We’ve seen more change in the last 100 years than in the previous 1000 years. The rate of change isn’t slowing down. Ray Kurzweil — described by Bill Gates as one of the best predictors of future technologies — says we will see 20,000 years’ worth of technological change in the next 100 years. In their previous book, Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think, Kotler and Diamandis painted a techno-optimistic vision of the future and outlined how four forces: exponential technologies, the rising billions, DIY innovators and techno-philanthropists will usher in a world of plenty for all. In The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives, they continue the positive narrative of humanity’s future and focus on the how the acceleration and convergence of exponential technologies will reshape all industries and disrupt all aspects of human society in the coming decades.
In their latest book, Kotler and Diamandis offer numerous examples of how exponential waves of progress in genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, VR and AR, drones, sensors, batteries, 5G networks, 3D-printing, blockchain, quantum computing and artificial intelligence are now starting to converge and overlap to produce tsunami-sized disruptions that threaten to wash away almost everything in their path.
There are few people more qualified to talk about exponential technologies and a future of accelerating change than Peter Diamandis. Recently named by Fortune as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Diamandis is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. He is also the executive founder of Singularity University, a graduate-level Silicon Valley institution that counsels the world’s leaders on exponentially growing technologies.
As an entrepreneur, Diamandis has started over 20 companies in the areas of longevity, space, venture capital and education. He is co-founder of BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund with $250M investing in exponential technologies, and co-founder and Vice Chairman of Celularity, Inc., a cellular therapeutics company.
Part 1 of the book explores the top ten technologies currently on exponential growth curves and examines current and future trends.
Part 2 focuses on how technologies are converging in nine specific industries and reshaping our world.
Part 3 looks at the big picture and considers the environmental, economic, and existential risks that threaten the progress we’re making.
The book is a giddy, fast-paced, and highly readable overview of the dramatic changes happening in healthcare, education, fashion, shopping, entertainment, finance, life extension, insurance, real estate, space exploration and food production.
Anyone looking for an exhilarating peek into the near future will not be disappointed by this book. It’s packed with fascinating case studies and replete with inspiring examples of incredible people doing incredible things. This book is a must-read for techno-geeks and anyone interested in the future evolution of technology and human society.
