Future Rising: A Journey from the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow
About this ebook
Humanity has gained the ability not only to imagine the future, but to design and engineer it. At times entertaining, and at others profound, Future Rising provides an original perspective on our relationship with the future.
As a species, we’ve become talented architects of our future—yet we often struggle to come to terms with what this means. As innovation and rapidly shifting norms and expectations drive our world at breakneck speed, we sometimes need to find a still, quiet place to pause and think. Future Rising creates such a place, where we can take advantage of our species’ knowledge of world history and the importance of science to piece together a positive future.
To create a good future, we must rediscover the past. Our relationship with the future is inextricably intertwined with where we’ve come from, who we are, and what we aspire to. Future Rising starts at the beginning of all things with the Big Bang and traces a pathway along the emergence of intelligent life, through what makes humans uniquely capable of imagining and creating different futures. In a series of sixty short reflections, Andrew Maynard, a former physicist and nationally recognized expert in technology and society, will take you on a journey into:
- What “the future” actually is
- How it molds and guides our lives
- How we can use the history of the world to change our future
“A thoughtful and thought-provoking response to the moment we’re in, chronicling how we got here, where we’re going, and what role we have in that journey.” —Ramona Pringle, Director of Creative Innovation Studio and Associate Professor, Ryerson University
About the author
Andrew Maynard, a former physicist, is a leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies. Over the past twenty years, he has worked closely with experts from around the world on the challenges and opportunities presented by various technologies, ranging from nanotechnology and synthetic biology to artificial intelligence.
In addition to his impressive list of academic publications, Andrew writes for media platforms such as The Conversation, maintains a blog on technology and society called 2020 Science, produces the YouTube channel Risk Bites, and is active on Twitter @2020science. Andrew also regularly appears on radio and is a sought-out speaker on emerging and converging technologies.
Andrew is currently a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, and Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Lab. He is a leading expert on the risks and benefits of nanotechnology, and he has testified before congressional committees and served on National Academy of Sciences committees. He is actively involved with the World Economic Forum and previously chaired the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies. Andrew has a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, UK.
