the transition from desktop computers to mobile devices and ubiquitous environments, the need for adapting to changing contexts is even more important. However, this also poses new challenges concerning privacy issues, user control, transparency, and explainability. In addition, user experience and other human factors are becoming increasingly important. This book describes foundations of user modeling, discusses user interaction as a basis for adaptivity, and showcases several personalization approaches in a variety of domains, including music recommendation, tourism, and accessible user interfaces.

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Book SynopsisThoughts are free - but they are no longer secret. Today, our data is automatically stored and analyzed by algorithms ”behind the cloud” - where we no longer have control over our data. Our most private and secret information is entrusted to the internet and permanently collected, stacked and linked to our digital twins. With and without our consent. "Privacy is dead", as Mark Zuckerberg put it. The question is: How did we get there? And, if the actors behind the cloud know everything: what is still private today, and are there any personal secrets at all when the "gods" behind the cloud possibly know us better than our friends and family?The book uses a wealth of case studies (e.g. cryptocurrencies, journalism, digital traces of sexual preferences) to develop a typology of privacy in the history of ideas. Furthermore, it shows the areas of life in which big data and artificial intelligence have already made inroads. This book is a translation of the original German 2nd edition Die Rückseite der Cloud by Peter Seele and Lucas Zapf, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The reverse side of the cloud.- Part 1: The secret private - introduction and derivation.- "Privacy is dead": How could it come to this?- Part 2: Symptoms of the structural change of the private.- Symptoms of an immanent digital omniscience.- Part 3: Theory of the structural change of the private.- Functional systematics of the structural change of the private.- Summary of the theory or: Thoughts are free - but no longer secret.- Conclusions.- Outlook: Digital authenticity - an immersive consumer experience.

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Book SynopsisOUT NOW: the new book from the bestselling authors and hosts of the wildy popular ''The Skeptics Guide to the Universe''__________Our predictions of the future are a wild fantasy, inextricably linked to our present hopes and fears, biases and ignorance. Whether they be the outlandish leaps predicted in the 1920s, like multi-purpose utility belts with climate control capabilities and planes the size of luxury cruise ships, or the forecasts of the ''60s, which didn''t anticipate the sexual revolution or women''s liberation, the path to the present is littered with failed predictions and incorrect estimations.The best we can do is try to absorb from futurism''s checkered past, perhaps learning to do a little better.In The Skeptics'' Guide To The Future, Steven Novella and his co-authors build upon the work of futurists of the past by examining what they got right, what they got wrong, and how they came to those conclusi

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Book SynopsisThe scientist who has been dubbed the “Father of Intelligent Design” and author of the groundbreaking book Darwin’s Black Box contends that recent scientific discoveries further disprove Darwinism and strengthen the case for an intelligent creator. In his controversial bestseller Darwin’s Black Box, biochemist Michael Behe challenged Darwin’s theory of evolution, arguing that science itself has proven that intelligent design is a better explanation for the origin of life. In Darwin Devolves, Behe advances his argument, presenting new research that offers a startling reconsideration of how Darwin’s mechanism works, weakening the theory’s validity even more. A system of natural selection acting on random mutation, evolution can help make something look and act differently. But evolution never creates something organically. Behe contends that Darwinism actually works by a process of devolution—d

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Book SynopsisA riveting, insider's look at the creation and evolution of the like button, and what it reveals about business, technology, and innovationand us. Over seven billion times a day, someone taps a like button. How could something that came out of nowhere become so ubiquitous and so familiarand even so addictive? What problem does it solve for people, and why does a like feel so good? And by the way, who invented the like button in the first place?In Like, bestselling author and renowned strategist Martin Reeves and coauthor Bob GoodsonSilicon Valley veteran and participant in the invention of the like buttontake readers along on a fascinating quest to find out what's behind the world's friendliest icon. It's a story that starts out as simply as a thumbs-up cartoon but ends up presenting surprises and new mysteries at every turn, some of them as deep as anthropological history and others as speculative as the AI-charged future. But this isn't just the story of the like button. It's so much more. Using the origin story and evolution of the like button as a jumping-off point, the authors take readers on a fun and fascinating journey through the world of business, offering smart and surprising insights into technology, innovation, creativity, invention, and even us. For such a small and unassuming invention to take on such scale and power, it must be tapping into something very, very big.

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Book SynopsisA powerful and urgent call to action: to improve our lives and our societies, we must demand open access to data for all. Information is power, and the time is now for digital liberation. Access Rules mounts a strong and hopeful argument for how informational tools at present in the hands of a few could instead become empowering machines for everyone. By forcing data-hoarding companies to open access to their data, we can reinvigorate both our economy and our society. Authors Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Thomas Ramge contend that if we disrupt monopoly power and create a level playing field, digital innovations can emerge to benefit us all. Over the past twenty years, Big Tech has managed to centralize the most relevant data on their servers, as data has become the most important raw material for innovation. However, dominant oligopolists like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, in contrast with their reputation as digital pioneers, are actually slowing down innovation and progress by withholding data for the benefit of their shareholdersat the expense of customers, the economy, and society. As Access Rules compellingly argues, ultimately it is up to us to force information giants, wherever they are located, to open their treasure troves of data to others. In order for us to limit global warming, contain a virus like COVID-19, or successfully fight poverty, everyoneincluding citizens and scientists, start-ups and established companies, as well as the public sector and NGOsmust have access to data. When everyone has access to the informational riches of the data age, the nature of digital power will change. Information technology will find its way back to its original purpose: empowering all of us to use information so we can thrive as individuals and as societies.Trade Review"This book. . . .offered insights, regardless of the reader’s familiarity levels with technology policy. Access Rules offers concrete solutions and poses critical open-ended questions. We live in an increasingly digital age, and this book is truly a must-read for all policy students and policymakers." * Georgetown Public Policy Review *Table of ContentsContents 1. The Power of Information 2. Data Alchemy 3. Schumpeter’s Nightmare 4. Data Capitalism 5. Might and Machines 6. Access Rules 7. Open Data Reloaded 8. The End of Data Colonialism Acknowledgments Further Readings and References Index

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Book SynopsisNeuroscience, in replacing the old model of the brain as a single centralized source of control, has emphasized 'plasticity,' the quality by which our brains develop and change throughout the course of our lives. This book develops a radical meaning for plasticity.Trade Review"The mind is a mirror; a projector; a computer; an economy; it is a self-creating ecology, a wheat field blown by a correspondent breeze. While Catherine Malabou can appreciate the power of a fast-branching metaphor, she begins with the observation that we, the ones who possess the minds that make the metaphors, are mostly disconnected from cognitive systems. Malabou, instead of offering yet another application of research on the brain to yet another sub-discipline, offers a perspective on the field. Instead of rigid determinism, she looks at plasticity, the ability of brains to adapt, to sculpt forms, to embody history, but also to undo past formations, at times explosively. Instead of finding reasons to go on mindlessly accumulating, connecting, and distributing, Malabou hints at what history might become if we are able, as a society, to step back from our necessary but flawed metaphors and become conscious of the brain." CHECK BEFORE CHANGING OR "The mind is a mirror; a projector; a computer; an economy; it is a self-creating ecology, a wheat field blown by a correspondent breeze. Catherine Malabou appreciates the power of a fast-branching metaphor, but she also knows that we are the ones who possess the minds that make the metaphors. Malabou, instead of offering yet another application of research on the brain to yet another sub-discipline, offers a perspective. Instead of rigid determinism, she looks at plasticity, the ability of brains to adapt, to sculpt forms, to embody history, but also to undo past formations, at times explosively. Instead of finding reasons to go on mindlessly accumulating, connecting, and distributing, Malabou hints at what history might become if we are able, as a society, to step back from our necessary but flawed metaphors and become conscious of the brain." -- -Joseph Tabbi author of Cognitive Fictions "As a rule, neuroscientists avoid two things like a vampire avoids garlic: any links to European metaphysics, political engagement and reflection upon the social conditions which gave rise to their science. Catherine Malabou does exactly this: she provides a Hegelian reading of neurosciences, based on the concept of plasticity, and she reflects upon the uncanny parallels between the model of human mind proposed by neuroscientists and the structure of today's capitalism. For this alone - not to mention a genuine and highly qualified contribution to neuroscience itself - the book is a phenomenal achievement." -- -Slavoj Zizek University of Ljubljana "Malabou dares to articulate powerfully an inchoate feeling that many share, but few have so far given sufficient expression: the sense that, despite all the exciting advances and insights into the functioning of the brain, the predominant narratives that are routinely spun, the stories that are being told about neuronal organization are remarkably lacking in spirit, creativity, or possibility." -Journal of Consciousness Studies

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Best Book of the Year 2017 One day in November 1994, Lawrence Levy received a phone call out of the blue from Steve Jobs, whom he’d never met, offering him a job running Pixar, a little-known company that had already lost Jobs $50 million. With Pixar’s prospects looking bleak, it was with some trepidation that Levy accepted the position. After a few weeks he discovered that the situation was even worse than he’d imagined. Pixar’s advertising division just about broke even, its graphics software had few customers, its short films didn’t make any money and, on top of all that, Jobs was pushing to take the company public. Everything was riding on the studio’s first feature film, codenamed Toy Story, and even then it would have to be one of the most successful animated features of all time… Full of wisdom on bringing business and creativity together, and recounting the touching story of Levy’s enduring friendship with Jobs, To Pixar and Beyond is a fascinating insider’s account of one of Hollywood’s greatest success stories.Trade Review‘A fascinating tale of creative and business brilliance, and of a remarkable friendship.’ * Sunday Times *‘A highly readable and gripping story.’ * Mail on Sunday *'A charming, upbeat tale...much like one of the studios own animated features.' * Financial Times *'A magnifying glass held to the small print that is needed to make magic.' * The Sunday Times *'Levy’s memoir of his time heading the most dazzling entertainment studio of our times, has all the twists and turns of one of Pixar’s own films.' -- Francine Stock * Prospect *'This book, like Pixar's story, is truly remarkable.' * E&T Magazine *‘[An] enchanting memoir…Mr Levy has quite a story to tell.’ * New York Times *‘Those interested in how start-ups work or how film studios make money will love the book.’ * MoneyWeek *‘I love this book! I think it is brilliant. Of course I am biased, but even so, I think people will love this story – one they didn’t even know existed. And Lawrence has told it beautifully.’ -- Ed Catmull, co-founder and president of Pixar Animation, president of Disney Animation, bestselling author of Creativity Inc.‘A lovely and surprising discourse on topics business books rarely touch…eye-opening and inspiring… This delightful book is about finance, creative genius, workplace harmony, and luck… Life obviously is about more than business, but few books discuss both so well.’ * Fortune *‘What a delightful book about the creation of Pixar from the inside. I learned more about Mr. Jobs, Pixar and business in Silicon Valley than I have in quite some time. And like a good Pixar film, it’ll put a smile on your face.’ * Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times *‘A finely sketched insider’s account of the hard-fought success of a pathbreaking company. Lawrence Levy goes surprisingly and refreshingly deep on the business details behind Pixar’s creative achievements. He also shows an intimate side of Steve Jobs that will delight the mercurial businessman’s many admirers.’ -- Adam Lashinsky, assistant managing editor of Fortune Magazine and author of Inside Apple‘To Pixar and Beyond is part business book and part thriller – a tale that’s every bit as compelling as the ones Pixar tells in its blockbuster movies. It's also incredibly inspirational, a story about a team that took big risks and reaped the rewards. This is a must-read book for anyone who cares about corporate culture and wants to learn how to build a business, as well as everyone who loves Woody, Buzz, and all of the other beloved Pixar characters. I loved this book and could not put it down.’ -- Dan Lyons, bestselling author of Disrupted‘The gripping story of how through hard work, vision, and a devotion to excellence, tiny Pixar transformed itself into a Hollywood powerhouse. But it also something more: a wonderful buddy story – between Levy and Steve Jobs – and how their friendship and partnership transformed them both.’ -- William D. Cohan, bestselling author of House of Cards and Money and Power

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Book SynopsisIn the dawning age of brilliant machines, what will people do better than computers?It's easy to imagine a frightening future in which technology takes over the jobs that we now get paid to do, working more accurately and for barely any cost. Computers can already perform surgery, drive vehicles, write articles and do intricate legal work, so what hope will there be for tomorrow's workforce?Drawing on a wealth of research, Geoff Colvin uncovers the skills that will be in great demand as technology advances - and how they can be developed. In this new machine age, we shouldn't try to beat computers at what they can do. We'll lose that contest. Instead we must look to unlikely places, learn from the best, and cultivate the human abilities that make us unique.Trade ReviewIn Humans are Underrated, Geoff Colvin makes the case that there is no point trying to beat machines at their own game. What makes people special is their inbuilt propensity for social interaction. We work well in groups — communicating, collaborating and, yes, empathising. Our best hope lies in what makes us most different from the logic-processors…in the softer side of human nature. * Financial Times *An intriguing book. Humans need humanness, so that's what will retain market value. Not that the argument's solely economic. It also helps explain, for example, why face-to-face interaction is so critical for wellbeing. Computers can (and probably will) take over or transform every human job, except one: that of being human. -- Oliver Burkeman * Guardian *As machines inexorably become ever more competent at doing machinelike things, interpersonal skills, irreplaceable skills of human interaction, will come to be recognized as being even more valuable than they've always been. This is an extremely important, highly practical, and indeed exhilarating book. -- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPPBeautifully written and deeply researched, Humans Are Underrated is one of the most creative and insightful leadership books I have ever read. It is a triumph! -- Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of Team of RivalsA powerful exposition of the strengths and limitations of technology in shaping our lives and addressing today's greatest challenges. More than ever, as Colvin demonstrates, we need people who embody the most human of qualities. An uplifting account of the enduring potential of humanity itself. -- Paul Polman, CEO, UnileverThrough a series of practical case studies and insights, Colvin clearly demonstrates that regardless of where the future takes us emotional intelligence will remain one of the most valuable human skills and the Human Element will remain a differentiator. -- Andrew N. Liveris, chairman and CEO, Dow Chemical CompanyGeoff Colvin's fresh take on how to respond to the rise of brilliant machines and the changing nature of work is as wise as it is inspiring. -- Dominic Barton, global managing director, McKinsey & CompanyA measured and comprehensive case for the edge that human beings will have over their titanium brethren in the future job market. Packed full of insightful research and case studies, Humans are Underrated makes a compelling case that people aren't surplus to requirements just yet. * Elite Business *A compelling insight into how the human brain can trump technology. * Engineering and Technology *Enlightening. The message here is ultimately a positive one for humanity. * Irish Times *Colvin gives all of us mortals hope. -- Luke Jonhson * Management Today *Captivating and convincing. I think this book will change the way people think about the future. Take time and read it. -- Alan Murray, editor at FortuneCorporate leaders often say, 'People come first'. True innovation is realized only when their actions match their words. -- Robert Greifeld, CEO, Nasdaq

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Book SynopsisWe love to imagine the future. But why are groundbreaking future technologies always just around the corner, and never a reality?For decades we''ve delighted in dreaming about a sci-fi utopia, from flying cars and bionic humans to hyperloops and smart cities. And why not? Building a better world - be it a free-flying commute or an automated urban lifestyle - is a worthy dream. Given the pace of technological change, nothing seems impossible anymore. But why are these innovations always out of reach?Delving into the remarkable history of technology, The Long History of the Future introduces us to the clever scientists, genius engineers and eccentric innovators who first brought these ideas to life and have struggled to make them work since. These stories reveal a more realistic picture of how these technologies may evolve - and how we''ll eventually get to use them. You may never be able to buy a fully driverless car, but automated braking and steering

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Book SynopsisThe transformative effect of technological change on households and culture, seen from a macroeconomic perspective through simple economic models.In Evolving Households, Jeremy Greenwood argues that technological progress has had as significant an effect on households as it had on industry. Taking a macroeconomic perspective, Greenwood develops simple economic models to study such phenomena as the rise in married female labor force participation, changes in fertility rates, the decline in marriage, and increased longevity. These trends represent a dramatic transformation in everyday life, and they were made possible by advancements in technology. Greenwood also addresses how technological progress can cause social change.Greenwood shows, for example, how electricity and labor-saving appliances freed women from full-time household drudgery and enabled them to enter the labor market. He explains that fertility dropped when higher wages increased the opportunity co

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Book SynopsisA shocking look at the ways governments and organisations track and control us and the ways we can fight back.Trade Review"In "Data and Goliath" Bruce Schneier, a computer-security expert, does a fine job of laying out the problems caused by this compulsive collection of personal data...Some recent books on digital privacy have been written by journalists, with an emphasis on sugary narrative instead of original analysis. This one comes from a practitioner, and offers a deep but accessible look at surveillance in the post-Snowden, big-data era." -- The Economist"Bruce Schneier...grasps this revolution's true dimensions...Schneier paints a picture of the big-data revolution that is dark, but compelling; one in which the conveniences of our digitized world have devalued privacy." -- Nature"He [Schneier] is passionate about the subject—and he shows exactly why and how it matters. The combination of qualitative analysis and detailed examples is compelling and the conclusions are stark. Surveillance matters, and not just at a theoretical level. Schneier shows how it causes damage even when it's used "properly", and also offers examples of how it can be and is abused. And he is at his best when demolishing the case for mass surveillance from a security perspective: it's here that his expertise really kicks in. His understanding of encryption, cyberattacks and vulnerabilities, and his ability to explain them in a relatively accessible way, is impressive and admirable." -- Times Higher Education"...excellent new book…" -- The Observer"...important book..." -- New Internationalist

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Book SynopsisMarshall McLuhan was a Canadian educator, philosopher and scholar - a professor of English Literature, a literary critic and a communications theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory. McLuhan is known for coining the expressions 'the medium is the message' and the 'global village'.

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Book SynopsisIn The Nature of Technology, ground-breaking economist W. Brian Arthur explores the extraordinary way in which the technology that surrounds us and allows us to live our modern lives has actually been developed. Rather than coming from a series of one-off inventions, almost all the technology we use today comes from previous developments: these technologies are not being created, but are instead evolving.With fascinating examples, from laser printers to powerplants, Arthur reveals how our own problem-solving skills and creative vision can evolve alongside these technologies, and how this understanding can even improve our understanding of the wider world.Trade ReviewA profoundly social view of innovation * The New York Times *Deeply analytical and thought-provoking * Good Book Guide *Entertaining and informative ... a thought-provoking book * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis**Finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2022 **From the Costa Award winner, a highly inventive and and humane novel about our relationship with technology and our addiction to innovation.This is the tale of a new technology, an alternative history that unfolds over many decades. It is a fable told through a constantly shifting cast of characters, all drawn into the world of a machine that slowly alters every life it touches.But in this unending quest for progress, what will happen to the things that make us human: the memories, the fears, the love, the mortality? As we push towards a brave new world, what do we stand to lose?'Such a super novel' Wendy Erskine'A clever book...that will have you thinking about the machines in your own life' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewAppliance is a work of peculiar genius that gives the truth about modern technology. * The Times, *Sci-Fi Book of the Year* *A serious-minded examination of the instinctive human ambivalence towards innovation. * Financial Times, *Summer Reads of 2022* *Smart, subtle and blissfully jargon-free sci-fi stories from one of Britain's most acclaimed poets. * Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2022* *[With] poetic precision... Appliance most succeeds is in its little riot of the real in the face of digital abstraction. * Times Literary Supplement *A clever book, delivered confidently, that will have you thinking about the machines in your own life. * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**A ground-breaking investigation into the oil and gas industry, international corruption and world politics. Oil. Corrupt? Yes. Unimaginably lucrative? Of course. But, the enemy of democracy? Blowout is the oil and gas industry as we've never seen it before, as told by America's most incisive political journalist, Rachel Maddow. A blackly comic journey from Washington to Siberia, to deep within the earth's crust and the icy Arctic seas, it reveals not just the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas but why the Russian government hacked the 2016 U.S. election. This is our final wake-up call: to stop subsidizing oil and gas, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of the world's most destructive industry before it destroys our democracy 'Each page in Blowout is a revelation into the depth of corruption and greed that is infused into the international economy' David Lammy, MPTrade ReviewIt takes enormous talent to balance brutal honesty with scorching wit. Rachel Maddow has it in spades; exposing the truth about how the fossil fuel industry threatens our existence both as a democratic people and as an entire species. Each page in Blowout is a revelation into the depth of corruption and greed that is infused into the international economy. We should be grateful that Maddow has found herself on the frontline of resistance -- David Lammy, MPFulminating comes easy to Rachel Maddow. What sets her apart from other serial fulminators is that she does it with facts – and sardonic wit * Washington Post *[Rachel Maddow] may be a popular, progressive news-and-commentary anchor on MSNBC, but it's not to be forgotten that she holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford and seems to devour whole libraries of data before breakfast each day... Expect a tweetstorm as Maddow's indictment of a corrupt industry finds readers - and it deserves many * Kirkus Reviews *Radiates zing, intelligence, and black humour. Much like its author * In Style *All fans of Maddow, and even her detractors, will learn something new from this highly readable yet impressively detailed book. Anyone interested in the covert deals that change the nature of the global environmental and political landscape will devour. A must-have for all collections * Library Journal *Blowout is a compelling read, fuelled by righteous anger and anecdotes that would be utterly unbelievable were they not documented -- Kieran Pender * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisWhen we look into the future, we imagine economic collapse, environmental disaster and the zombie apocalypse. But what if we are wrong? John Higgs takes us on a journey past the technological hype and headlines to discover why we shouldn''t trust the predictions of science fiction, why nature is not as helpless as we assume and why purpose can never be automated. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything we can build a better future.Trade ReviewA magnificent book - you should read all of it -- Rufus HoundBrilliant, incisive and superbly written with humour, humanity and an intellectual honesty rarely found these days, The Future Starts Here is the best book I've read this year. An antidote to the disease and cynicism we are surrounded by, and a hymn to the future. A must read

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Book Synopsis''Bold, inspired and hopeful'' Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global''Lucid and captivating'' Max Tegmark, professor of physics at MIT and author of Life 3.0A captivating memoir that chronicles one woman''s mission to humanise technology and what she learns about humanity along the way.Now more than ever, we find ourselves unable to express our true feelings through technology. Whether it''s a misunderstood text, an oversimplified emoji or a Skype call that leaves us feeling lonely, when most of our communication is carried out through tech, the result is a virtual world that''s lacking our humanity - a society lacking in empathy.Rana el Kaliouby discovered this when she left Cairo, a newly-married, Muslim woman, to take up her place at Cambridge University to study computer science. Many thousands of miles from home, she began to develop systems to help her better connect with her family. She sTrade ReviewLucid and captivating * Max Tegmark, professor of physics at MIT and author of Life 3.0 *An honest and inspiring story that will encourage other women to share their experiences and own their power * Tory Burch, founder and executive chairman of Tory Burch LLC *Bold, inspired and hopeful * Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A timely and welcome intervention is Deboleena Roy's book, Molecular Feminisms: Biology, Becomings, and Life in the Lab. Thinking about the connections and potential created between molecular biology and feminism, and philosophy and science, Roy thinks with philosophy [and] situates her work, which she names molecular feminisms, in the ontological and ethical reorientations made possible by thinking matter, ethics, and knowledge-making practices together." * Hypatia Reviews Online *

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Book SynopsisMake the most of your human services training or practice with these electronic tools!Human Services Technology: Innovations in Practice and Education shows how technology can help practitioners, educators, organizations, and agencies to overcome obstacles, develop problem-solving skills in adults and children, and resolve fear/anxiety issues. It also illustrates how the right software can make a profound difference in the learning experience by transforming students from passive consumers to proactive information hunters. The first half of this vital book highlights well-designed, user-friendly, practice-focused software for use with children and youth, including Funny Face, Bruce?s Multimedia Story, Say No With Donny, Talking it Out, and more. These can be used in play therapy, as a child welfare aid, as an educative/preventative intervention for a variety of issues, and for problem solving in school. This half of the book continues with six chapters discussing soTable of Contents Preface Introduction TECHNOLOGY FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE Introduction to Technology for Social Work Practice YOUTH ?Funny Face?: Shareware for Child Counseling and Play Therapy Interactive Media for Child Care and Counseling: New Resources, New Opportunities Computer Integrated Drug Prevention?Combining Multi-Media and Social Group Work Practice to Teach Inner City Israeli 6th Graders How to Say No to Drugs ?Talking It Out?: A Computer-Based Mediation Process for Adolescents Clients as Co-Developers of Multimedia Software: Two HIV/AIDS Training Programs for Kids ADULTS An Online Stress Management Support Group for Social Workers Risk Management in Online Services Practice Computer-Supported Distance Art Therapy: A Focus on Traumatic Illness Electronic Technology for Social Work Education and Practice: The Application of Telephone Technology to Counseling Videoconferencing in Telepsychiatry Applying Group Support Systems in Social Work Education and Practice TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION Introduction: Technology in Education WEB-BASED COURSES COW: Conferencing on the Web Facilitating Interactions Among Students and Faculty via Web-Based Conferencing Systems DISTANCE LEARNING Connecting Aboriginal Learners in Remote Communities: An Online Social Work Course High Tech and High Touch: The Human Face of Online Education CD-ROM/VIDEODISC Counseling Simulations: An Interactive CD-ROM Approach Better Listening: Paraphrasing and Perception Checking?A Study of the Effectiveness of a Multimedia Skills Training Program Multimedia Interactive Training Development?Journey: Discovering Social Services CD-ROM The Development of a Multimedia Training Project: Rewards and Challenges of the Multidisciplinary Team Conclusion Bibliography Index Reference Notes Included

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Book SynopsisNatural selection, as introduced by Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species (1859), has always been a topic of great conceptual and empirical interest. This book puts Darwin''s theory of evolution in historical context showing that, in important respects, his central mechanism of natural selection gives the clue to understanding the nature of organisms. Natural selection has important implications, not just for the understanding of life''s history single-celled organism to man but also for our understanding of contemporary social norms, as well as the nature of religious belief. The book is written in clear, non-technical language, appealing not just to philosophers, historians, and biologists, but also to general readers who find thinking about important issues both challenging and exciting.Trade Review'Michael Ruse has written many books on evolutionary theory, but this may well be his best: succinct, clear, and comprehensive. Your interpretation of Darwin's accomplishment may differ from Ruse's - mine does - but he offers the classic view of Darwin as having introduced mechanism into biology. His treatment of natural selection runs from an intense examination of Darwin's development of the concept to its role in population genetics and morality. It's a gem of a book.' Robert J. Richards, Morris Fishbein Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Science, University of Chicago, USA'Michael Ruse at his best! This consummate scholar, educator, and communicator on all things evolutionary has gifted us with a masterwork on Darwin's crowning achievement - the theory of natural selection. We now have the definitive 'sourcebook' on this important topic.' Michael L. Peterson, Professor of Philosophy, Asbury Theological Seminary, USA'For decades, Michael Ruse has been a leader in thinking about natural selection. This book is a quick, thorough survey of the subject. Plus, it offers some important recent twists. A masterful writer, Ruse quickly covers the basics before guiding readers outside traditional boxes so they might consider new possibilities. Understanding Natural Selection is certain to encourage debate and investigation. It also will inspire further interdisciplinary synthesis.' Joe Cain, Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology, University College London, UK'In this brief book written for the general reader, Michael Ruse skillfully weaves together the history and philosophy of science to explore natural selection, the concept at the heart of Darwin's celebrated theory of evolution. The writing is brisk, engaging, thoughtful and at times fun, typical of the kind of work we have come to expect from someone who has a devoted a lifetime of study to understanding Darwin and his theory.' Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, Professor of the History of Science, University of Florida, USA'Natural selection is one of the most important and contested ideas in modern science, helping us understand much of the functional design and order we observe in living nature. In his inimitable way, Michael Ruse gives the definitive account of natural selection, from its Darwinian origins and metaphorical foundation to the many historical, philosophical and scientific controversies that have swirled about it in the last century and a half. If you want to understand natural selection, you can do no better than a careful reading of this compact, highly informative and lively book. It is truly a tour de force.' Richard A. Richards, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, USATable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The origin of species; 2. Organism and mechanism: rival root metaphors; 3. 'The non-Darwinian revolution?'; 4. The synthesis; 5. Is natural selection a vera causa?; 6.The positive case; 7.Time for a change?; 8. Natural selection and its discontents; Envoi; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis first book in Castells'' groundbreaking trilogy, with a substantial new preface, highlights the economic and social dynamics of the information age and shows how the network society has now fully risen on a global scale. Groundbreaking volume on the impact of the age of information on all aspects of society Includes coverage of the influence of the internet and the net-economy Describes the accelerating pace of innovation and social transformation Based on research in the USA, Asia, Latin America, and Europe Trade ReviewReviews of the Second Edition: "We live today in a period of intense and puzzling transformation, signalling perhaps a move beyond the industrial era altogether. Yet where are the great sociological works that chart this transition? Hence the importance of Manuel Castells' multivolume work, in which he seeks to chart the social and economic dynamics of the information age . . . [It] is bound to be a major reference source for years to come." (Anthony Giddens, The Times Higher Education Supplement) "Adam Smith explained how capitalism worked, and Karl Marx explained why it didn't. Now the social and economic relations of the Information Age have been captured by Manuel Castells." (Wall Street Journal) "So far, the person who has straddled the world of social theory and Silicon Valley most successfully is Manuel Castells. Castells enjoys a growing reputation as the first significant philosopher of cyberspace." (The Economist) "A must-read." (Wired) "This book goes a considerable way to helping us make sense of today's global information economy and our place in it." (Financial Times)Table of ContentsList of Figures xii List of Tables xivPreface to the 2010 Edition of The Rise of the Network Society xvii Acknowledgments 2000 Acknowledgments 1996 Prologue: the Net and the Self 1 Technology, Society, and Historical Change 5 Informationalism, Industrialism, Capitalism, Statism: Modes of Development and Modes of Production 13 Informationalism and capitalist perestroika 18 The Self in the Informational Society 21 A Word on Method 25 1 The Information Technology Revolution 28 Which Revolution? 28 Lessons from the Industrial Revolution 33 The Historical Sequence of the Information Technology Revolution 38 Micro-engineering macro-changes: electronics and information 39 The creation of the Internet 45 The 1970s’ technological divide 53 Technologies of life 54 Social context and the dynamics of technological change 59 Models, Actors, and Sites of the Information Technology Revolution 61 The Information Technology Paradigm 69 2 The New Economy: Informationalism, Globalization, Networking 77 Productivity, Competitiveness, and the Informational Economy 78 The productivity enigma 78 Is knowledge-based productivity specific to the informational economy? 80 Informationalism and capitalism, productivity and profitability 94 The historical specificity of informationalism 99 The Global Economy: Structure, Dynamics, and Genesis 101 Global financial markets 102 Globalization of markets for goods and services: growth and transformation of international trade 106 Globalization versus regionalization 110 The internationalization of production: multinational corporations and international production networks 116 Informational production and selective globalization of science and technology 124 Global labor? 130 The geometry of the global economy: segments and networks 132 The political economy of globalization: capitalist restructuring, information technology, and state policies 135 The New Economy 147 3 The Network Enterprise: the Culture, Institutions, and Organizations of the Informational Economy 163 Organizational Trajectories in the Restructuring of Capitalism and in the Transition from Industrialism to Informationalism 164 Network technologies and pervasive computing 51 Small business and the crisis of the large corporation: myth and reality 167 “Toyotism”: management–worker cooperation, multifunctional labor, total quality control, and reduction of uncertainty 169 Inter-firm networking 172 Corporate strategic alliances 174 The horizontal corporation and global business networks 176 The crisis of the vertical corporation model and the rise of business networks 178 Networking the networks: the Cisco model 180 Information Technology and the Network Enterprise 184 Culture, Institutions, and Economic Organization: East Asian Business Networks 188 A typology of East Asian business networks 189 Japan 190 Korea 191 China 193 Culture, organizations, and institutions: Asian business networks and the developmental state 195 Multinational Enterprises, Transnational Corporations,and International Networks 206 The Spirit of Informationalism 210 4 The Transformation of Work and Employment: Networkers, Jobless, and Flex-timers 216 The Historical Evolution of Employment and Occupational Structure in Advanced Capitalist Countries: the G-7, 1920–2005 217 Post-industrialism, the service economy, and the informational society 218 The transformation of employment structure, 1920–1970 and 1970–1990 224 The new occupational structure 232 The maturing of the informational society: employment projections into the twenty-first century 237 Summing up: the evolution of employment structure and its implications for a comparative analysis of the informational society 243 From mass production to flexible production 166 The Work Process in the Informational Paradigm 255 The Effects of Information Technology on Employment: Toward a Jobless Society? 267 Work and the Informational Divide: Flex-timers 281 Information Technology and the Restructuring of Capital–Labor Relations: Social Dualism or Fragmented Societies? 296 Appendix A: Statistical Tables for Chapter 4 303 Appendix B: Methodological Note and Statistical References 338 5 The Culture of Real Virtuality: the Integration of Electronic Communication, the End of the Mass Audience, and the Rise of Interactive Networks 355 From the Gutenberg Galaxy to the McLuhan Galaxy: the Rise of Mass Media Culture 358 The New Media and the Diversification of Mass Audience 365 Computer-mediated Communication, Institutional Control, Social Networks, and Virtual Communities 371 The Minitel story: l’état et l’amour 372 The Internet constellation 375 The interactive society 385 The Grand Fusion: Multimedia as Symbolic Environment 394 The Culture of Real Virtuality 403 6 The Space of Flows 407 Advanced Services, Information Flows, and the Global City 409 The New Industrial Space 417 Everyday Life in the Electronic Cottage: the End of Cities? 424 The Transformation of Urban Form: the Informational City 429 America’s last suburban frontier 429 The fading charm of European cities 431 Third millennium urbanization: mega-cities 434 The Social Theory of Space and the Theory of the Space of Flows 440 The Architecture of the End of History 448 Space of Flows and Space of Places 453 Is There a Global Labor Force? 247 7 The Edge of Forever: Timeless Time 460 Time, History, and Society 461 Time as the Source of Value: the Global Casino 465 Flex-time and the Network Enterprise 467 The Shrinking and Twisting of Life Working Time 468 The Blurring of the Life-cycle: Toward Social Arrhythmia? 475 Death Denied 481 Instant Wars 484 Virtual Time 491 Time, Space, and Society: the Edge of Forever 494 Conclusion: the Network Society 500 Summary of the Contents of Volumes II and III 510 Bibliography 512 Index 566

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Book SynopsisIn Surrogate Humanity Neda Atanasoski and Kalindi Vora trace the ways in which robots, artificial intelligence, and other technologies serve as surrogates for human workers within a labor system entrenched in racial capitalism and patriarchy. Analyzing myriad technologies, from sex robots and military drones to sharing-economy platforms, Atanasoski and Vora show how liberal structures of antiblackness, settler colonialism, and patriarchy are fundamental to human---machine interactions, as well as the very definition of the human. While these new technologies and engineering projects promise a revolutionary new future, they replicate and reinforce racialized and gendered ideas about devalued work, exploitation, dispossession, and capitalist accumulation. Yet, even as engineers design robots to be more perfect versions of the human—more rational killers, more efficient workers, and tireless companions—the potential exists to develop alternative modes of engineerinTrade Review“By bringing a much more nuanced reading of race, gender, and difference to science and technology studies, Atanasoski and Vora provoke us to think more deeply about how our imagined technological futures always already serve to reproduce our most problematic pasts—and what forms or processes can disrupt and transcend these. This is a vital project that should speak to us all.” -- Barbara Herr Harthorn * American Ethnologist *“Surrogate Humanity...confirm[s] that the human is a contingent concept.... The authors also spotlight how contemporary discourses concerning automation, in particular, alternately promise liberation and threaten debasement while eliding the roles of racialized and colonial subjects in producing the technologies and materials on which automation relies.” -- Rebecah Pulsifer * Women's Studies Quarterly *“...Surrogate Humanity usefully provides examples from literary, artistic, engineering, and scientific projects that critique or outright refuse technoliberalism’s frame for recognizing full humanity. These rebellious acts of imagination show us that the potential exists to develop alternative designs and trajectories for technological development ... in ways that prioritize equity and justice.” -- Anita Lam * Surveillance & Society *“Surrogate Humanity is a fascinating and important book that provides a much-needed counter narrative to prevailing approaches in science and technology studies.... Complemented by their mode of collaborative writing as a radical feminist act, the book is thus certain to inspire scholars and activists alike....” -- Sibille Merz * Ethnic and Racial Studies *“Atanasoski and Vora’s major intervention in the automation debate is their argument that automation imaginaries are shaped by liberal humanism and the racial hierarchies embedded in it.... One strength of Surrogate Humanity is the range of technological discourses, objects, and processes in which the authors elucidate the logics of technoliberalism.” -- J. Jesse Ramírez * American Quarterly *“Atanasoski andVora write with thoughtful scholarship and careful word selection.... [Surrogate Humanity] also provides a generative grounding in relevant science and technology studies and race theory literatures.... [I]t should be required reading in any sociology course on colonization and empire.” -- Laurel Smith-Doerr * Contemporary Sociology *“Surrogate Humanity questions what it means to be human at all, and is an incredibly useful analysis for anyone interested in shifting from thinking about robots within a tool-using paradigm, to an ethics paradigm.” -- Lindsay Balfour * Cultural Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction: The Surrogate Human Effects of Technoliberalism 1 1. Technoliberalism and Automation: Racial Imaginaries of a Postlabor World 27 2. Sharing, Collaboration, and the Commons in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Appropriative Techniques of Technoliberal Capitalism 54 3. Automation and the Invisible Service Function: Toward an "Artificial Artificial Intelligence" 87 4. The Surrogate Human Affect: The Racial Programming of Robot Emotion 108 5. Machine Autonomy and the Unmanned Spacetime of Technoliberal Warfare 134 6. Killer Robots: Feeling Human in the Field of War 163 Epilogue: On Technoliberal Desire, Or Why There Is No Such Thing as a Feminist A1 188 Notes 197 Bibliography 225 Index 233

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Book SynopsisObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.Alarms are alarming. They wake us up, demand our attention and force us to attend to things we've preferred to ignore. But alarms also allow us to feel secure, to sleep and to retreat from alertness. Theytake over vigilance on our behalf. From the alarm clock and the air-raid siren to the doorbell and the phone alert, the history of alarms is also the history of work, security, technology and emotion. Alarm responds to culture's most urgent calls to attention by examining all kinds of alarms, from the restless presence of the alarm clock in modernist art to the siren the sound of the police in classic hip hop. More than just bells and whistles, alarms are objects that have defined sleeping and waking, safety and danger, and they have fundamentally shaped our understanding of the mind and its capacity for attention.Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay seTrade ReviewBy revealing the uncanny ubiquity of alarms in our daily life, by making us smile about their profound ambivalence, Alice Bennett has written a pleasurable and soothing book. From burglary to belatedness, from house fires to climate change, this exemplary collaboration between literary studies and the social sciences sheds a reflexive, nuanced and joyful light on our darker anxieties. A most accessible, elegant and important lesson in attention ecology. * Yves Citton, Professor in Literature and Media, University Paris 8, France, and author of The Ecology of Attention *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction 1. Clock 2. Fire 3. Security 4. Siren 5. Failure, False, Fatigue 6. Future Image Credits Notes Index

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Book Synopsis‘Like Louis Theroux channelling Margaret Atwood’ – New Statesman‘A tour of the lurid fringes of the tech world’ – The Times‘A moreish page-turner of a book’ – HeraldImagine if it was possible to have the perfect sexual relationship without compromise, eat meat without killing animals, have babies without the need to bear them, and choose the time of our painless death. Life would be better, right?All over the globe, people are trying to make this a reality. They want to use technology to solve the thorniest problems of humanity. But what if these ‘problems’ are the very things that make us human? Join Jenny Kleeman on an entertaining, thought-provoking adventure to a place where sex robots and vegan meat are no longer science fiction – right here, right now.Trade ReviewA tour of the lurid fringes of the tech world . . . Kleeman is an acerbic guide, whose understated common sense contrasts with the grandiosity of her interviewees. * The Times *Kleeman’s entertaining survey of the latest advances in life sciences . . . a little like Louis Therouxchannelling Margaret Atwood. She is an accomplished storyteller -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * New Statesman *A moreish page-turner of a book that will leave you feeling informed and ready for the next dinner party. * Herald *A pleasingly sceptical investigation into the innovations that could change the way we eat, have sexand die . . . compelling and thoughtful -- Fiona Sturges * Guardian *A fascinating book . . . It was so absolutely absorbing. I really, really loved this book. -- Jane Garvey * BBC Radio 4 *Mesmerising * Daily Mail *Thoughtful and diverting . . . Even if it doesn’t have the answers, this elegantly written and eye-opening book poses the right questions -- Ed Cumming * inews.co.uk *A fascinating examination of what the future holds . . . you will never look at a chickennugget in quite the same way again -- Elizabeth Day, author How to FailThe future is a fairly scary place, but there is no better guide to it than Jenny Kleeman. By turns alarming, funny, thought-provoking and fascinating, this is a book that brilliantly shows us where much of our life (and death) is heading. -- Stig AbellFascinating . . . an epic exercise in concision – all four of these sprawling chapters could have run to books on their own, and at times I wish they had -- Eleanor Halls * Daily Telegraph *Thoughtful scepticism makes Kleeman a savvy guide, and her fresh insights into, for example, disruptive technology’s gender dimension, underpin provocative takes on progress and human nature itself. Thoroughly absorbing * Observer *

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Book Synopsis'A fascinating exposé of the world behind your screen. Timely, often disturbing, and so important' Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women 'Takes us beyond Zuckerberg, Bezos et al to a murkier world where we discover how everything online works and who benefits from it. Fascinating, engaging and important' Observer 'Could not be more timely' Spectator The internet is a network of physical cables and connections, a web of wires enmeshing the world, linking huge data centres to one another and eventually to us. All are owned by someone, financed by someone, regulated by someone. We refer to the internet as abstract from reality. By doing so, we obscure where the real power lies. In this powerful and necessary book, James Ball sets out on a global journey into the inner workings of the system. From the computer scientists to the cable guys, the billionaire investors to the ad men, the intelligence agencies to the regulators, these are the real-life figures powering the internet and pulling the strings of our society. Ball brilliantly shows how an invention once hailed as a democratising force has concentrated power in places it already existed – that the system, in other words, remains the same as it did before.Trade ReviewIn The System, James Ball takes a critical look at who runs the internet . . . His book is a sprightly history of the internet seen from the perspective of its inventors, investors, custodians, rule-makers and rebels . . . Ball recommends that we should pay far more attention to how the internet works and not allow ourselves to be “bamboozled into inaction” as we were with the finance industry before the 2008 crash * Financial Times *Ball, with this biography of the internet, takes us beyond Zuckerberg, Bezos et al into a murkier world where we discover how everything online works and who benefits from it. Fascinating, engaging and important, too * Observer *Ball is a sprightly writer and a master explainer . . . He has a gift for choosing which details to bring forth . . . He does an excellent job here of showing how the system works, where its levers of power are, and how they can be moved. Which is important. It’s important because you have an interest too . . . The System could not be more timely * Spectator *'An illuminating and focused guide on who controls the internet and how it controls us. Will change how you see the world -- Peter Pomerantsev, author of 'This is Not Propaganda'An excellent summary of how we got where we are, and how we can move forwards to build a better internet -- Jimmy Wales, founder of WikipediaA crisp, highly informative introduction to what ails the information industry and what can be done about it. Ball's analysis is thorough and courageously even-handed -- Praise for 'Post-Truth' * The Times *A vivid analysis of how the business models and incentives currently prevailing in digital media render decent discourse all but inaudible -- Kazuo Ishiguro, Praise for 'Post-Truth' * Guardian, Summer Reads *

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