Social forecasting, future studies Books

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Zeihan integrates a wealth of information and data into lucid analyses written in accessible, boisterous prose… The result is a stimulating look into the geopolitical crystal ball.” — Publishers Weekly “Peter Zeihan has written a smart, well-crafted page-turner that lays out the compelling reasons why America’s role in the world has changed--and why that’s good news for Americans and sobering for everyone else. His vivid account of the impact of America’s good fortune for the rest of the world makes this an original and invaluable read.” — Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group, on The Absent Superpower “If President Trump has but one book to read as he assumes command, it should be this one.” — Honorable Dave McCurdy, former Member of U.S. House of Representatives; President and CEO of the American Gas Association, on The Absent Superpower “The Absent Superpower is a must-read to understand the forces that will shapegeopolitics and potentially ignite decades of global disorder. By dissectingthe technological and geographic realities of energy and demography, Zeihan forecasts theconflicts and economic realignments that will follow America’s withdrawal fromactive global leadership.” — Mitt Romney on The Absent Superpower “Many believe that the American economy has some inherent advantages over its major competitors—a more flexible structure, stronger entrepreneurial traditions and a more demographically vibrant society. Along comes a fascinating new book that says you ain’t seen nothing yet.” — Fareed Zakaria, CNN, on The Accidental Superpower "Another masterful, often counterintuitive, relentlessly entertaining geopolitical thrill ride." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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Book SynopsisSUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe creator of the Gaia hypothesis and the greatest environmental thinker of our time has produced an astounding new theory about the future of life on Earth. James Lovelock argues that the anthropocene - the age in which humans acquired planetary-scale technologies - is, after three centuries, coming to an end. A new age - the novacene - has already begun.New beings will emerge from existing artificial intelligence systems. They will think 10,000 times faster than we do and will regard us as we now regard plants. The cruel, violent machine takeover imagined by sci-fi writers will not happen: these hyper-intelligent beings will be as dependent on the health of the planet as we are. They will need the planetary cooling system of Gaia to defend from the increasing heat of the sun. Gaia depends on organic life. We will be partners in this project. It is crucial, Lovelock argues, that the intelligence of Earth survives and prospers. We are at present the only beings capable of understanding the cosmos, but he speculates that the novacene could be the beginning of a process that will see intelligence suffusing the entire cosmos. At the age 100, Lovelock has produced the most compelling work of his life.Trade ReviewThe hard science is explained with beautiful clarity, and a characteristic mischievous wit ... It is a bracing corrective -- Steven Poole * Guardian *This restlessly thoughtful and forward-looking book ... is partly a defence of a lifetime's ideas, but mostly an argument about how AI is soon to overtake us - and what that means for our species -- James McConnachie * The Times *Leavened with wit and optimism ... Novacene is the collected wisdom of an elder of our tribe which more than repays the short time it takes to read. -- Stephen Cave * Financial Times *Novacene reads like undiluted Lovelock. From the start of his writing life - no matter how tortuous the narrative or complex the argument - Lovelock has written persuasively. ... if you want a sense of hyperintelligence in bipedal form, Novacene is a good place to start. -- Tim Radford * Nature *

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Book SynopsisThe first English-language collection to establish curiosity studies as a unique field From science and technology to business and education, curiosity is often taken for granted as an unquestioned good. And yet, few people can define curiosity. Curiosity Studies marshals scholars from more than a dozen fields not only to define curiosity but also to grapple with its ethics as well as its role in technological advancement and global citizenship. While intriguing research on curiosity has occurred in numerous disciplines for decades, no rigorously cross-disciplinary study has existed—until now. Curiosity Studies stages an interdisciplinary conversation about what curiosity is and what resources it holds for human and ecological flourishing. These engaging essays are integrated into four clusters: scientific inquiry, educational practice, social relations, and transformative power. By exploring curiosity through the practice of scientific inquiry, the contours of human learning, the stakes of social difference, and the potential of radical imagination, these clusters focus and reinvigorate the study of this universal but slippery phenomenon: the desire to know. Against the assumption that curiosity is neutral, this volume insists that curiosity has a history and a political import and requires precision to define and operationalize. As various fields deepen its analysis, a new ecosystem for knowledge production can flourish, driven by real-world problems and a commitment to solve them in collaboration. By paying particular attention to pedagogy throughout, Curiosity Studies equips us to live critically and creatively in what might be called our new Age of Curiosity.Contributors: Danielle S. Bassett, U of Pennsylvania; Barbara M. Benedict, Trinity College; Susan Engel, Williams College; Ellen K. Feder, American U; Kristina T. Johnson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Narendra Keval; Christina León, Princeton U; Tyson Lewis, U of North Texas; Amy Marvin, U of Oregon; Hilary M. Schor, U of Southern California; Seeta Sistla, Hampshire College; Heather Anne Swanson, Aarhus U.Table of ContentsContentsForewordPamela Grossman and John L. Jackson Jr.Introduction: What Is Curiosity Studies?Perry Zurn and Arjun Shankar Part I. Interrogating the Scientific Enterprise1. Exploring the Costs of Curiosity: An Environmental Scientist’s DilemmaSeeta Sistla2. Curious Ecologies of Knowledge: More-than-Human AnthropologyHeather Anne Swanson3. Curiosity, Ethics, and the Medical Management of Intersex AnatomiesEllen K. FederPart II. Relearning How We Learn4. A Network Science of the Practice of CuriosityDanielle S. Bassett5. Why Should This Be So? The Waxing and Waning of Children’s CuriositySusan Engel6. The Dude Abides, or, Why Curiosity Is Important for Education TodayTyson Lewis7. “The Campus is Sick”: Capitalist Curiosity and Student Mental HealthArjun ShankarPart III. Reimagining How We Relate8. Autism, Neurodiversity, and CuriosityKristina T. Johnson9. Obstacles to Curiosity and Concern: Exploring the Racist ImaginationNarendra Keval10. Curious Entanglements: Opacity and Ethical Relation in Latina/o AestheticsChristina León11. Transsexuality, the Curio, and the Transgender Tipping PointAmy MarvinPart IV. Deconstructing the Status Quo12. Peeping and Transgression: Curiosity and Collecting in English LiteratureBarbara M. Benedict13. Curiosity and Political ResistancePerry Zurn14. Curiosity at the End of the World: Women, Fiction, ElectricityHilary M. SchorConclusion: On Teaching CuriosityArjun Shankar and Perry Zurn AfterwordHelga NowotnyAcknowledgmentsContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“This is an emotional and passionate book, raw in its grief and anger, but also imbued with hope for redemption. Based on objective his­torical fact and subjective experience, Of Greed and Glory has the power of a sermon and the urgency of a manifesto.” — Deborah Mason, BookPage "As indispensable to understanding the Americas as Edward E. Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told. Of Greed and Glory powerfully demonstrates that though we as Black Americans are far from faultless in some of our most egregious behavior on the mean plantations and streets of antebellum and modern America, we nonetheless have had to grow our dignity beneath the pitiless boot of those who looked into the tiny faces of our infants and saw only dollar signs. Powerful and necessary." — Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Award winning author of The Color Purple and Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart “If you want to understand the current issues surrounding race, social justice, and inequality, you have to read Deborah Plant’s book, Of Greed and Glory. Deborah understands that the issues surrounding race, unfolding before us now in America, are deeply rooted in the legacy of the African American past. She writes eloquently and beautifully about that past. Of Greed and Glory is a must-read book for socially conscious citizens.” — Clyde W. Ford, Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award in African American fiction—winning author of Of Blood and Sweat and Think Black "Of Greed and Glory is impossible to put down. It’s a searing, provocative analysis of how the roots of slavery in the US still infiltrate so many of our social institutions. Plant’s vivid prose will leave you affected, challenged, and thinking about this book long after you’re done reading." — Adia Wingfield, author of Gray Areas, Flatlining, and No More Invisible Man "Deborah G. Plant courageously and painstakingly provides insight into the devastation and trauma experienced generations of African Americans, persons of color, and the poor … This is a must read that challenges us to become active in the movement to abolish slavery, patriarchy, and other forms of oppression that exist in our nation." — Diane D. Turner, author of Feeding the Soul and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries

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Book SynopsisAnd even more provocatively, Wallach challenges readers to ask “to what end?” for civilization at large.Whether it’s work, marriage, parenting, or simply trying to be a good human on the planet, framing decisions from a much larger scale creates a more fulfilling and sustainable life now and for future generations.Trade Review"This perceptive book is an antidote to nearsightedness. Ari Wallach won’t just leave you planning months or years ahead—he challenges you to look generations ahead. Get ready to think and think again." — Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife "Reading this book is like joining hands across generations in order to find the hope, drive and imagination necessary for us to build the world we wish to manifest. A world built on justice, spirit and joy." — Ai-jen Poo, President, National Domestic Workers Alliance, author, The Age of Dignity "Ari Wallach has written an essential guide to the 22nd century. You read that right. With the acumen of a futurist and the soul of a rabbi, Wallach shows us that the only effective antidote to the rampant now-ism of the present is to have an urgent conversation about reshaping the far-future. Longpath will make every conversation you have more meaningful." — Bruce Feiler, New York Times-bestselling author of Life Is In The Transitions A brilliant futurist who sees with his whole heart, Wallach shows us how to co-create a future of dignity, justice, and love as daily practice. This book will ignite your agency and lift your gaze to the horizon of possibility. Longpath showed me how to feel future generations’ joy—that joy is now my North Star. Wise, practical, powerful, this is an essential handbook for how to birth the world we dream. — Valarie Kaur, bestselling author of See No Stranger and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project "People who face great oppression—as Ari’s father did are somehow best able to think beyond themselves, seeing ways forward just when every path seems blocked. Black people in America never had the luxury not to see ahead. We thank our ancestors at the same time we strive to become ancestors worth thanking. Longpath will help more people embrace this mindset and the behaviors that go with it. Changing our minds can transform our lives." — Rashad Robinson, President, Color of Change "Like a prophet of old, Ari Wallach offers us an urgently-needed message: While we can’t thank those who came before us, our survival as a species relies on our paying their sacrifices forward. Wallach expertly combines evolutionary biology, psychology, and spiritual wisdom not just to remind us what we owe future generations, but to give us the tools we need to truly become better ancestors." — David DeSteno, author of How God Works "Ari Wallach will change the way you look at time. Longpath offers a thought-provoking perspective on how we carry our ancestral history and how we can shift our thinking from short term reactions to long term responses. What actions will we take if we view it from the perspective of our great-great grandchildren?" — Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness "Ari Wallach’s approach to being great ancestors is an antidote to the addled, unsustainable traps of short term thinking. Philosophically deep and practical, timeless and urgent, Wallach's message is one we need more than ever. Take it in; your descendants will be glad you did." — Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., Director, Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, author of The War for Kindness "Longpath is a radical call to expand the window of our attention. In doing so, we shift our thinking and behavior, making us better, happier people." — Amishi Jha, Professor and author of Peak Mind "By cultivating what Wallach designates the Longpath way of living, we have direction for how to get beyond short-term decision making rooted in myopic opportunism. A poetic master of creative metaphor, Wallach invites us all to join in the Longpath journey, for species survival yes, but no less because this is a joyful and fulfilling way of living our lives together!" — Daniel Liechty, author of Facing Up To Mortality and Transference and Transcendence "I loved this book for its authenticity and audacity. Longpath not only helped me envision a brighter future, but also to improve how I can be a more effective leader in the present. This is a playbook that anyone can leverage right now to achieve world changing results. It’s an impressive feat and makes Longpath a must-read." — Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) "Ari Wallach challenges practices that incentivize harming our future. Providing helpful tools and anecdotes, Wallach wisely guides readers into making personal and professional decisions with awareness of long term impact – decisions that will enrich our being and one day make our far off descendants proud." — Ytasha L. Womack, author of Afrofuturism "Like Victor E. Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning, Ari Wallach gives us a roadmap to finding meaning and hope in this moment between what was and what will be with the deep insights and provocations one would expect from not just a futurist, but a father who cares deeply about the world we will leave behind to our descendants." — Alec Ross, New York Times bestselling author of Industries of the Future and The Raging 2020s "Albert Einstein observed that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Ari Wallach’s Longpath provides a clear way to think differently, so that we can better address the issues of our time." — Jonathan Rose, author of The Well-Tempered City and co-founder of the Garrison Institute and President of Rose Companies "What kind of world do we want our children and grandchildren to inherit? Ari Wallach refocuses us on this critical question, which our forebears once weighed more mightily than we do today. Becoming a great ancestor requires not only navigating ever-present crises, but imagining the world as it could be through one's everyday philosophy and choices." — Laurence C. Smith, author of The World in 2050, John Atwater and Diana Nelson University Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University "In a turbulent world, Longpath offers a moving, trenchant guide for anyone seeking to close the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be." — Hahrie Han, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Political Science, Director, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University, author of Prisms of the People "Ari Wallach’s Longpath is a timely reminder that even as acute challenges draw our attention, it is essential to take the long view if we are to achieve the shared vision of a just and sustainable world. At a time when resilience is an imperative, and not just a buzzword, Longpath provides a pathway to making it a reality." — Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR "In the context of a time that is hyperconnected, yet fractured, filled with both transformational change and anxiety, Ari Wallach gives us a compelling roadmap forward, a manifesto for shifting our mindset from the short to the long term—bringing us from the past to the present to a better future we still have the chance to co-create, with even our smallest decisions and interactions." — Asha Curran, CEO, GivingTuesday Brilliantly weaving together rationality and spirituality, Longpath offers a new lens through which we can all imagine and shape the future. — Adam Bly, Founder & CEO of System "Ari Wallach has become our trusted guide to the future and Longpath is our roadmap. Longpath is not a “mindfulness time out,” but “a frame of mind” for living. Wallach's storytelling gently and persistently moves us to realize that, like the butterfly whose flap of wings caused a storm miles away, our daily actions are building out the future for the generations to follow." — Sudhir Venkatesh, William B. Ransford Professor of Sociology & African-American Studies at Columbia University "What if we took the time to extend empathy and care to the generations that came before us? And how about generations that will come after us? In this heart-stretching, time-bending invitation, futurist Ari Wallach pushes us to widen our circle of concern by seeing ourselves as links on an intergenerational chain. Longpathism is a clarion call: it’s on us to make sure the future of humankind is not characterized by the loneliness, alienation, and divisiveness we’re living amidst today." — Jenn Hoos Rothberg, Executive Director of Einhorn Collaborative "Sometimes all it takes to change your life is to see it from a different perspective. Ari Wallach’s Longpath blows through conventional thinking and opens up a world where each and every one of us can carefully consider how the choices we make today can impact the future. If you are reconsidering your life choices, this book will illuminate the path forward." — Kathryn Murdoch, Co-Founder and President, Quadrivium Foundation "When I hear the word ‘futurist,’ I expect jetpacks and meal-replacement pills. But Wallach isn’t that kind of futurist. In this striking and insightful book, Wallach takes us back in time to see the longer picture. We emerge liberated from our small sense of time and endowed with the responsibility of being a future ancestor." — Casper ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual "A new framework for thinking about our decision-making patterns, with empathy at the center of all." — Chade-Meng Tan, author of Search Inside Yourself "Short-term thinking is enticing and may even feel good up front, but more often than not, it ends up causing harm down the road. Wallach compellingly argues that our biggest challenges require playing the long game, and he shows us how to get started. We’ve got no time to waste." — Brad Stulberg, author of The Practice of Groundedness Longpath - blending psychological, emotional and even spiritual development - offers a crucial blueprint and inspirational call to action: to create the futures that we want for ourselves and our descendants. — Hollie Russon Gilman, Senior Fellow at New America and Affiliate Fellow at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation "Written with brilliance, beauty, and no shortage of soul, Longpath is the most important and hopeful guide to the future we can start building today." — David Sax, bestselling author of The Revenge of Analog and The Future is Analog "Longpath is a way to think about the future — that you can use today. I expected it to be about planning for the future but loved that it's about how to live now. Ari's voice is warm, fresh and powerful… This is a very important book." — Scott Heiferman, Co-founder of Meetup “This new mindset is one that has us pause and relax a bit. It has us reflect on the world we’re creating with our day-to-day craziness of never-ending to dos that rob us of the opportunity to envision something better, for us, but also for future generations.” — Forbes "Longpath will leave you reevaluating your path and priorities in a positive way." — Rich Roll Podcast "Longpath teaches you how to heal from your past to pave the way for a brighter future, the importance of paying attention to the long game, and how to visualize your future successes." — Lewis Howes, The School of Greatness podcast

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Book SynopsisRead this gripping, timely book about the transmission of deadly viruses from animal to human populations, and how we can fight the current Covid-19 pandemic.WITH A NEW AFTERWORD ON CORONAVIRUSAs globalization spreads and as we destroy the ancient ecosystems, we encounter strange and dangerous infections that originate in animals but that can be transmitted to humans. Diseases that were contained are being set free and the results are potentially catastrophic.In a journey that takes him from southern China to the Congo, from Bangladesh to Australia, David Quammen tracks these infections to their source, and asks what we can do to prevent some new pandemic spreading across the face of the earth. As we continue to feel the global impact of Covid-19, discover the book that predicted this viral disaster and the science that could stop the next one in its tracks.''A tremendous book...this gives you all you need to know and aTrade ReviewA frightening and fascinating masterpiece of science reporting that reads like a detective story -- Walter IsaacsonIt may have been eight years since David Quammen's Spillover was first published, but its prescience is spookily topical this plague year -- Richard Dawkins * New Statesman *Travelling deep into the rainforest with the scientists hoping to identify the next pandemic pathogen, Quammen's book is plotted like a detective thriller -- Gaia Vince * Guardian *Quammen’s book is compelling and shows that there are many candidates out there vying to be the next pandemic -- Euan Lawson * British Journal of General Practice *Quammen has a wide range of knowledge, an agile pen, and a generous heart -- James Gorman * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisA sweeping history of and meditation on humanity''s relationship with machines, showing how we got here and what happens nextFaith in technological fixes for our problems is waning. Automation, which promised relief from toil, has reactivated the long-standing fear of job redundancy. Information technology, meant to liberate us from traditional authority, is placing unprecedented powers of surveillance and control in the hands of a purely secular Big Brother. And for the first time, artificial intelligence threatens anthropogenic disaster disaster caused by our own activities. Scientists join imaginative writers in warning us of the fate of Icarus, whose wings melted because he flew too close to the sun.This book tells the story of our fractured relationship with machines from humanity's first tools down to the present and into the future. It raises the crucial question of why some parts of the world developed a machine civilisation' and not others, and traces the interactions between capitalism and technology, and between science and religion, in the making of the modern world.Taking in the peaks of philosophy and triumphs of science, the foundation of economics and speculations of fiction, Robert Skidelsky embarks on a bold intellectual journey through the evolution of our understanding of technology and what this means for our lives and politics. Unless we understand technology as a system of ideas rather than as a necessity,' he writes, we will be powerless to choose which technology is best suited to our needs and purposes.'

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Book SynopsisFROM THE BBC REITH LECTURER 2021''The most important book I have read in quite some time'' Daniel Kahneman; ''A must-read'' Max Tegmark; ''The book we''ve all been waiting for'' Sam HarrisHumans dream of super-intelligent machines. But what happens if we actually succeed?Creating superior intelligence would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, according to the world''s pre-eminent AI expert, it could also be the last. In this groundbreaking book, Stuart Russell sets out why he has come to consider his own discipline an existential threat to humanity, and how we can change course before it''s too late. In brilliant and lucid prose, he explains how AI actually works and its enormous capacity to improve our lives - and why we must never lose control of machines more powerful than we are. Russell contends that we can avert the worst threats by reshaping the foundations of AI to guarantee that machines pursue our objectives, not theirs. Profound, urgent and visionary, Human Compatible is the one book everyone needs to read to understand a future that is coming sooner than we think.LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES & McKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR''Thought-provoking'' Financial Times''Fascinating and significant'' Sunday Times''The most important book on AI this year'' GuardianTrade ReviewSurely the most important book on AI this year. -- Ian Sample * The Guardian, Book of the Day *A brilliantly clear and fascinating exposition of the history of computing thus far, and how very difficult true AI will be to build. -- Steven Poole * The Spectator *Fascinating and significant. -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *Worth reading Human Compatible by Stuart Russell (he's great!) about future AI risks and solutions. -- Elon Musk * Twitter *A thought-provoking and highly readable account of the past, present and future of AI . . . Russell deploys a bracing intellectual rigour . . . but a laconic style and dry humour keep his book accessible to the lay reader. * The Financial Times *It's asking a lot of a book about the potential end of civilisation to be strewn with humour and wry asides, but this is what Russell manages . . . it's worth sticking with, for the sake of the species. -- Best Science, Nature and Ideas Books of 2019 * The Guardian *An excellent, nuanced history. * The Telegraph, Best New Science Books for Christmas *Russell is an assiduous and conscientious scholar ... [he] provides a wealth of information. This is one of those intellectual voyages where both the journey and the destination matter. -- John Naughton * The Literary Review *This is the most important book I have read in quite some time. It lucidly explains how the coming age of artificial super-intelligence threatens human control. Crucially, it also introduces a novel solution and a reason for hope. * Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize and author of 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' *Of the many books published this year on artificial intelligence, this is probably the best. Stimulating and scary stuff. -- Best Books of 2019: Technology * The Financial Times *A must-read: this intellectual tour-de-force by one of AI's true pioneers not only explains the risks of ever more powerful artificial intelligence in a captivating and persuasive way, but also proposes a concrete and promising solution. * Professor Max Tegmark, MIT, author of 'Life 3.0' *Stuart Russell has long been the most sensible voice in computer science on the topic of AI risk. And he has now written the book we've all been waiting for. Human Compatible is a brilliant and utterly accessible guide to what will be either the best or worst technological development in human history. -- Sam Harris, author of five New York Times bestsellers and host of the Making Sense podcastHuman Compatible made me a convert to Russell's concerns with our ability to control our upcoming creation -- super-intelligent machines. Unlike outside alarmists and futurists, Russell is a leading authority on AI. His new book will educate the public about AI more than any book I can think of, and is a delightful and uplifting read. -- Judea Pearl, Turing Award-winner and author of 'The Book of Why'Stuart Russell, one of the most important AI scientists of the last 25 years, may have written the most important book about AI so far, on one of the most important questions of the 21st century: How to build AI to be compatible with us. The book proposes a novel and intriguing solution for this problem, while offering many thought-provoking ideas and insights about AI along the way. An accessible and engaging must-read for the developers of AI and the users of AI - that is, for all of us. -- James Manyika * Chairman and director of McKinsey Global Institute *The man set on stopping the machines taking over. * The Telegraph *In clear and compelling language, Stuart Russell describes the huge potential benefits of Artificial Intelligence, as well as the hazards and ethical challenges. It's specially welcome that a respected leading authority should offer this balanced appraisal, avoiding both hype and scaremongering. -- Professor Martin Rees, Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, University of Cambridge, and author of 'On the Future'A strong case for planning for the day when machines can outsmart us. * Kirkus Review *Persuasively argued and lucidly imagined, Human Compatible offers an unflinching, incisive look at what awaits us in the decades ahead. Stuart Russell's diagnosis of the risks and dangers of AI is convincing, and his prescription for action is compelling. No researcher has argued more persuasively about the risks of AI, nor has shown more clearly a pathway forward. Anyone who takes the future seriously should pay attention. -- Brian Christian, author of 'Algorithms to Live By'Can we coexist happily with the intelligent machines that humans will create? "Yes," answers Human Compatible, "but first..." Through a brilliant reimagining of the foundations of artificial intelligence, Russell takes you on a journey from the very beginning, explaining the questions raised by an AI-driven society and beautifully making the case for how to ensure machines remain beneficial to humans. A totally readable and crucially important guide to the future from one of the world's leading experts. -- Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder of CognitionX and Head of the UK Government's AI CouncilThe same mix of de-mystifying authority and practical advice that Dr. Benjamin Spock once brought to the care and raising of children, Dr. Stuart Russell now brings to the care, raising, and yes, disciplining of machines. He has written the book that most -- but perhaps not all -- machines would like you to read. -- George Dyson, author of 'Turing's Cathedral' and 'Project Orion'This beautifully written book addresses a fundamental challenge for humanity: increasingly intelligent machines that do what we ask but not what we really intend. Essential reading if you care about our future. -- Professor Yoshua Bengio, Computer Science and Operations Research, Université de Montréal, winner of the 2018 Turing AwardA book that charts humanity's quest to understand intelligence, pinpoints why it became unsafe, and shows how to course-correct if we want to survive as a species. Stuart Russell, author of the leading AI textbook, can do all that with the wealth of knowledge of a prominent AI researcher and the persuasive clarity and wit of a brilliant educator. -- Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype

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Book Synopsis**SUNDAY TIMES AND THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**''An epoch-defining book'' Matt Haig''If you read just one work of non-fiction this year, it should probably be this'' David Sexton, Evening StandardSelected as a Book of the Year 2019 by the Sunday Times, Spectator and New StatesmanA Waterstones Paperback of the Year and shortlisted for the Foyles Book of the Year 2019Longlisted for the PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award It is worse, much worse, than you think. The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn''t happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today.Over the past decades, the term Anthropocene has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live-the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance, but a living nightmare.Trade ReviewIn crystalline prose, Wallace-Wells provides a devastating overview of where we are in terms of climate crisis and ecological destruction, and what the future will hold if we keep on going down the same path. Urgently readable, this is an epoch-defining book. -- Matt Haig, 'The Book that Changed My Mind' * The Guardian *'Clear, engaging and often dazzling' * The Telegraph *'A masterly analysis' * Nature *Relentless, angry journalism of the highest order. Read it and, for the lack of any more useful response, weep. . . .The article was a sensation and the book will be, too. -- Bryan Appleyard * The Sunday Times *The most terrifying book I have ever read . . . a meticulously documented, white-knuckled tour through the cascading catastrophes that will soon engulf our warming planet. * The New York Times *This is what I'm reading now: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. It focuses on the range of realistic possibilities with climate change. It does not sugarcoat, and can be quite scary -- that's without primarily focusing on the worstcase scenario. When people ask 'What can I do? - Read! What we need right now, in this country, is for all of us to be better, including ourselves.A must-read. It's not only the grandkids and the kids: it's you. And it's not only those in other countries: it's you. -- Margaret Atwood * Twitter *I've not stopped talking about The Uninhabitable Earth since I opened the first page. And I want every single person on this planet to read it.Riveting . . . Some readers will find Mr Wallace-Wells's outline of possible futures alarmist. He is indeed alarmed. You should be, too. * The Economist *Skipping the scientific jargon and relaying the facts in urgent and elegant prose, the magazine editor crafts a stirring wake-up call to recognize how global warming will permanently alter every aspect of human life. -- Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 So Far * Time *Wallace-Wells is an extremely adept storyteller, simultaneously urgent and humane . . . [he] does a terrifyingly good job of moving between the specific and the abstract. * Slate *Enough to induce an honest-to-God panic attack ... The margins of my review copy of the book are scrawled with expressions of terror and despair, declining in articulacy as the pages proceed, until it's all just cartoon sad faces and swear words ... To read The Uninhabitable Earth is to understand the collapse of the distinction between alarmism and plain realism -- Mark O'Connell * The Guardian *There is much to learn from this book. From media and scientific reports of the past decade, Wallace-Wells sifts key predictions and conveys them in vivid prose. -- David George Haskell * The Observer *Brilliant ... At the heart of Wallace-Wells's book is a remorseless, near-unbearable account of what we are doing to our planet * The New York Times *Not since Bill McKibben's "The End of Nature" 30 years ago have we been told what climate change will mean in such vivid terms. -- Fred Pearce * The Washington Post *Everyone should stop what they're doing and read The Uninhabitable Earth by @dwallacewells. This is our future if we don't act now. -- Johann Hari * Twitter *Wake up! Get educated - The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace Wells is a great place to start. -- Paris Lees * Vogue *A book that's by turns alarming, terrifying and just downright bleak . . . a sustained piece of informed polemic. * The Evening Standard *A very accessible and compelling read . . . a much more nuanced and a much more hopeful vision than you might expect. * The Irish Times *I think everyone should probably right now read David Wallace-Wells's The Uninhabitable Earth, which tells the grim story with as much optimism as possible, and which gives all the facts. -- Daniel Swift * The Spectator, Books of the Year *Well-written, captivating, occasionally wry and utterly petrifying * i News *In his gripping new book ... Wallace-Wells shocks us out of complacency' * Prospect *If you read just one work of non-fiction this year, it should probably be [this] . . . What this book forces you to face is more important than any other subject you could be informing yourself about. * The Evening Standard *Exceptionally well researched and written. . . . This short, concise book pulls no punches.Yes, this book will scare you, but it will also prompt you to take action to ensure the damage we as humans have done to the planet is stopped. * Stylist, ‘Your guide to 2019’s best non-fiction books’ *Most of us known the gist, if not the details, of the climate change crisis. And yet it is almost impossible to sustain strong feelings about it. David Wallace-Wells has now provided the details, and with writing that is not only clear and forceful, but often imaginative and even funny, he has found a way to make the information deeply felt. This is a profound book, which simultaneously makes me terrified and hopeful about the future, full of regret and new will.Harrowing. -- Jonathan Franzen * The New Yorker *The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending armageddon.Just finished The Uninhabitable Earth by @dwallacewells. Everyone, everywhere, should read it. Can't remember the last time a book had such an impact on me. * Twitter *Yes, this book will scare you, but it will also prompt you to take action to ensure the damage we as humans have done to the planet is stopped. * Stylist, Your Guide to the Best Books of 2019 *On [Alexandra] Ocasio-Cortez's office bookshelf, near a picture of her late father and a photo of her with a local Girl Scout troop, two books nestle together in uneasy union. One is the Federalist papers. The other is The Uninhabitable Earth. * Time magazine profile on Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez *If there are people around to write history books in the future, they will look back at the @ExtinctionR protestors and think they were the sanest people of our time. Read The Uninhabitable Earth by @dwallacewells if you don't know why. * Johann Hari, Twitter *If we don't want our grandchildren to curse us, we had better read this book.David Wallace-Wells argues that the impacts of climate change will much graver than most people realize, and he's right. The Uninhabitable Earth is a timely and provocative work.Trigger warning: when scientists conclude that yesterday's worst-case scenario for global warming is probably unwarranted optimism, it's time to ask Scotty to beam you up. At least that was my reaction upon finishing Wallace-Wells' brilliant and unsparing analysis of a nightmare that is no longer a distant future but our chaotic, burning present.A lucid and thorough description of our unprecedented crisis, and of the mechanisms of denial with which we seek to avoid its fullest recognition.

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Book SynopsisThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at British Academy Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Tipping points are zones or thresholds of profound changes in natural or social conditions with very considerable and largely unforecastable consequences. Tipping points may be dangerous for societies and economies, especially if the prevailing governing arrangements are not designed either to anticipate them or adapt to their arrival. Tipping points can also be transformational of cultures and behaviours so that societies can learn to adapt and to alter their outlooks and mores in favour of accommodating to more sustainable ways of living.This volume examines scientific, economic and social analyses of tipping points, and the spiritual and creative approaches to identifying and anticipating them. The authors focus on climate change, ice melt, tropical fTable of Contents1. Tipping points and critical thresholds: metaphors and systemic change ; 2. Earth system tipping points ; 3. The culture dimensions: editorial introduction ; 4. Food security, biodiversity and degradation: editorial introduction ; 5. The Spiritual Dimensions: editorial introduction ; 6. Politics, the markets and business: editorial introduction ; 7. Communicating tipping points and resilience: editorial introduction ; 8. A precarious future

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Book SynopsisFuture Politics confronts one of the most important questions of our time: how will digital technology transform politics and society? The great political debate of the last century was about how much of our collective life should be determined by the state and what should be left to the market and civil society. In the future, the question will be how far our lives should be directed and controlled by powerful digital systems - and on what terms? Jamie Susskind argues that rapid and relentless innovation in a range of technologies - from artificial intelligence to virtual reality - will transform the way we live together. Calling for a fundamental change in the way we think about politics, he describes a world in which certain technologies and platforms, and those who control them, come to hold great power over us. Some will gather data about our lives, causing us to avoid conduct perceived as shameful, sinful, or wrong. Others will filter our perception of the world, choosing what we know, shaping what we think, affecting how we feel, and guiding how we act. Still others will force us to behave certain ways, like self-driving cars that refuse to drive over the speed limit. Those who control these technologies - usually big tech firms and the state - will increasingly control us. They will set the limits of our liberty, decreeing what we may do and what is forbidden. Their algorithms will resolve vital questions of social justice, allocating social goods and sorting us into hierarchies of status and esteem. They will decide the future of democracy, causing it to flourish or decay. A groundbreaking work of political analysis, Future Politics challenges readers to rethink what it means to be free or equal, what it means to have power or property, what it means for a political system to be just or democratic, and proposes ways in which we can - and must - regain control.Trade ReviewThe most interesting exploration yet of the political realities in the digital era. * Matthew d'Ancona, Books of the Year 2018, Evening Standard *For all its grand implications, Future Politics is an accessible read, peppered with self-deprecating humour and pop cultural references throughout, and will make you only more curious about the road ahead. * Martin Coulter, Business Insider, 18 books to read in 2020 that puncture Silicon Valley utopianism *He steers a course to the future that is as convincing as it is shocking. * Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times *[Susskind] has tremendous talent and the book is very readable. * Tim Stanley, The Telegraph *An impressive feat of intellectual organization ... To have written it all down so lucidly, engagingly and succinctly is a formidable achievement. * Raphael Behr, The Guardian *The tone of this book is as refreshing as the originality of insight. Susskind contends that "that there are causes for both optimism and pessimism, but what the future requires above all is vigilance". * Paschal Donohoe, The Irish Times *Future Politics is a riveting book that sparkles with great ideas ... It is chock full of facts and the book combines knowledge of politics and technology in a unique and fascinating way. * Catherine Balavage, Frost *A work of clarity and effortless genius which is a must for anybody seeking to understand the impact of modern technology on our body politic now and in the future. * Robert Rinder, Evening Standard *Superb and necessary book. * Nick Cohen, The Observer *Future Politics should be essential reading for those with the will to anticipate the future challenges facing defence and society. * Wavell Room *Brilliant ... detailed research, colourful examples, and a pacy, upbeat style ... Future Politics will remain relevant for several years. All elected officials should read it as a matter of urgency. * Jamie Bartlett, Catholic Herald *'Future Politics' challenges readers to rethink what it means to be free or equal, what it means to have power or property, what it means for a political system to be just or democratic, and proposes ways in which we can - and must - regain control. This is no less than a call for a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. * Dominic Lenton, Engineering & Technology *... rigorous and thoughtful book ... * David Patrikarakos, Literary Review *A must-read for anyone interested in the great political debate of the 21st century: how will digital technology transform society and politics? Susskind approaches the debate with both the expertise of a lawyer and a deep understanding of the digital world. * Included in Derek Mooney's "My Summer Political Reading List", Broadsheet *Original and thought-provoking, this ground-breaking book challenges us to develop new policies for new times. * Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 2007-2010 *Few understand politics. Even fewer understand technology. Susskind is that rare soul who understands both - and more importantly, how the latter will change the former. Whether correct or not - and I believe he is correct - there is no better glimpse into our shared future than this book. * Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School *This book crackles with ideas, sparking new thoughts with every page. And it is superbly organised, too. It's difficult to help people understand the past, but to help understand the future is a real achievement. Terrific. * Lord Finkelstein, Associate Editor, The Times *From Arendt to artificial intelligence, from Machiavelli to machine learning, Susskind seamlessly weaves modern technology with classic theory to present a tour de force introduction to the future--explaining with erudition and humor the powerful digital systems that will govern our lives. * Beth Simone Noveck, Professor in Technology, Culture and Society, New York University Tandon School of Engineering *Only an elite can control the power of computation, dispersed in space, integrated in the cloud, and enabled to operate on ever bigger data. What are the implications for freedom, democracy, and justice? Jamie Susskind offers a pathbreaking exploration of the challenge that these issues pose for our political thinking and practice. It's a must-read. * Philip Pettit, L. S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values, Princeton University, and Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I. THE DIGITAL LIFEWORLD 1: Increasingly Capable Systems 2: Increasingly Integrated Technology 3: Increasingly Quantified Society 4: Thinking Like a TheoristPart II. FUTURE POWER 5: Code is Power 6: Force 7: Scrutiny 8: Perception-Control 9: Public and Private PowerPart III. FUTURE LIBERTY 10: Freedom and the Supercharged State 11: Freedom and the Tech FirmPart IV. FUTURE DEMOCRACY 12: The Dream of Democracy 13: Democracy in the FuturePart V. FUTURE JUSTICE 14: Algorithms of Distribution 15: Algorithms of Recognition 16: Algorithmic Injustice 17: Technological Unemployment 18: The Wealth CyclonePart VI. FUTURE POLITICS 19: Transparency and the New Separation of Powers 20: Post-Politics

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Book SynopsisIn the decades after the Civil War, the world experienced monumental changes in industry, trade, and governance. As Americans faced this uncertain future, public debate sprang up over the accuracy and value of predictions, asking whether it was possible to look into the future with any degree of certainty. In Looking Forward, Jamie L. Pietruska uncovers a culture of prediction in the modern era, where forecasts became commonplace as crop forecasters, weather prophets, business forecasters, utopian novelists, and fortune-tellers produced and sold their visions of the future. Private and government forecasters competed for authority as well as for an audience and a single prediction could make or break a forecaster's reputation. Pietruska argues that this late nineteenth-century quest for future certainty had an especially ironic consequence: it led Americans to accept uncertainty as an inescapable part of both forecasting and twentieth-century economic and cultural life. Drawing together histories of science, technology, capitalism, environment, and culture, Looking Forward explores how forecasts functioned as new forms of knowledge and risk management tools that sometimes mitigated, but at other times exacerbated, the very uncertainties they were designed to conquer. Ultimately Pietruska shows how Americans came to understand the future itself as predictable, yet still uncertain.

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Book SynopsisA memoir of postmodern times, cast as a history. This book is narrated by a far-future historian, Peter Jensen, who leaves this account of the world from the 1990s to the opening of the 23rd century as a gift to his granddaughter. It is a combination of fiction and scholarship.

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Book SynopsisIn this major new work by one of the leading writers on Utopian Studies, Ruth Levitas argues that a prospective future of ecological and economic crises poses a challenge to the utopian imaginary, to conceive a better world and alternative future. Utopia as Method does not construe utopia as goal or blueprint, but as a holistic, reflexive method for developing what those possible futures might be. It begins by treating utopia as the quest for grace, through a hermeneutics that recovers the utopian meaning in our culture, explored through colour and music. Moving from the existential to the social, it draws on H. G. Wells''s claim that the creation of utopias is the distinctive and proper method of sociology, and on the tentative reappearance of utopia in contemporary social theory. It proposes a constructive method, the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society. This fusion of explicitly normative social theory and analytic critique rehabilitates utopia Trade Review'Levitas's Utopia as Method is a crucial and necessary book. In the face of global ecological and economic crises, she offers utopianism as a robust and realistic method that encompasses both a critique of the existing world and alternatives for a better one that can be mobilized in the process of transforming, indeed redeeming, the dark times in which we live.' - Tom Moylan, Professor Emeritus and Co-Director of the Ralahine Centre for Utopian Studies at the University of Limerick, Ireland 'Author of the path-breaking The Concept of Utopia Ruth Levitas has produced a new powerful reflection on the protean nature of the utopian. It is a very fine work, theoretically innovative, truly interdisciplinary, and combining scholarly integrity with a distinctive political voice. The meditations of a lifetime.' - Vincent Geoghegan, Professor of Political Theory, Queen's University Belfast, UK 'Ruth Levitas' Utopia as Method is a profound and deeply original exploration of the connection between utopian thinking and social theory, and an urgent call for sociologists to place the imaginary reconstruction of society at the centre of their work. It is a wonderful, inspiring book.' - Erik Olin Wright, Vilas Distinguished Professor, University of Wisconsin, USA 'This book is an indispensable support for deep change in trivial times, a testimonial to the transformative power of imagination, and a celebration of life as a journey that can find an echo across all cultures in our changing world.' - Jenneth Parker, Research Director, Schumacher Institute, UK 'In Utopia as Method, Levitas offers an urgent and convincing application of utopian theories to IROS (the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society). She builds on her magisterial earlier work The Concept of Utopia to persuade readers that the current era (late capitalism in its death throes) has made utopian thinking mandatory not self-indulgent or irrelevant. Levitas is to be congratulated for the depth of her argument, the clarity of its expression, and the honesty that lies at its heart.' - Toby Widdicombe, University of Alaska Anchorage, USATable of ContentsIntroduction PART I 1. From Terror to Grace 2. Riff on Blue 3. Echoes of Elsewhere PART II 4. Between Sociology and Utopia 5. Utopia Denied 6. Utopia Revised 7. The Return of the Repressed PART III 8. Utopia as Archaeology 9. Utopia as Ontology 10. Utopia as Architecture

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Book SynopsisUtopia should be understood as a method rather than a goal. This book rehabilitates utopia as a repressed dimension of the sociological and in the process produces the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society, a provisional, reflexive and dialogic method for exploring alternative possible futures.Trade Review'Levitas's Utopia as Method is a crucial and necessary book. In the face of global ecological and economic crises, she offers utopianism as a robust and realistic method that encompasses both a critique of the existing world and alternatives for a better one that can be mobilized in the process of transforming, indeed redeeming, the dark times in which we live.' - Tom Moylan, Professor Emeritus and Co-Director of the Ralahine Centre for Utopian Studies at the University of Limerick, Ireland 'Author of the path-breaking The Concept of Utopia Ruth Levitas has produced a new powerful reflection on the protean nature of the utopian. It is a very fine work, theoretically innovative, truly interdisciplinary, and combining scholarly integrity with a distinctive political voice. The meditations of a lifetime.' - Vincent Geoghegan, Professor of Political Theory, Queen's University Belfast, UK 'Ruth Levitas' Utopia as Method is a profound and deeply original exploration of the connection between utopian thinking and social theory, and an urgent call for sociologists to place the imaginary reconstruction of society at the centre of their work. It is a wonderful, inspiring book.' - Erik Olin Wright, Vilas Distinguished Professor, University of Wisconsin, USA 'This book is an indispensable support for deep change in trivial times, a testimonial to the transformative power of imagination, and a celebration of life as a journey that can find an echo across all cultures in our changing world.' - Jenneth Parker, Research Director, Schumacher Institute, UK 'In Utopia as Method, Levitas offers an urgent and convincing application of utopian theories to IROS (the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society). She builds on her magisterial earlier work The Concept of Utopia to persuade readers that the current era (late capitalism in its death throes) has made utopian thinking mandatory not self-indulgent or irrelevant. Levitas is to be congratulated for the depth of her argument, the clarity of its expression, and the honesty that lies at its heart.' - Toby Widdicombe, University of Alaska Anchorage, USATable of ContentsIntroduction PART I 1. From Terror to Grace 2. Riff on Blue 3. Echoes of Elsewhere PART II 4. Between Sociology and Utopia 5. Utopia Denied 6. Utopia Revised 7. The Return of the Repressed PART III 8. Utopia as Archaeology 9. Utopia as Ontology 10. Utopia as Architecture

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for Robert Skidelsky -- -A truly innovative and radical perspective … thought-stirring and extremely refreshing -- John Gray * Guardian *Arresting insights, written – despite its complex and heavyweight subject matter – with a captivating lightness of touch -- Dominic Lawson * The Sunday Times *Crisp and pungent … deeply provocative and intellectually suggestive -- Rowan Williams * Prospect *Skidelsky is a major figure in the revival of Keynesian thought -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisTRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL TO EVERY ACTION, EVERY RELATIONSHIP, EVERY TRANSACTIONAND IT MATTERS NOW MORE THAN EVER BEFORE...In this ground-breaking book world-renowned trust expert Rachel Botsman reveals that we are at the tipping point of one of the biggest social transformations in human history. We might have lost faith in institutions and leaders, but millions of people travel in cars with total strangers, exchange digital currencies, or find themselves trusting a bot. We still trust: but not the way we used to.If we are to benefit from this radical shift, we must understand how trust is built, managed, lost and repaired in the digital age. In the first book to explain this new world, Botsman provides a definitive guide of this uncharted landscape - and explores what''s next for humanity.''Brilliantly describes how the established trust framework is undergoing a radical transformation as digital technologies take root in every fTrade ReviewBeautifully-written . . . the thesis is completely compelling. This is an important book -- Andy Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of EnglandThis is that admirable and all too rare book that gives you "an idea to think with" that helps to put new things in place: from Brexit, Donald Trump, and Blockchain to Facebook and your discontents. Who Can You Trust is a primer for a new world that sets you up to be a better citizen, consumer, and parent. In the new world of decentralized trust you need to think about who you trust, why you trust, and what that really means for what kind of new society we are building. A beautifully written, clear eyed book...I learned so much. About so many things I wanted to know. So quickly -- Sherry Turkle * Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, MIT, and author of Alone Together *Profound . . . will cause you to think deeply about your business, your relationships and your life -- Don Tapscott, bestselling author of 16 books, including 'Blockchain Revolution'Trust affects everything - from neighbourliness and shopping to democracy. This fascinating and well-researched study of the shifting tides of trust shows both the power of new technological solutions and the often surprising problems they bring in their wake. Every reader will gain new insights into one of the great issues of our time -- Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive, NESTAA timely and accessible framework for understanding what trust is, how it works, why it matters and how it is evolving. It is an important primer to the obstacles and opportunities we face as a society if we are to repair and redefine trust across socioeconomic, political and cultural divides. The stakes are high. -- Rebecca MacKinnon * Washington Post *Extremely thought-provoking . . . a must-read for anyone interested in how the world works - and will work in the future -- Will Dean, co-founder and CEO of Tough MudderSome people can educate and others can entertain; in Who Can You Trust, Rachel Botsman does both. Read it for insight or escape as it takes you on both journeys -- John Eales, most successful captain in the history of Australian rugbyThrilling. Brilliantly exposes the central paradox of the IT revolution - that it connects us while keeping us apart. Rachel Botsman encourages us to take responsibility for the kind of world we want to live in, and to preserve society's most fragile asset: trust -- Hugh Mackay, Social Scientist and best-selling author of sixteen booksTimely, lucid and beautifully written. This is one of the most important books you'll read this year -- Richard Glover, Columnist, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio BroadcasterThis book perfectly walks the reader through the past, present, and future of trust as we know it. Rachel Botsman's expertise on this topic is unmatched. It's an absolute must-read for business leaders and everyday consumers alike -- Nick Shapiro, Global Head of Trust & Risk Management, Airbnb and former Deputy CIA Deputy Chief of StaffBotsman rightly challenges us in this new era to ask the compelling questions about who, why and how we trust. Highly recommended -- Tim Costello, CEO World Vision AustraliaIn Rachel Botsman's capable hands, the concept of 'trust' - and its changing shape over the ages - becomes clear and accessible. Utterly compelling -- Dr Simon Longstaff, Executive Director of the Ethics CentreSharp, penetrating, and obsessively researched, this book will open your eyes to a phenomenon that is as important as it is impossible to ignore. -- Leigh Gallagher, Senior Editor, FortuneAn absorbing, story-filled narrative that will leave readers with a new understanding of the phenomenon that drives life in our digital age * Kirkus Reviews *A sharp, thoughtful, sometimes-surprising account of how we build trust with strangers now. * Kirkus Reviews *In a time when people are doubting experts, suspicious of the media, and losing faith in government and business, Rachel Botsman is here with a lucid analysis of what it takes to build and rebuild trust. Trust me: this is a book you need to read -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of GIVE AND TAKE, ORIGINALS, and OPTION B with Sheryl SandbergRachel Botsman's eye-opening, timely book delves into the unfolding crisis of trust spreading throughout the world. She brilliantly describes how the established trust framework is undergoing a radical transformation as digital technologies take root in every facet of our lives. Read this book and you'll be ready for a revolution in trust that rewrites the rules of human interaction -- Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, SalesforceBook of the Month -- October * Financial Times *This is a book that every adult reader should pick up to gain some perspective on how reliant we have become on technology, and how we can afford to approach it with more skepticism * The Literary Journal Review *Botsman has found a rich theme here and a fascinating way of interpreting the technological change * Wall Street Journal *Top 10 Business Bestseller * 800 CEO Read *Top 5 Tech Book of the Year * WIRED *In her witty new book technology author and TED celebrity Rachel Botsman tells us why it did not work. Who Can You Trust? reveals some deep truths * Spectator *Botsman guides the reader on an enjoyable accessible, but cautiously skeptical, tour through this hugely transformative, but barely recognized, shift in our sometimes-irrational approach to trust * Winnipeg Free Press *As Botsman drives deeper and darker, she sheds more and more light, her book [is] rapidly becoming brilliant * Dialogue *

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Book Synopsis''In this book, Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum contribute significantly to one of the most important issues of our time - how to move forward in the Fourth Industrial Revolution'' Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group Holding, People''s Republic of China''It''s no secret that technologies are reshaping the world''s economies and societies. To manage the risks and spread the benefits, we have to act now, and in the interest of stakeholders everywhere'' Andrew McAfee, Co-Founder, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, MIT, USAWe are on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And this one will be unlike any other in human history.Characterized by new technologies fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact all disciplines, economies and industries - and it will do so at an unprecedented rate. World Economic Forum data predicts that by 2025 we will see: commercial use of nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than human hair; the first transplant of a 3D-printed liver; 10% of all cars on US roads being driverless; and much more besides.In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Schwab outlines the key technologies driving this revolution, discusses the major impacts on governments, businesses, civil society and individuals, and offers bold ideas for what can be done to shape a better future for all.''The technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are extraordinary. Leadership has to be equally extraordinary to manage the complexities of systemic change'' Eric Schmidt, Technical Advisor, Alphabet, USATrade ReviewThe world has fast entered a data and technology-driven era where new opportunities but also challenges are emerging. In this book, Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum contribute significantly to one of the most important issues of our time - how to move forward in the Fourth Industrial Revolution * Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group Holding, People's Republic of China *It's no secret that technologies are reshaping the world's economies and societies. To manage the risks and spread the benefits, we have to act now, and in the interest of stakeholders everywhere * Andrew McAfee, Co-Founder, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, MIT, USA *Sheds light on what's at stake for society and how leaders can play a part in shaping the course of history. Klaus makes a powerful call in the book: "We have to shake things up before technological inertia determines our future for us." Act now * Zhu Min, Chairman, National Institute of Financial Research, People's Republic of China *The technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are extraordinary. Leadership has to be equally extraordinary to manage the complexities of systemic change * Eric Schmidt, Technical Advisor, Alphabet, USA *This book is essential for gaining a perspective on some of the critical challenges that rapid technological change poses to us all: ensuring the wellbeing of societies, understanding the evolving role of governments, and rethinking how the global economy will work in the 21st century * Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva *The World Economic Forum shows us that improving the state of the world will mean seriously thinking about, and empowering, all of those whose lives are transformed by technologies * Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva *Prosperity with technology means defending the rights of women on the frontline of change, defending the dignity of work for all workers and improving working conditions around the world. A Fourth Industrial Revolution that can do that would benefit us all * Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Brussels *The Fourth Industrial Revolution is being felt profoundly around the world. Chapter by chapter, special insights from some of the best minds from the World Economic Forum's community show just where leadership focus is needed * Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC *The challenge is clear: if we want to create technologies which benefit us all, and help us create more just and inclusive societies, we need to ensure that the values of human dignity and equality become a core design and use principle * Shalil Shetty, Secretary-General, Amnesty International, United Kingdom *

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Book Synopsis''A terrific book - essential reading for everyone seeking to make sense of Artificial Intelligence'' Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Director and Chief Executive of the Alan Turing InstituteIn this myth-busting guide to AI past and present, one of the world''s leading researchers shows why our fears for the future are misplaced.The ultimate dream of AI is to build machines that are like us: conscious and self-aware. While this remains a remote possibility, rapid progress in AI is already transforming our world. Yet the public debate is still largely centred on unlikely prospects, from sentient machines to dystopian robot takeovers.In this lively and clear-headed guide, Michael Wooldridge challenges the prevailing narrative, revealing how the hype distracts us from both the more immediate risks that this technology poses - from algorithmic bias to fake news - and the true life-changing potential of the field. The Road to Conscious Machines elucidates the discoveries of AI''s greatest pioneers from Alan Turing to Demis Hassabis, and what today''s researchers actually think and do.''Nobody understands the past, the present, the promise and the peril of this new technology better than Michael Wooldridge. The definitive account'' Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist''Effortlessly readable. The perfect guide to the history and future of AI'' Tom Chivers, author of The AI Does Not Hate YouTrade ReviewA terrific book - essential reading for everyone seeking to make sense of Artificial Intelligence. Wooldridge provides a clear-sighted and entertaining account of both the technical development of AI and the social and ethical issues arising from its increasing deployment. -- Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Director and Chief Executive of The Alan Turing InstituteTakes us expertly by the hand through the labyrinth of Artificial Intelligence. A penetrating and lucid contribution to our digital understanding, which dispels many of the myths surrounding AI. Authoritative but accessible and highly readable. * Lord Clement-Jones CBE, Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence 2017–2018 *Calm, informative and refreshingly free of hype, Wooldridge's effortlessly readable book is the perfect guide to the history and future of AI. -- Tom Chivers, science writer and author of 'The AI Does Not Hate You'In the long and often frustrating quest for artificial intelligence, something spectacular has happened in the past decade. Nobody understands the past, the present, the promise and the peril of this new technology better than Michael Wooldridge. He has written the definitive account of the new AI. -- Lord Matt Ridley, author of 'The Rational Optimist' and 'The Evolution of Everything'The buzz around AI has unearthed many questions and in The Road to Conscious Machines you get answers. -- Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder of CognitionX and Chair of the UK Government's AI CouncilIn an age when AI is promoted as either the greatest threat or best hope for humanity, Wooldridge gives us a text that is accessible and authoritative. A balanced and informed view of the decades-long history of AI, its methods and techniques, achievements and shortfalls. -- Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Professorial Research Fellow in Computer Science and Principal of Jesus College, OxfordIn this diligent and reassuring explanation of the immense difficulty of recreating intelligence in a machine, Michael Wooldridge succeeds not only in writing an engaging history of AI, but in telling us about the fabulously complicated structures on which our own consciousness rests -- Will Dunn * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis''Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum contribute significantly to one of the most important issues of our time-how to move forward in the Fourth Industrial Revolution'' -Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba GroupWorld Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab offers a practical companion and field guide to his previous book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution.Today, technology is changing everything-how we relate to one another, the way we work, how our economies and governments function, and even what it means to be human. Incredible advances-from cryptocurrencies to AI to the internet of things-are already transforming society in unprecedented ways. But the Fourth Industrial Revolution is still in its infancy, says Schwab, and at a time of such tremendous uncertainty and change, it''s our actions that will determine the trajectory the future will take.Drawing on contributions from 200 top experts in fields ranging from machine learning to geo-engineering to nanotechnology, to data ethics, Schwab equips readers with the practical tools to leverage the technologies of the future to leave the world better, safer, and more resilient than we found it.''The technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are extraordinary. Leadership has to be equally extraordinary to manage the complexities of systemic change'' - Eric Schmidt, Technical Advisor, AlphabetTrade ReviewThe world has fast entered a data and technology-driven era where new opportunities but also challenges are emerging. In this book, Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum contribute significantly to one of the most important issues of our time - how to move forward in the Fourth Industrial Revolution -- Jack Ma * Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group Holding, People's Republic of China *It's no secret that technologies are reshaping the world's economies and societies. To manage the risks and spread the benefits, we have to act now, and in the interest of stakeholders everywhere -- Andrew McAfee * Co-Founder, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA *Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution sheds light on what's at stake for society and how leaders can play a part in shaping the course of history. Klaus makes a powerful call in the book: "We have to shake things up before technological inertia determines our future for us." Act now. -- Zhu Min * Chairman, National Institute of Financial Research, People's Republic of China *The technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are extraordinary. Leadership has to be equally extraordinary to manage the complexities of systemic change -- Eric Schmidt * Technical Advisor, Alphabet, USA *This book is essential for gaining a perspective on some of the critical challenges that rapid technological change poses to us all: ensuring the wellbeing of societies, understanding the evolving role of governments, and rethinking how the global economy will work in the 21st century -- Roberto Azevêdo * Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva *The World Economic Forum shows us that improving the state of the world will mean seriously thinking about, and empowering, all of those whose lives are transformed by technologies -- Peter Maurer * President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva *Prosperity with technology means defending the rights of women on the frontline of change, defending the dignity of work for all workers and improving working conditions around the world. A Fourth Industrial Revolution that can do that would benefit us all -- Sharan Burrow * General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Brussels *The Fourth Industrial Revolution is being felt profoundly around the world. Chapter by chapter, special insights from some of the best minds from the World Economic Forum's community show just where leadership focus is needed -- Luis Alberto Moreno * President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC *The title says it all. Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution emphasizes the modern imperative to shape a development model that dramatically reduces our current unsustainable footprint on the planet, as a critical foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution to succeed. Or there won't be a fifth -- Marco Lambertini * Director-General, WWF International, Switzerland *The challenge is clear: if we want to create technologies which benefit us all, and help us create more just and inclusive societies, we need to ensure that the values of human dignity and equality become a core design and use principle -- Shalil Shetty * Secretary-General, Amnesty International, United Kingdom *

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Book SynopsisA Financial Times book of the monthIt has never been more important for business leaders to look to the future. Yet, when we are living through some of the most uncertain times we have ever faced, it can feel daunting to know where to start. In Future-Proof Your Business, applied futurist Tom Cheesewright will reveal industry techniques and tools to help you: - Scan the near horizon for incoming shocks- Look to the far future to define long-term strategy- Accelerate decision-making in your business- Delegate power to the front line, speeding your response- Streamline your organisation so it''s agile and can adapt to changeIn our uncertain times, leaders who keep their focus on the future will be the ones who prevail.Trade ReviewA Financial Times book of the month * The Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis An engaging, insightful and panoramic survey of where we are, why we got here and what it means. A brilliant guide to the most important technology of our times Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI & Cofounder of DeepMind'For readers fascinated by the future of AI, this book is an eye-opening exploration of a revolution unfolding before our eyes' New York Journal of Books Stunning advances in digital technology have given us a new wave of disarmingly human-like AI systems. Chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini put the knowledge of all the world s experts at our fingertips, and can generate meaningful sentences, equations and computer code. The march of this new technology is set to upturn our economies, challenge our democracies, and refashion society in unpredictable ways. We can expect these AI systems to soon be making autonomous decisions on the user s behalf, with transformative impact on everything we do. It is vital we understand how they work. Can AI systems think , know and understand ? Could they manipulate or deceive you, and if so, what might they make you do? Whose interests do they ultimately represent? And when will they be able to move beyond words and take actions for themselves in the real world?To answer these questions, neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield explains how these strange new minds work. He charts the evolution of AI, from the earliest inklings about thinking machines in the seventeenth century to today s gargantuan deep neural networks. The resulting book is the most accessible, up-to-date and authoritative exploration of this radical new technology. Ultimately, armed with an understanding of AI s mysterious inner workings, we can begin to grapple with the existential question of our age: can we look forward to a technological utopia, or are we in the process of writing ourselves out of history? As a leading authority in both computational neuroscience and the social impacts of AI, Christopher Summerfield is perfectly situated to explore the meaning and implications of these machines that are so uncannily like and unlike ourselves Brian Christian, co-author of Algorithms to Live by AI expert Chris Summerfield takes us on a tour of this astonishing new technology, and helps us to understand the issues it raises. You might choose to be alarmed, excited, or indifferent to LLMs, but you should read Chris s book before you decide Mike Woolridge, author of The Road to Conscious Machines

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Book SynopsisA vision of the future of education in which the classroom experience is distributed across space and time without compromising learning.What if there were a model for learning in which the classroom experience was distributed across space and time--and students could still have the benefits of the traditional classroom, even if they can't be present physically or learn synchronously? In this book, two experts in online learning envision a future in which education from kindergarten through graduate school need not be tethered to a single physical classroom. The distributed classroom would neither sacrifice students' social learning experience nor require massive development resources. It goes beyond hybrid learning, so ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic, and MOOCs, so trendy a few years ago, to reimagine the classroom itself. David Joyner and Charles Isbell, both of Georgia Tech, explain how recent developments, including distance learning and learning mana

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Book SynopsisA wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at global changes that may occur over the next fifty years—whether sudden and cataclysmic world-changing events or gradually unfolding trends.Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways: as a “fatal discontinuity,” a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemics, wars, and large-scale terrorist attacks; trends are demographic, environmental, economic, and political shifts that unfold over time. In this provocative book, scientist Vaclav Smil takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at the catastrophes and trends the next fifty years may bring.Smil first looks at rare but cataclysmic events, both natural and human-produced, then at trends of global importance, including the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources and growing economic and social inequality. He also consider

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Book SynopsisA guide to long-term thinking: how to envision the far future of Earth.We live on a planet careening toward environmental collapse that will be largely brought about by our own actions. And yet we struggle to grasp the scale of the crisis, barely able to imagine the effects of climate change just ten years from now, let alone the multi-millennial timescales of Earth's past and future life span. In this book, Vincent Ialenti offers a guide for envisioning the planet's far future—to become, as he terms it, more skilled deep time reckoners. The challenge, he says, is to learn to inhabit a longer now.Ialenti takes on two overlapping crises: the Anthropocene, our current moment of human-caused environmental transformation; and the deflation of expertise—today's popular mockery and institutional erosion of expert authority. The second crisis, he argues, is worsening the effects of the first. Hearing out scientific experts who study a wider time span than a Facebo

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Book SynopsisA vision of the future of education in which the classroom experience is distributed across space and time without compromising learning.What if there were a model for learning in which the classroom experience was distributed across space and time--and students could still have the benefits of the traditional classroom, even if they can't be present physically or learn synchronously? In this book, two experts in online learning envision a future in which education from kindergarten through graduate school need not be tethered to a single physical classroom. The distributed classroom would neither sacrifice students' social learning experience nor require massive development resources. It goes beyond hybrid learning, so ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic, and MOOCs, so trendy a few years ago, to reimagine the classroom itself.David Joyner and Charles Isbell, both of Georgia Tech, explain how recent developments, including distance learning and learning manag

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Book SynopsisHow we can invent—but not predict—the future of cities.We cannot predict future cities, but we can invent them. Cities are largely unpredictable because they are complex systems that are more like organisms than machines. Neither the laws of economics nor the laws of mechanics apply; cities are the product of countless individual and collective decisions that do not conform to any grand plan. They are the product of our inventions; they evolve. In Inventing Future Cities, Michael Batty explores what we need to understand about cities in order to invent their future.Batty outlines certain themes—principles—that apply to all cities. He investigates not the invention of artifacts but inventive processes. Today form is becoming ever more divorced from function; information networks now shape the traditional functions of cities as places of exchange and innovation. By the end of this century, most of the world's population will live in c

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Book SynopsisA unique examination of the civic use, regulation, and politics of communication and data technologiesTrade Review“Erudite and thought-provoking, Undoing Optimization makes a compelling argument for another type of smart city, one where civic action extends beyond the logics of technology companies.”—Rob Kitchin, Maynooth University Social Science Institute “Undoing Optimization charts the complex intersections of smart cities and civic action. By deftly examining imaginaries of technological systems and citizenship, Powell contributes an important study in urban optimization.”—Jennifer Gabrys, author of How to Do Things with Sensors"An unflinching critical account of the rise of the ‘optimized city’—of the urban spatial extraction and modeling of data for optimization by private commercial and governmental authorities.”—Louise Amoore, author of Cloud Ethics: Algorithms and the Attributes of Ourselves and Others “Global upheaval has revealed the fragility and malleability of our urban and communication networks. Alison Powell reminds us that citizens have the power to build new systems embodying progressive politics.”—Shannon Mattern, author of Code and Clay, Data and Dirt: Five Thousand Years of Urban Media “This is an essential book for anyone concerned with how cities of tomorrow can work, and who they can work for.”—Mark Graham, coauthor of The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction

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Book SynopsisA compelling argument that the Internet of things threatens human rights and securitySobering and important.Financial Times, Best Books of 2020: Technology The Internet has leapt from human-facing display screens into the material objects all around us. In this so-called Internet of thingsconnecting everything from cars to cardiac monitors to home appliancesthere is no longer a meaningful distinction between physical and virtual worlds. Everything is connected. The social and economic benefits are tremendous, but there is a downside: an outage in cyberspace can result not only in loss of communication but also potentially in loss of life. Control of this infrastructure has become a proxy for political power, since countries can easily reach across borders to disrupt real-world systems. Laura DeNardis argues that the diffusion of the Internet into the physical world radically escalates governance concerns around privacy, discrimination, human safety, democracy, and national securityTrade Review"Sobering and important"—John Thornhill, Financial Times Best Technology Books of 2020“[A] very well researched and impeccably written text. While dense in terms of the information and discussion provided, particularly in the sections concerning the technical areas, The Internet in Everything remains easy to read and the lines of argument and discussion are clear and succinct. I do not hesitate to recommend this volume to political scientists, security practitioners and scholars as well as the interested public.”—Courteney J. O’Connor, LSE Review of Books"This brilliant and essential book does nothing less than alter our paradigm for thinking about the internet—from communications and indirect control to communications and direct control. The internet is even more powerful—or more dangerous—than we think."—Anupam Chander, author of The Electronic Silk Road: How the Web Binds the World Together in Commerce “This is a must-read. If you have limited time, read Chapters 1 and 8 at least. ‘All of the policy issues in two-dimensional digital space have leapt into three-dimensional real-world space and have added new concerns around physical safety and everyday human activity.’”—Vint Cerf, Internet Pioneer"The Internet isn't just about communication anymore, Laura DeNardis explains in this important new book. Digital networks can now directly affect and manipulate our physical world--even our own bodies. And when the Internet is embedded in everything, everything becomes a potential object of surveillance and control. DeNardis shows us why we need a new politics of privacy and security as the Internet gets physical."—Jack M. Balkin, Yale Law School“A crucial read for understanding the unseen but powerful mechanisms and standards which shape security and policy issues impacting everyone.”—Marietje Schaake, Member of European Parliament 2009-2019“With more things than people connected to the Internet, we enter a cyber-physical world of opportunities and threats. Laura DeNardis is the perfect guide to this strange new world.”—Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University and author of The Future of Power

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Book Synopsis''A fascinating book . . . Bhaskar is a reassuringly positive and often witty guide''Observer''A fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas?''Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of DeepMind and Google VP''Have big ideas and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar''s Human Frontiers is the best look at these all-important questions.''Tyler Cowen, author of The Great Stagnation and The Complacent Class''Michael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilization has lost ambition and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling foTrade ReviewA fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas? -- Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder, DeepMind; Google VPHave 'Big Ideas' and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar's HUMAN FRONTIERS is the best look at these all-important questions -- Tyler Cowen, author of THE GREAT STAGNATION and THE COMPLACENT CLASSMichael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilisation has lost ambition, and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation, rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling for bold, adventurous innovators to go big again. A fascinating book -- Matt Ridley, author of HOW INNOVATION WORKSMichael Bhaskar deftly delivers big ideas about big ideas ... HUMAN FRONTIERS is an admiring stroll through the history of ideas and an impressive display of innovation erudition -- Safi Bahcall, author of LOONSHOTS: NURTURE THE CRAZY IDEAS THAT WIN WARS, CURE DISEASES, AND TRANSFORM INDUSTRIESMichael Bhaskar's HUMAN FRONTIERS is a greatly welcome contrast to both doom-and-gloom and overly boosterish views of humanity's future. It combines a masterful breadth of social perspective with an impressive grasp of our problems and potential solutions. Visionary and convincing -- Christine Peterson, co-founder, Foresight InstituteBhaskar wants us to believe that big ideas, sometimes seized upon in an instant, propel humankind's progress. The thesis is boldly and elegantly stated; the examples work in its favor. This important book demands our answer -- Margaret C. Jacob, University of California, Los AngelesSweeping in scope and thought-provoking throughout, HUMAN FRONTIERS is vital for understanding every aspect of Big Ideas: their origins, their role in societal progress, and how we can make more of them ... A paean to curiosity, HUMAN FRONTIERS is essential reading for understanding how science and progress works, and how it can work in the future -- Samuel Arbesman, Scientist in Residence, Lux Capital; author of OVERCOMPLICATED and THE HALF-LIFE OF FACTSThe world's big ideas are slowing down, but it needn't be that way. Bhaskar brilliantly shows how we can do better. If you loved books like HUMANKIND and SAPIENS, you'll love HUMAN FRONTIERS -- David Bodanis, author of EINSTEIN’S GREATEST MISTAKE and THE ART OF FAIRNESSIdeas through history often reconfigure our world. But is this vital process slowing down and stagnating? With infectious enthusiasm and verve, Michael Bhaskar addresses these questions by taking us on an exhilarating grand tour of the history and future of big ideas. Bhaskar's inspiring call to arms, shining a bright and unflinching light on the challenges we face, is itself a reason to feel hopeful -- Ziyad Marar, author of JUDGED: THE VALUE OF BEING MISUNDERSTOODFull of fascinating stories and surprising insights, HUMAN FRONTIERS is one of the most exciting and thought-provoking books I've read in years. Only a genuine polymath like Michael Bhaskar could write a book as big and bold as this -- Roman Krznaric, author of THE GOOD ANCESTOR: HOW TO THINK LONG TERM IN A SHORT-TERM WORLDthe most important book that I have read in a long time. With a broadside of explosive arguments, superb examples that effortlessly jump from big science to literature and back again, and an unputdownable writing style, Michael Bhaskar explains why our civilization appears to have run out of big ideas. An essential read -- Mark Piesing, journalist and author of N-4 DOWN: THE HUNT FOR THE ARCTIC AIRSHIP ITALIAA brilliant, and brilliantly readable, survey of the frontiers of human ingenuity and how we might, just, think our way through the big challenges of the century ahead -- Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan, UCLA fascinating book . . . Bhaskar is a reassuringly positive and often witty guide * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThis ambitious and thought-provoking new work offers an overarching analysis of decision-making in all walks of life.

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