Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Free Press (2014), Edition: Reprint, 432 pages
Description
The authors document how four forces--exponential technologies, the DIY innovator, the Technophilanthropist, and the Rising Billion--are conspiring to solve our biggest problems. "Abundance" establishes hard targets for change and lays out a strategic roadmap for governments, industry and entrepreneurs, giving us plenty of reason for optimism.
Media reviews
In the forthcoming book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, Peter H. Diamandis (chairman and CEO of the X-Prize Foundation and cofounder and chairman of Singularity University) and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler give us an extensive tour of the latest in exponentially
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growing technologies and explore how four emerging forces — exponential technologies, the DIY innovator, the Technophilanthropist, and the Rising Billion — are conspiring to solve humanity’s biggest problems.
“This brilliant must-read book provides the key to the coming era of abundance, replacing eons of scarcity,” says Ray Kurzweil, inventor and author of The Singularity is Near.
Matt Ridley, author of the Rational Optimist, agrees: “This vital book … gives us a blinding glimpse of the innovations that are coming our way. …” Stewart Brand, editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, describes the book as “comprehensively sampl[ing] … the profound innovations going on to improve the human condition.”
The authors make a compelling case for optimism. We are introduced to dozens of innovators and industry captains making tremendous strides in healthcare, agriculture, energy, and other fields: Dean Kamen’s “Slingshot,” a technology that can transform polluted water, salt water, or even raw sewage into incredibly high-quality drinking water for less than one cent a liter; the Qualcomm Tricorder X-Prize, which promises a low-cost, handheld medical device that allows anyone to diagnose themself better than a board-certified doctor; and Dickson Despommier’s “vertical farms,” which replace traditional agriculture with a system that uses 80 percent less land, 90 percent less water, and 100 percent fewer pesticides, with zero transportation costs.
As a bonus, the authors provide a detailed reference section filled with 90 graphs, charts, and graphics offering much of the source data underpinning their conclusions. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Miro
In this surprising book the authors look at many aspects of modern technological development and predict enormous positive changes in the coming few decades.
As they say, "When seen through the lens of technology, few resources are truly scarce they´re mainly inaccessible. Yet the threat of
Overall, their conclusions are very convincing, and they devote an interesting section to cognitive biases, particularly the natural tendency to focus on threatening situations combined with an inability to appreciate their probability. Modern information overload presents a multitude of possible threats = anxieties while in reality lives are safer and more uneventful than ever before.
I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren´t for their finessing of the issue of robotic AI on employment. They say, ".... The old lower skilled jobs were replaced with higher skilled jobs, and the workforce was trained to fill them."
They know that there is is world of difference between the introduction of farm machinery and new intelligent agent computers that can fly aircraft or provide advanced medical diagnosis. There´s an interesting discussion of this problem in Martin Ford´s, "The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future."
As they say, "When seen through the lens of technology, few resources are truly scarce they´re mainly inaccessible. Yet the threat of
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scarcity still dominates our worldview.", and they go on to look at new cheap seawater purification, the falling costs of solar electricity, smart grids, open source maker groups, the democratization and cost reduction of publishing'/advertising (eg. Craig´s list) and education (eg. Khan Academy), mobile phone banking in Africa, etc. etc.Overall, their conclusions are very convincing, and they devote an interesting section to cognitive biases, particularly the natural tendency to focus on threatening situations combined with an inability to appreciate their probability. Modern information overload presents a multitude of possible threats = anxieties while in reality lives are safer and more uneventful than ever before.
I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren´t for their finessing of the issue of robotic AI on employment. They say, ".... The old lower skilled jobs were replaced with higher skilled jobs, and the workforce was trained to fill them."
They know that there is is world of difference between the introduction of farm machinery and new intelligent agent computers that can fly aircraft or provide advanced medical diagnosis. There´s an interesting discussion of this problem in Martin Ford´s, "The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future."
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LibraryThing member geertwissink
If you love technology and the breathtaking exponential pace in which technology changes the world, this book is for you! It reads like a biography of all the inventors & game-changers of the last 10 years, and many others I'd never heard of.
LibraryThing member BobNolin
This book is a hopeful and encouraging look at a possible future we never hear about via the mainstream media. A great cure for Armageddonitis. Highly recommended. The only fault I found with it is the gawdawful cover. As with websites, it's best not to use family members to design for you; go with
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the pros. Perhaps the paperback will have a professionally-designed cover. Show Less
LibraryThing member SFCC
We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold, contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other
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powerful forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions. Suggested by N. Kennedy Show Less
LibraryThing member DLMorrese
Humanity is facing challenges, but then it always has. And it has always overcome them. More than that, we (collectively over time) have improved the quality of human existence. We now live longer, eat better, and have more free time than ever before. This book presents a brief look at some
Maybe too hopeful.
The technological advancements are presented as being almost certain, largely through the efforts of visionary philanthropists and entrepreneurs who can and are willing to provide funding. But challenges remain. There is no certainty that they'll be overcome. Admittedly, it seems likely, but it's far from certain. It's not really the advancement of technology that I think may be our greatest stumbling block. For example, solar energy CAN provide far more energy than we'll ever need, but will we exploit it? That's not a technological challenge. It's one of culture, politics, and economics. These fall outside the scope of this book and may be, I think WILL be, more difficult to overcome than the scientific and technological issues.
I can recommend this book to anyone interested in an overview of emerging technology and its potential. I enjoyed it.
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emerging technologies that may help us past foreseeable potholes on our road to the future...robotics, computer intelligence, information networks, biotechnology, and others. All are advancing at exponential rates. They show great promise to allow us to feed, clothe, and provide energy for our growing worldwide population, and to create a higher quality of life for everyone. It's a hopeful picture.Maybe too hopeful.
The technological advancements are presented as being almost certain, largely through the efforts of visionary philanthropists and entrepreneurs who can and are willing to provide funding. But challenges remain. There is no certainty that they'll be overcome. Admittedly, it seems likely, but it's far from certain. It's not really the advancement of technology that I think may be our greatest stumbling block. For example, solar energy CAN provide far more energy than we'll ever need, but will we exploit it? That's not a technological challenge. It's one of culture, politics, and economics. These fall outside the scope of this book and may be, I think WILL be, more difficult to overcome than the scientific and technological issues.
I can recommend this book to anyone interested in an overview of emerging technology and its potential. I enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member Tom_Westlake
I read the new book Bold before reading this one but thought based on how much I enjoyed that one that this one would be just as enjoyable. Unfortunately I was as enthusiastic about this one. It is not a bad book, but it wasn't quit what I was expecting which was just something a little bit more
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informative and with a little more depth. They do a great job of describing just how great the world and future could be, including emerging technologies, but don't present any compelling arguments on how to get there. Show Less
LibraryThing member Paul_S
It's optimism unbridled by any sort of criticism. The irony that in this same book the author warns against confirmation and availability bias is sublime. The level of delusion is explained by the author's position. He is an extremely intelligent man who routinely hangs around the smartest people
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on the planet and spends most of his time on pioneering projects so obviously his world view is a little skewed. He also uses the line that should be a capital offence: "this is already possible to do with off-the-shelf components". And OLPC was not a success regardless of how many times the author repeats the claim. A few other projects he mentions were also less successful than the book's description would lead you to believe. All this is needlessly dishonest. Show Less
LibraryThing member usuallee
Weird time to read a book that is so optimistic about the future, given the current dire state of affairs politically, where a fascist like Donald Trump may become President, and at the bookstore and cineplex, where people who don't even really know what dystopia means other than as a genre to be
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capitalized (I like Dystopian....) flock to the latest fiction where the world has Done Gone To Hell in record numbers. Not sure if I'm totally buying it, but then again, as a human, I'm wired to engage in any number of pessimistic and illogical misperceptions of reality, according to the book. This why people say the world is going down the tubes when it is not, the book argues. I hope the state of abundance comes true. Show Less
Awards
Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year (Longlist — 2012)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
432 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
145161683X / 9781451616835