The Future Is Faster Than You Think: Micro Review
Almost 50 years ago, Alvin Toffler wrote the iconic book “Future Shock”. That together with “Powershift” was perhaps the first “management” book that I read back in college.
As I read “The future is faster than you think”, I was reminded of “Future Shock”. Though I am not sure if this would be as groundbreaking as “Future Shock”, it’s a great read if you are a dreamer and the possibilities of technology excites you. It does excite me so I will recommend it strongly even though I got the sense that the authors are over optimistic on these possibilities.
Also, I realized that this the third in their trilogy of books (Bold and Abundance being the other 2). However, I found that the book stands on its own and you need not have read the other 2 to read this.
In this book, the authors have described specifically how the world around us will change in the coming years as this generation faces an unprecedented rate of technological disruption.
Nobody can deny the unprecedented pace of change in technology and the authors predict this to only accelerate in the coming years. However, the real essence of the book is in describing how different technologies will come together to solve for and transform the various aspects of the society we live in.
In the first part of the book, the authors delve into the power of convergence of different technologies that are exponentially accelerating to solve for real world problems.
And they start with a powerful example — flying cars. In their example, they walk through how a flying cars (being championed by Uber) will be made possible (or has been made possible) through convergence of breakthrough accelerating innovations in multiple technology areas —
- propulsion technology (Distributed electric propulsion),
- AI and machine learning (complicated flight simulations and computer vision)
- new manufacturing techniques (3-D printing),
- sensor technology (advanced IOT sensors) and
- new power technologies (next gen lithium ion batteries).
Next they walk you through the background, potential and future of some exciting emerging technologies of the future — quantum computing, artificial intelligence, networks (in the literal sense), 5G, IOT sensors, robotics, VR/AR, 3-D Printing, Blockchain, Material Science, nanotechnology and finally biotechnology.
It’s a great introduction to their theories. But its the next part of the book that brings it all together. They call it “Rebirth of Everything” and cover the future of many different segments of our society — Shopping, Advertising, Entertainment, Education, Healthcare, longevity, Insurance, Finance, Real Estate and Food.
This second part is the heart of the book and though it presents some very exciting possibilities, they are just that possibilities.
Some of these possibilities are hyped up and whether we truly achieve those hyped up potential, only time will tell.
The authors end the book with discussions around some threats posed by the faster future and potential mitigation though this part seemed a little forced to me if you know what I mean :)
At the end of the book, you may or may not be convinced of the broad changes that the authors have predicted but they aptly end the book with following words:
“Take a deep breath and don’t blink, because, ready or not, here comes tomorrow.”
Here are some other nuggets from the book:
“…..introduced the notion of exponentially accelerating technology; that is, any technology that doubles in power while dropping in price on a regular basis.”
“The Law of Accelerating Returns,” Ray Kurzweil did the math and found that we’re going to experience twenty thousand years of technological change over the next one hundred years.”
“Within a decade, we will live in a world where just about anything that can be measured will be measured, constantly. It’s a world of exceptionally radical transparency”
“Technology has shrunk innovation development times and expanded the time innovators can devote to development. It’s an accelerating feedback loop of acceleration”
“because retail is nestled at the convergence of communications, energy, and transportation breakthroughs, it’s a canary in a coal mine, ground zero for Rifkin’s “next major economic paradigm shift.”
“We’re heading toward a future where AI will make the majority of our buying decisions, continually surprising us with products or services we didn’t even know we wanted.”
“If we’re going to make the shift to sustainable at the speed required, then we the people are both the obstacle and the opportunity.”
“History is going to bifurcate along two directions: One path is we stay on Earth forever, and then there will be some eventual extinction event… the alternative is to become a spacefaring civilization and a multiplanetary species. I think the future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we’re a spacefaring civilization and a multi-planet species, than if we’re not.” — Elon Musk
