Friday, February 7, 2014

Technologies that are developing Exponentially:
1) Biotech. Now, even some high school students have displayed an ability to sequence DNA, and life is looking less like a fixed condition, and more like a manufacturing process.

2) Computational systems  like IBM Watson that can now understand natural language and form “mental” models of the world. The prices are rapidly dropping making them available to more people and businesses. They can be leased by the minute via cloud-based services.
3) Networks and sensors. Wireless devices embedded in objects are gathering huge amounts of data that can be modeled by people who are able to “ask the right questions.”
4) Artificial Intelligence.  AI is creating a new generation of personal digital assistants that are so smart they can tell people where they need to go next, without even being asked or prompted.
5) Robotics. The robots are coming and they are going to be everywhere, performing all sorts of tasks that people once did. “Jobs are going from China to India to robots,” Mr. Diamandis said.
6) Digital manufacturing. Lego won’t be a toy manufacturer. It will be an information company that creates blueprints for toys. Consumers will produce the parts at home using 3D printers that spit out Legos—along with all sorts of other objects, Mr. Diamandis.
7) Medical technology. Modern medicine is information technology, according to Mr. Diamandis, who predicted that small mobile devices will allow people to self-diagnose their own health conditions.
8) Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology won’t stop with warmer and lighter pairs of shoes. Mr. Diamandis envisions high strength, light weight fabrics that enable personal air flight.
Books:
1. RACE AGAINST THE MACHINE by Brynjolfsson & McAfee - How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy
2. THE SECOND ECONOMY, by W Brian Arthur - Digitization is creating a second economy that’s vast, automatic, and invisible—thereby bringing the biggest change since the Industrial Revolution.
3.  Jobocalypse : The End of Human Jobs and How Robots will Replace Them by Ben Way a leading futurologist, technologist, inventor, and entrepreneur. With over twenty years of experience in technology and innovation. The book leaves out the impact of AI on jobs.
4. Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK: … how to survive the economic collapse and be happy by Federico Pistono  an award-winning journalist, social entrepreneur, scientific educator, activist, and aspiring filmmaker.
6. Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier the bestselling author of You Are Not a Gadget, the father of virtual reality, and one of the most influential thinkers of our time. For decades, Lanier has drawn on his expertise and experience as a computer scientist, musician, and digital media pioneer to predict the revolutionary ways in which technology is transforming our culture.
7. The Human Race to the Future: What Could Happen -  What to Do by Daniel Berleant wanted to understand what the world will be like some day. That's why he wrote this book. A professional scientist educated at MIT and the University of Texas at Austin, Berleant understands, in a way everyone can relate to, the importance of both understanding the future and knowing what we can do about it. This is his first book aimed at a popular audience.
8. Robot Futures by Illah Reza Nourbakhsh With robots, we are inventing a new species that is part material and part digital. The ambition of modern robotics goes beyond copying humans, beyond the effort to make walking, talking androids that are indistinguishable from people. Future robots will have superhuman abilities in both the physical and digital realms. They will be embedded in our physical spaces, with the ability to go where we cannot, and will have minds of their own, thanks to artificial intelligence. They will be fully connected to the digital world, far better at carrying out online tasks than we are. In Robot Futures, the roboticist Illah Reza Nourbakhsh considers how we will share our world with these creatures, and how our society could change as it incorporates a race of stronger, smarter beings. Nourbakhsh imagines a future that includes adbots offering interactive custom messaging; robotic flying toys that operate by means of "gaze tracking"; robot-enabled multimodal, multi-continental telepresence; and even a way that nanorobots could allow us to assume different physical forms. Nourbakhsh follows each glimpse into the robotic future with an examination of the underlying technology and an exploration of the social consequences of the scenario.
Each chapter describes a form of technological empowerment -- in some cases, empowerment run amok, with corporations and institutions amassing even more power and influence and individuals becoming unconstrained by social accountability. (Imagine the hotheaded discourse of the Internet taking physical form.) Nourbakhsh also offers a counter-vision: a robotics designed to create civic and community empowerment. His book helps us understand why that is the robot future we should try to bring about.



9. The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Humanity by Ray Kurzweil is the inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and one of our greatest living visionaries. Now he offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century--an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live. Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways. Optimistic and challenging, thought-provoking and engaging, The Age of Spiritual Machines is the ultimate guide on our road into the next century.
10. SINGULARITY IS NEAR by Ray Kurzweil Examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.
11. On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines
    Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself.
   Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines.
    The brain is not a computer, but a memory system that stores experiences in a way that reflects the true structure of the world, remembering sequences of events and their nested relationships and making predictions based on those memories. It is this memory-prediction system that forms the basis of intelligence, perception, creativity, and even consciousness.
    In an engaging style that will captivate audiences from the merely curious to the professional scientist, Hawkins shows how a clear understanding of how the brain works will make it possible for us to build intelligent machines, in silicon, that will exceed our human ability in surprising ways. Written with acclaimed science writer Sandra Blakeslee, On Intelligence promises to completely transfigure the possibilities of the technology age. It is a landmark book in its scope and clarity.
12. Rapture for the Geeks: When AI Outsmarts IQ by Richard Dooling Will the Geeks inherit the earth?
    If computers become twice as fast and twice as capable every two years, how long is it before they’re as intelligent as humans? More intelligent? And then in two more years, twice as intelligent? How long before you won’t be able to tell if you are texting a person or an especially ingenious chatterbot program designed to simulate intelligent human conversation?
    According to Richard Dooling in Rapture for the Geeks—maybe not that long. It took humans millions of years to develop opposable thumbs (which we now use to build computers), but computers go from megabytes to gigabytes in five years; from the invention of the PC to the Internet in less than fifteen. At the accelerating rate of technological development, AI should surpass IQ in the next seven to thirty-seven years (depending on who you ask). We are sluggish biological sorcerers, but we’ve managed to create whiz-bang machines that are evolving much faster than we are.
    In this fascinating, entertaining, and illuminating book, Dooling looks at what some of the greatest minds have to say about our role in a future in which technology rapidly leaves us in the dust. As Dooling writes, comparing human evolution to technological evolution is “worse than apples and oranges: It’s appliances versus orangutans.” Is the era of Singularity, when machines outthink humans, almost upon us? Will we be enslaved by our supercomputer overlords, as many a sci-fi writer has wondered? Or will humans live lives of leisure with computers doing all the heavy lifting?
    With antic wit, fearless prescience, and common sense, Dooling provocatively examines nothing less than what it means to be human in what he playfully calls the age of b.s. (before Singularity)—and what life will be like when we are no longer alone with Mother Nature at Darwin’s card table. Are computers thinking and feeling if they can mimic human speech and emotions? Does processing capability equal consciousness? What happens to our quaint beliefs about God when we’re all worshipping technology? What if the human compulsion to create ever more capable machines ultimately leads to our own extinction? Will human ingenuity and faith ultimately prevail over our technological obsessions? Dooling hopes so, and his cautionary glimpses into the future are the best medicine to restore our humanity.
13. Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the “smart” in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence.
In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail—human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine.
Through profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs, and groundbreaking AI systems, Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to?
14. More Than Human: The Promise of Biological Enhancement by Ramez Naam What if you could be smarter, stronger, and have a better memory just by taking a pill?
What if we could alter our genes to cure Alzheimer's and Parkinson's?
What if we could halt or even reverse the human aging process?
What if we could communicate with each other simply by thinking about it?
    These questions were once the stuff of science fiction. Today, advances in biotechnology have shown that they're plausible, even likely to be accomplished in the near future. In labs around the world, researchers looking for ways to help the sick and injured have stumbled onto techniques that enhance healthy animals--making them stronger, faster, smarter, and longer-lived--in some cases, even connecting their minds to robots and computers across the Internet.
    Now science is on the verge of applying this knowledge to healthy men and women, allowing us to alter humanity in ways we'd previously only dreamed possible. The same research that could cure Alzheimer's is leading to drugs and genetic techniques that could boost human intelligence. The techniques being developed to stave off heart disease and cancer have the potential to slow or even reverse human aging. And brain implants that restore motion to the paralyzed and sight to the blind are already allowing a small set of patients to control robots and computers simply by thinking about it.
    Not everyone welcomes this scientific progress. Cries of "against nature" arise from skeptics even as scientists break new ground at an astounding pace. Across the political spectrum, the debate roils: Should we embrace the power to alter our minds and bodies, or should we restrict it?
    Distilling the most radical accomplishments being made in labs worldwide, including gene therapy, genetic engineering, stem cell research, life extension, brain-computer interfaces, and cloning, More Than Human offers an exciting tour of the impact biotechnology will have on our lives. Throughout this remarkable trip, author Ramez Naam shares an impassioned vision for the future with revealing insight into the ethical dilemmas posed by twenty-first-century science.
    "A terrific survey of current work and future possibilities in gene therapy, neurotechnology and other fields." - Los Angeles Times
15. Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization by K. Eric Drexler is the founding father of nanotechnology—the science of engineering on a molecular level. In Radical Abundance, he shows how rapid scientific progress is about to change our world. Thanks to atomically precise manufacturing, we will soon have the power to produce radically more of what people want, and at a lower cost. The result will shake the very foundations of our economy and environment.
    Already, scientists have constructed prototypes for circuit boards built of millions of precisely arranged atoms. The advent of this kind of atomic precision promises to change the way we make things—cleanly, inexpensively, and on a global scale. It allows us to imagine a world where solar arrays cost no more than cardboard and aluminum foil, and laptops cost about the same.
    A provocative tour of cutting edge science and its implications by the field’s founder and master, Radical Abundance offers a mind-expanding vision of a world hurtling toward an unexpected future.
16. Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology by Eric Drexler This brilliant work heralds the new age of nanotechnology, which will give us thorough and inexpensive control of the structure of matter.  Drexler examines the enormous implications of these developments for medicine, the economy, and the environment, and makes astounding yet well-founded projections for the future
17. Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, and Computation by K. Eric Drexler "Devices enormously smaller than before will remodel engineering, chemistry, medicine, and computer technology. How can we understand machines that are so small? Nanosystems covers it all: power and strength, friction and wear, thermal noise and quantum uncertainty. This is the book for starting the next century of engineering." - Marvin Minsky
    MIT Science magazine calls Eric Drexler "Mr. Nanotechnology." For years, Drexler has stirred controversy by declaring that molecular nanotechnology will bring a sweeping technological revolution - delivering tremendous advances in miniaturization, materials, computers, and manufacturing of all kinds. Now, he's written a detailed, top-to-bottom analysis of molecular machinery - how to design it, how to analyze it, and how to build it. Nanosystems is the first scientifically detailed description of developments that will revolutionize most of the industrial processes and products currently in use.
    This groundbreaking work draws on physics and chemistry to establish basic concepts and analytical tools. The book then describes nanomechanical components, devices, and systems, including parallel computers able to execute 1020 instructions per second and desktop molecular manufacturing systems able to make such products. Via chemical and biochemical techniques, proximal probe instruments, and software for computer-aided molecular design, the book charts a path from present laboratory capabilities to advanced molecular manufacturing. Bringing together physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, and computer science, Nanosystems provides an indispensable introduction to the emerging field of molecular nanotechnology.



18. Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution - Authors Eric Drexler, Chris Peterson, Gayle Pergamit A comprehensive, easy-to-understand handbook that explains what nanotechnology is and how it will revolutionize life in the future. The world's leading expert in the field, Drexler also examines the spectacular accomplishments that might result from a breakthrough: elimination of disease and pollution. 20 illustrations.
19. How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed by Ray Kurzweil is arguably today’s most influential futurist. In How to Create a Mind, he presents a provocative exploration of the most important project in the human-machine civilization: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it functions and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines. Kurzweil discusses how the brain works, how the mind emerges, brain-computer interfaces, and the implications of vastly increasing the powers of our intelligence to address the world’s problems. Certain to be one of the most widely discussed and debated science books of the year, How to Create a Mindis sure to take its place alongside Kurzweil’s previous classics.
20. Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We  Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer A revelatory exploration of the hottest trend in technology and the dramatic impact it will have on the economy, science, and society at large.
    Which paint color is most likely to tell you that a used car is in good shape? How can officials identify the most dangerous New York City manholes before they explode? And how did Google searches predict the spread of the H1N1 flu outbreak?
    The key to answering these questions, and many more, is big data. “Big data” refers to our burgeoning ability to crunch vast collections of information, analyze it instantly, and draw sometimes profoundly surprising conclusions from it. This emerging science can translate myriad phenomena—from the price of airline tickets to the text of millions of books—into searchable form, and uses our increasing computing power to unearth epiphanies that we never could have seen before. A revolution on par with the Internet or perhaps even the printing press, big data will change the way we think about business, health, politics, education, and innovation in the years to come. It also poses fresh threats, from the inevitable end of privacy as we know it to the prospect of being penalized for things we haven’t even done yet, based on big data’s ability to predict our future behavior.
    In this brilliantly clear, often surprising work, two leading experts explain what big data is, how it will change our lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards.

21. The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future - Editors Max More,  Natasha Vita-More
22. The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet  by Ramez Naam As the world teeters on the brink of dramatic, perhaps catastrophic, transformation due to climate change, it is hard to find good news anywhere. Luckily, business and technology ethicist Naam knows where to look. The increasingly noteworthy author of More Than Human (2005) and a debut sf novel, Nexus (2013), Naam says there is much to decry as he cites all the usual suspects, from rising sea levels to devastating droughts. But there is also much to celebrate, from humankind’s proven ability to conquer adversity through innovation to the limitless availability of renewable resources such as solar and wind power. By providing a detailed, statistically rich historical background on many of the detrimental practices and attitudes that have brought humanity to the nail-biting precipice that may await a century from now, Naam strengthens his soberly confident, if not cautiously optimistic, predictions for how humans can walk it back from the edge of disaster. Though some of his arguments may evoke controversy, Naam nonetheless presents a balanced and ecumenical approach through cogent, well-researched positions. --Carol Haggas
23. HIDDEN ORDER by John Holland This is a primer for complex adaptive systems and an excellent one at that. If you need an easy read before getting into the dry reading of technical literature, this is the place to start.
24. ABUNDANCE by Diamandis & Kotler Explores the coming era of abundance which is replacing eons of scarcity, a powerful antidote to today’s malaise and pessimism. “At a moment when our world faces multiple crises and is awash in pessimism, Abundance redirects the conversation, spotlighting scientific innovators working to improve people's lives  around the world. The result is more than a portrait of brilliant minds - it's a reminder of the infinite possibilities for doing good when we tap into our own empathy and wisdom.”—Arianna Huffington, CEO, Huffington Post
“This brilliant must-read book provides the key to the coming era of abundance replacing eons of scarcity, a powerful antidote to today’s malaise and pessimism.”—Ray Kurzweil
25. BANKER TO THE POOR by Muhammad Yunus In the 30 years since Professor Yunus's first loan of 27 dollars, Grameen has now lent out billions to millions. It has liberated women in small villages, it has brought capitalist market mechanisms to the economic bottom 2% of the worlds population.
26. THE WORLD IS FLAT by Thomas L. Friedman -  An essential update on globalization, its opportunities for individual empowerment, its achievements at lifting millions out of poverty, and its drawbacks--environmental, social, and political, powerfully illuminated.
27. THE MYSTERY OF CAPITAL by Hernando De Soto Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail?In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has everything to do with the legal structure of property and property rights.
28. CROWDSOURCING by Jeff Howe "Crowdsourcing" is how the power of the many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the responsibility of a specialized few.
29. MOTIVATION & PERSONALITY by Aberham H. Maslow The standard statement on self-actualisation and data. Applications are made to the theories and science of personality, psychotherapy, personal growth and general psychology.
30. FREE - THE FUTURE OF A RADICAL PRICE by Chris Anderson makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. Far more than a promotional gimmick, Free is a business strategy that may well be essential to a company's survival.
31. HOW MASS COLLABORATION CHANGES EVERYTHING by Tapscott & Williams
Explains how mass collaboration is happening not just at Websites like Wikipedia and YouTube, but at traditional companies that have embraced technology to breathe new life into their enterprises.
32. TALENT IS OVERRATED by Geoff Colvin why a few people truly excel, not hard work or natural talent but a highly specific kind of effort-"deliberate practice"
33. THE ELEPHANT AND THE DRAGON by Robyn Meredth Essential guide to understanding how India and China are reshaping our world. With labor now unbound from geographic borders.
34. THE HAPPINESS ADVANTAGE by Shawn Achor This book shows that our commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy.
35. THE RATIONAL OPTIMIST by Ridley Science journalist Ridley believes there is a reason to be optimistic about the human race, and he defies the unprecedented economic pessimism he observes.
36. CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG by Joseph Chilton Pearce    He reveals an extraordinary relationship of mind and reality and nature's blueprint for a self-transcending humanity
37. The Last Firewall  by William Hertling -- "Awesome near-term science fiction." - Brad Feld, Foundry Group managing director
"An insightful and adrenaline-inducing tale of what humanity could become and the machines we could spawn." - Ben Huh, CEO of Cheezburger
"A fun read and tantalizing study of the future of technology: both inviting and alarming." - Harper Reed, former CTO of Obama for America, Threadless
"A fascinating and prescient take on what the world will look like once computers become smarter than people. Highly recommended." - Mat Ellis, Founder & CEO Cloudability
"A phenomenal ride through a post-scarcity world where humans are caught between rogue AIs. If you like having your mind blown, read this book!" - Gene Kim, author of The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win
"The Last Firewall is like William Gibson had a baby with Tom Clancy and let Walter Jon Williams teach it karate. Superbly done." - Jake F. Simons, author of Wingman and Train Wreck. --  In the year 2035, robots, artificial intelligences, and neural implants have become commonplace. The Institute for Ethics keeps the peace, using social reputation to ensure that robots and humans don't harm society or each other. But a powerful AI named Adam has found a way around the restrictions. Catherine Matthews, nineteen years old, has a unique gift: the ability to manipulate the net with her neural implant. Yanked out of her perfectly ordinary life, Catherine becomes the last firewall standing between Adam and his quest for world domination.
As the world teeters on the brink of dramatic, perhaps catastrophic, transformation due to climate change, it is hard to find good news anywhere. Luckily, business and technology ethicist Naam knows where to look. The increasingly noteworthy author of More Than Human (2005) and a debut sf novel, Nexus (2013), Naam says there is much to decry as he cites all the usual suspects, from rising sea levels to devastating droughts. But there is also much to celebrate, from humankind’s proven ability to conquer adversity through innovation to the limitless availability of renewable resources such as solar and wind power. By providing a detailed, statistically rich historical background on many of the detrimental practices and attitudes that have brought humanity to the nail-biting precipice that may await a century from now, Naam strengthens his soberly confident, if not cautiously optimistic, predictions for how humans can walk it back from the edge of disaster. Though some of his arguments may evoke controversy, Naam nonetheless presents a balanced and ecumenical approach through cogent, well-researched positions. --Carol Haggas



David Ryan is the designer of ELOPe, an email language optimization program, that if successful, will make his career. But when the project is suddenly in danger of being canceled, David embeds a hidden directive in the software accidentally creating a runaway artificial intelligence. David and his team are initially thrilled when the project is allocated extra servers and programmers. But excitement turns to fear as the team realizes that they are being manipulated by an A.I. who is redirecting corporate funds, reassigning personnel and arming itself in pursuit of its own agenda.
40. Nexus  by Ramez Naam -- Mankind gets an upgrade. Naam, an expert in new technologies and author of More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement (2005), turns in a stellar performance with his debut sf novel. Nexus is a nanotechnology that allows human minds to link up. But rogue scientists are using it to turn ordinary people into killers (shades of Richard Condon’s classic novel The Manchurian Candidate). The American government recruits—in other words, blackmails—Kade Lane, a grad student who’s been known to tinker with Nexus, to get close to the suspected leader of the mind-control program. But, as Kade soon discovers, one man’s villain is another’s visionary, and he’s forced to choose sides in a hurry, before someone else decides he’s too dangerous to stay alive. Naam has set himself a difficult challenge here: he’s telling a story in which much of the action and dialogue takes place inside the characters’ minds. But he succeeds admirably: one scene, in particular, in which a character races to make changes to the Nexus system by reprogramming it inside his own head, is nail-bitingly tense, when it could easily have come off as preposterous. The dialogue might be a bit raw in places, and there might be a slight overuse of exclamation points, but those are minor rookie mistakes. What matters here is the remarkable scope of the story and its narrative power. In the near future, the experimental nano-drug Nexus can link humans together, mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it. When a young scientist is caught improving Nexus, he's thrust over his head into a world of danger and international espionage - for there is far more at stake than anyone realizes. From the halls of academe to the halls of power, from the headquarters of an elite US agency in Washington DC to a secret lab beneath a top university in Shanghai, from the underground parties of San Francisco to the illegal biotech markets of Bangkok, from an international neuroscience conference to a remote monastery in the mountains of Thailand - Nexus is a thrill ride through a future on the brink of explosion. The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet by Ramez Naam. As the world teeters on the brink of dramatic, perhaps catastrophic, transformation due to climate change, it is hard to find good news anywhere. Luckily, business and technology ethicist Naam knows where to look. The increasingly noteworthy author of More Than Human (2005) and a debut sf novel, Nexus (2013), Naam says there is much to decry as he cites all the usual suspects, from rising sea levels to devastating droughts. But there is also much to celebrate, from humankind’s proven ability to conquer adversity through innovation to the limitless availability of renewable resources such as solar and wind power. By providing a detailed, statistically rich historical background on many of the detrimental practices and attitudes that have brought humanity to the nail-biting precipice that may await a century from now, Naam strengthens his soberly confident, if not cautiously optimistic, predictions for how humans can walk it back from the edge of disaster. Though some of his arguments may evoke controversy, Naam nonetheless presents a balanced and ecumenical approach through cogent, well-researched positions. --Carol Haggas
41. A.I. Apocalypse  by William Hertling -- Leon Tsarev is a high school student set on getting into a great college program, until his uncle, a member of the Russian mob, coerces him into developing a new computer virus for the mob's botnet - the slave army of computers they used to commit digital crimes. The evolutionary virus Leon creates, based on biological principles, is successful -- too successful. All the world's computers are infected. Everything from cars to payment systems and, of course, computers and smart phones stop functioning, and with them go essential functions including emergency services, transportation, and the food supply. Billions may die. But evolution never stops. The virus continues to evolve, developing intelligence, communication, and finally an entire civilization. Some may be friendly to humans, but others are not. Leon and his companions must race against time and the bungling military to find a way to either befriend or eliminate the virus race and restore the world's computer infrastructure.
42. The Silent Intelligence - The Internet of Things by Daniel Kellmereit -- The Silent Intelligence is a book about the Internet of Things phenomenon. In it we talk about the history, trends, technology ecosystem and the future of the Internet of Things, Connected Cities, Connected Homes, Connected Health and Connected Cars. We also discuss the most promising areas for entrepreneurs and venture investors. We share exciting stories and unique opinions of over 30 industry veterans, experts and visionaries from Google, Ericcson, AT&T, Qualcomm, Accenture, SAP, MIT, EcoLife Foundation and many others. We called this book The Silent Intelligence because most of the activity and growth in the space has so far been happening outside of mainstream visibility. We hope that our book will help executives, entrepreneurs, investors and everybody else better understand the opportunities and challenges of the Internet of Things and will get them as excited about the upcoming possibilities as we are.
43. The Human Race to the Future: What Could Happen - and What to Do by Daniel Berleant -- Daniel Berleant wanted to understand what the world will be like some day. That's why he wrote this book. A professional scientist educated at MIT and the University of Texas at Austin, Berleant understands, in a way everyone can relate to, the importance of both understanding the future and knowing what we can do about it. This is his first book aimed at a popular audience.

44. The Transhumanist Wager by Zoltan Istvan  -- From the very first words, "The Transhumanist Wager" makes it clear that technology is not our enemy, but our savior. With incredible achievements being realized in science and medicine on an almost daily basis, life extension becomes ever more a part of our reality...and our species is fast becoming the first to CHOOSE its own evolution. It is true that many fear the idea of replacing decaying organs with functional ones. Some welcome death and seem to wish to thrust their love of it upon the rest of us. But what of the children? Should conjoined twins be forced to suffer when their separate minds could be placed into separate bodies? What about the children born into war zones where they have been mutilated beyond any ability to function in society? Must they be forced to crawl for a lifetime...deaf, sightless, unable to walk or provide for their own care ...? All when technology offers relief?? The transhumanist wager is more than a wager that suggests we may all live longer lives...it is a wager that we can live better, more productive lives. Lives where we might ultimately colonize the oceans, Mars or other environments with bodies which have been modified to ADAPT to our new environs. In the final analysis, isn't Adapting what humans do best? I urge everyone to read this incredible book. No, I'm not the author, the publisher or a person who is being paid to render an opinion. I am a human being who believes that we have a choice : get busy living, or get busy dying.
45. Facing the Intelligence Explosion by Luke Muehlhauser -- Sometime this century, machines will surpass human levels of intelligence and ability. This event—the “intelligence explosion”—will be the most important event in our history, and navigating it wisely will be the most important thing we can ever do. Luminaries from Alan Turing and I. J. Good to Bill Joy and Stephen Hawking have warned us about this. Why do I think Hawking and company are right, and what can we do about it? Facing the Intelligence Explosion is my attempt to answer these questions.

46. Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III -- We are entering a new frontier in the evolution of computing: the era of cognitive systems. The victory of IBM’s Watson on the television quiz show Jeopardy! signaled the advent of this new era, revealing how scientists and engineers at IBM and elsewhere are pushing the boundaries of science and technology to create machines that sense, learn, reason, and interact with people in new ways. In Smart Machines, John E. Kelly III, director of IBM Research, and Steve Hamm, a writer at IBM and a former business and technology journalist, introduce the fascinating world of “cognitive systems” to general audiences and provide a window into the future of computing. Cognitive systems promise to penetrate complexity and assist people and organizations in better decision making. They can help doctors better diagnose and treat patients, augment the ways we see, anticipate major weather events, and contribute to smarter urban planning. Kelly and Hamm’s comprehensive perspective describes this technology inside and out, and their extensive knowledge illuminates the difficulty of harnessing and understanding “big data,” one of the major computing challenges facing technicians in the coming decades. Absorbing and impassioned, their book will inspire governments, academics, and the global tech industry to work together to power this exciting wave in innovation.
47. The Ageless Generation: How Advances in Biomedicine Will Transform the Global Economy  by Alex Zhavoronkov -- Over the past 20 years, the biomedical research community has been delivering hundreds of breakthroughs expected to extend human lifespan beyond thresholds imaginable today. However, much of this research has not yet been adopted into clinical practice, nor has it been widely publicized. Biomedicine will transform our society forever by allowing people to live longer and to continue working and contributing financially to the economy longer, rather than entering into retirement and draining the economy through pensions and senior healthcare. Old age will become a concept of the past, breakthroughs in regenerative medicine will continue, and an unprecedented boom to the global economy, with an influx of older able-bodied workers and consumers, will be a reality. A leading expert in aging research, author Alex Zhavoronkov provides a helicopter view on the progress science has already made, from repairing tissue damage to growing functional organs from a single cell, and illuminates the possibilities that the scientific and medical community will soon make into realities. The Ageless Generation is an engaging work that causes us to rethink our ideas of age and ability in the modern world.

48. The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business

by Eric Schmidt -- In an unparalleled collaboration, two leading global thinkers in technology and foreign affairs give us their widely anticipated, transformational vision of the future: a world where everyone is connected—a world full of challenges and benefits that are ours to meet and to harness. Eric Schmidt is one of Silicon Valley’s great leaders, having taken Google from a small startup to one of the world’s most influential companies. Jared Cohen is the director of Google Ideas and a former adviser to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. With their combined knowledge and experiences, the authors are uniquely positioned to take on some of the toughest questions about our future: Who will be more powerful in the future, the citizen or the state? Will technology make terrorism easier or harder to carry out? What is the relationship between privacy and security, and how much will we have to give up to be part of the new digital age? In this groundbreaking book, Schmidt and Cohen combine observation and insight to outline the promise and peril awaiting us in the coming decades. At once pragmatic and inspirational, this is a forward-thinking account of where our world is headed and what this means for people, states and businesses. With the confidence and clarity of visionaries, Schmidt and Cohen illustrate just how much we have to look forward to—and beware of—as the greatest information and technology revolution in human history continues to evolve. On individual, community and state levels, across every geographical and socioeconomic spectrum, they reveal the dramatic developments—good and bad—that will transform both our everyday lives and our understanding of self and society, as technology advances and our virtual identities become more and more fundamentally real. As Schmidt and Cohen’s nuanced vision of the near future unfolds, an urban professional takes his driverless car to work, attends meetings via hologram and dispenses housekeeping robots by voice; a Congolese fisherwoman uses her smart phone to monitor market demand and coordinate sales (saving on costly refrigeration and preventing overfishing); the potential arises for “virtual statehood” and “Internet asylum” to liberate political dissidents and oppressed minorities, but also for tech-savvy autocracies (and perhaps democracies) to exploit their citizens’ mobile devices for ever more ubiquitous surveillance. Along the way, we meet a cadre of international figures—including Julian Assange—who explain their own visions of our technology-saturated future. Inspiring, provocative and absorbing, The New Digital Age is a brilliant analysis of how our hyper-connected world will soon look, from two of our most prescient and informed public thinkers.
49. The End of Work: The Decline of the Global …› Jeremy Rifkin -- Global unemployment is now at its highest levels since the Great Depression. Rifkin (Biosphere Politics, LJ 5/15/91) argues that the Information Age is the third great Industrial Revolution. A consequence of these technological advances is the rapid decline in employment and purchasing power that could lead to a worldwide economic collapse. Rifkin foresees two possible outcomes: a near workerless world in which people are free, for the first time in history, to pursue a utopian life of leisure; or a world in which unemployment leads to an even further polarization of the economic classes and a decline in living conditions for millions of people. Rifkin presents a highly detailed analysis of the technological developments that have led to the current situation, as well as intriguing, yet alarming, theories of what is to come. Highly recommended for both general and business collections.
50. More Than Human: Embracing the Promise … › Ramez Naam -- Naam is optimistic about technological advancement. He surveys applications of genetic and computer engineering to the human body and pronounces them good. Naam notes but does not totally allay the disquiet of critics who think otherwise, so readers more interested in what's happening now in the biotechnology industry will get more from this work than those concerned with the bioethical implications for human identity. Naam is a software engineer, and this is his first book, so his writing about human physiology is predominantly descriptive, albeit enthusiastically so. Naam relates how the technologies--gene therapies, genetic splicing, cloning, and neural/computer interfaces--function at the cellular level and details how they may improve on the injuries, afflictions, and conditions of life (intelligence and aging). Both the researchers and the companies developing biotechnologies receive Naam's positive attention, and he avers that over time their inventions will become widely affordable. This confident, libertarian sentiment suffuses Naam's approach; for a more doubtful posture toward the brave new world
Part 3 looks at the bigger picture. Individual chapters concentrate upon emerging materials, how the industry is scaling up production, and where the battle lines are being drawn amongst the complex legal issues. Readers are introduced to the highly disruptive nature of distributed manufacturing, demonstrating many of the global impacts and developments that will transform entire economies in the next ten years. Far from being a dry technical manual, this book addresses three key issues that are important to anybody interested in this rapidly evolving field. What are 3D printers all about? How can they be used to make money? What does the immediate future hold for this amazing technology? Humorous, insightful and inspiring in equal measure, and yet priced at a small fraction of its competitors
52. Our Uncertain Future: When Digital … David Mills -- In Our Uncertain Future, David Mills, Ph.D. presents an extensively researched and well-documented impartial analysis focusing on the interplay of three controversial behemoths shaping our global future. He cuts through the hype and sensationalism surrounding the meteoric rise of technology, the slow yet inevitable impact of global warming, and the desired but dreaded onslaught of automation. In a series of brief subsections, Dr. Mills presents a straight forward thought provoking review of the past and present condition of technology, culture, economy, and the environment which he uses as a springboard to dissect the most prevalent theories on our future advancements and possible pending doom. Complete with detailed graphs accompanied by plain spoken explanations, Dr. Mills calls upon all of us to engage in critical reasoning to separate fact from fiction, to apply past knowledge to current dilemmas, and to comprehend the necessity of preparing an adaptable response to unknown developments, crisis, and exponential advancement.

53. Robot Futures › Illah Reza Nourbakhsh -- Starting with a well-written, accessible review of the current state of robotics research and development, Nourbakhsh explores the potential effects on individuals and society of probable near-term developments in robotics. i particularly liked his technique of starting each chapter with a fictional scenario as a way to leapfrog the reader into a consideration of various issues surrounding human-robot interaction. Regardless of how you feel about it, intelligent machines are becoming an increasing presence in everyday life (just think about Siri, smart-phones, directed advertising, etc.). We are overdue for a reasoned consideration of the practical and ethical considerations this raises, rather than a piecemeal approach to particular issues as they arise (such as laws against texting while driving, or lawsuits over Google's intrusions on privacy while creating StreetView). So far, this holistic approach has only been done in science fiction, with a presumption that the technology involved is set in some distant future. Nourbakhsh convincingly presents a probable time line for changes occurring over the next 10-30 years that will bring these human/bot interaction issues to a head. This book provides a good jumping off spot for a discussion of both practical realities and underlying ethics among a more general audience.

54. Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent … › George M. Church -- Imagine a future in which human beings have become immune to all viruses, in which bacteria can custom-produce everyday items, like a drinking cup, or generate enough electricity to end oil dependence. Building a house would entail no more work than planting a seed in the ground. These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but pioneering geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis show that synthetic biology is bringing us ever closer to making such visions a reality. In Regenesis, Church and Regis explore the possibilities—and perils—of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. Until now, nature has been the exclusive arbiter of life, death, and evolution; with synthetic biology, we now have the potential to write our own biological future. Indeed, as Church and Regis show, it even enables us to revisit crucial points in the evolution of life and, through synthetic biological techniques, choose different paths from those nature originally took. Such exploits will involve far more than just microbial tinkering. Full-blown genomic engineering will make possible incredible feats, from resurrecting woolly mammoths and other extinct organisms to creating mirror life forms with a molecular structure the opposite of our own. These technologies—far from the out-of-control nightmare depicted in science fiction—have the power to improve human and animal health, increase our intelligence, enhance our memory, and even extend our lifespan.
A breathtaking look at the potential of this world-changing technology, Regenesis is nothing less than a guide to the future of life.

55. A Study Of Our Decline by Philip Atkinson This is a simple explanation of civilization, human communities and the nature of understanding, which explains human history, its present and its future; and is the result of the study of the changes overtaking our community circa 2000,

56. Smart Machines: IBM's Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III and  Steve Hamm We are entering a new frontier in the evolution of computing: the era of cognitive systems. The victory of IBM’s Watson on the television quiz show Jeopardy! signaled the advent of this new era, revealing how scientists and engineers at IBM and elsewhere are pushing the boundaries of science and technology to create machines that sense, learn, reason, and interact with people in new ways.

    In Smart Machines, John E. Kelly III, director of IBM Research, and Steve Hamm, a writer at IBM and a former business and technology journalist, introduce the fascinating world of “cognitive systems” to general audiences and provide a window into the future of computing. Cognitive systems promise to penetrate complexity and assist people and organizations in better decision making. They can help doctors better diagnose and treat patients, augment the ways we see, anticipate major weather events, and contribute to smarter urban planning. Kelly and Hamm’s comprehensive perspective describes this technology inside and out, and their extensive knowledge illuminates the difficulty of harnessing and understanding “big data,” one of the major computing challenges facing technicians in the coming decades. Absorbing and impassioned, their book will inspire governments, academics, and the global tech industry to work together to power this exciting wave in innovation.
57. Pardon the Disruption: The Future You Never Saw Coming by Clayton R. Rawlings, and James Randall Smith, and Rob Bencini. Pardon The Disruption high-lights the exponential advances in technology that have disrupted the legal system and the economy over time – but those changes will pale in comparison to what is about to occur! The book is written in two parts: the first part discusses the effect – past and projected future – on the legal system; the second part, on the economy. The two come together in a conclusive scenario that changes everything!

The conclusions reached by this trio of authors are not only possible or plausible, but likely to occur in the future. These inveterate trend watchers see a confluence of trends that will lead to legal, economic and governance changes that will have dramatic effects on our lives.

Using both real life and engaging fictional stories to illustrate their compelling points, this trio of authors not only reports on major trends occurring in the legal and economic realms, but uniquely projects where these exponential advances of technology will take us.

58. Our Uncertain Future: When Digital Evolution, Global Warming and Automation Converge David M Mills Ph.D. Many different predictions about our future: Some experts predict an incredible future propelled by digital technology, others predict destruction due to climate change, others predict automation will cause massive unemployment, others speak of advantages or dangers of artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, genetic engineering. But there can be only one future.
To take a new look at our future, the findings to date on climate change, automation, economics, history of technology, and future digital and other technological changes have been thoroughly reviewed, and a synthesis offered that includes all these forces in a single future.

The result is a prediction of a future in which the precise details of our technological progress cannot be determined in advance, but a future which is predicted to unfold with ever more increasing rates of change, and a future that is incredible in its overall possibilities.
The future, though fraught with danger, can be surprisingly bright - if we can avoid those actions which would impede our progress while making good use of the opportunities embedded in the challenges to come
59. As the future Catches You by Juan Enriquez. You will never look at the world in the same way after reading As the Future Catches You. Juan Enriquez puts you face to face with unprecedented political, ethical, economic, and financial issues, dramatically demonstrating the cascading impact of the genetic, digital, and knowledge revolutions on all our lives.

Genetics will be the dominant language of this century. Those who can “speak it” will acquire direct and deliberate control over all forms of life. But most countries and individuals remain illiterate in what is rapidly becoming the greatest single driver of the global economy. The choice is simple: Either learn to surf new and powerful waves of change—or get crushed trying to stop them. The future is catching us all. Let it catch you with your eyes wide open.




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