The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

by Kevin Kelly

Hardcover, 2016

Status

Available

Call number

303.48

Publication

Viking (2016), Edition: 1st, 336 pages

Language

Original language

English

Description

Business. Technology. Nonfiction. Economics. HTML:A New York Times Bestseller From one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the twelve technological imperatives that will shape the next thirty years and transform our lives Much of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion. In this fascinating, provocative new book, Kevin Kelly provides an optimistic road map for the future, showing how the coming changes in our lives�??from virtual reality in the home to an on-demand economy to artificial intelligence embedded in everything we manufacture�??can be understood as the result of a few long-term, accelerating forces. Kelly both describes these deep trends�??interacting, cognifying, flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, tracking, and questioning�??and demonstrates how they overlap and are codependent on one another. These larger forces will completely revolutionize the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate with each other. By understanding and embracing them, says Kelly, it will be easier for us to remain on top of the coming wave of changes and to arrange our day-to-day relationships with technology in ways that bring forth maximum benefits. Kelly�??s bright, hopeful book will be indispensable to anyone who seeks guidance on where their business, industry, or life is heading�??what to invent, where to work, in what to invest, how to better reach customers, and what to begin to put into place�??as th… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member GShuk
Could not finish the audio. Sometimes he goes on and on to force a point that was not even worth talking about. There are better books out there on this topic.
LibraryThing member tgraettinger
Interesting, but not as compelling as some of his other works. Fun to skim, but no real need to read closely.
LibraryThing member Opinionated
And of course he's right. It is inevitable. Whether all of the forces he outlines will play out exactly as he predicts, time of course will tell. Kelly himself admits to being totally wrong about wikipedia and social sharing in general. But these are inevitable forces and directions.

Some of this
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you will know already. Remixing, Tracking, Interrogating, Sharing - everyone is aware of these forces even though Kelly describes the underlying principals and motivations behind these beautifully clearly. One phrase I love "Vanity trumps privacy every time". Isn't that true?

Others you may not know. If nothing else, read the chapter on Cognifying. "The next 10,000 start ups will be based on the principal of Take X and add AI". So true, and so clearly stated

Strongly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Tom_Westlake
The author describes the 12 "technologies" which are actually more verbs then anything. Learned a lot about some of the abilities we currently have and what's on the horizon. Definitely an interesting read and perspective, but not exactly what I would say are technologies but perspectives and
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describing things that are already happening so to say it is inevitable is a bit of a misnomer. Enjoyed the book though as there was some pretty cool stuff like having things delivered to you on a regular basis and returning one time use items such as clothes. If you have the money for that kind of lifestyle I congratulate you because this would not be the norm for most folks. The print copy may have links to some of the services, programs and websites that he refers to vaguely and without any great expansion or explanation.
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LibraryThing member fpagan
"Massive tracking and total surveillance is here to stay" (p 5), and this guy insists we should "embrace" it! He loves the takeover of modern societies by many of the worst-ever tech ideas (cloud computing, Internet of Things, owner-tracking smartphones, Facebook, etc) and argues that "anonymity
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should never be eliminated completely, but it should be kept as close to zero as possible." (p 264) Yes, his book is intelligently written and is an importantly informative thing to read, but it is also unintentionally horrifying. If all his discussed tech trends are indeed inevitable (i.e., if tech isn't or can't be drastically reformed to act and develop in a *right* way), perhaps those of us who understand that robust privacy rights are an essential part of freedom should not bother trying to help the human species avoid the self-destruction it seems to be headed for.
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LibraryThing member johnverdon
This is a MUST READ book for anyone who wants significant insights in the the emerging future of the digital environment.
LibraryThing member Paul_S
Some people cannot be cured of optimism. If only the author could compare his previous predictions with reality. I fear that even if he wanted to do that he would take his life as a representative example of reality and somehow believe that everyone in the world is like him.

I am punching the next
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person who quotes the future is not evenly distributed line.
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DDC/MDS

303.48

Physical description

336 p.; 6.31 inches

ISBN

0525428089 / 9780525428084
Page: 0.3052 seconds