The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
Fundraisers have had to address all kinds of change – social, technological, and political. But what else is coming that they need to take note of?
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 revolutionise 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 this new world emerges.
Reviews
“How will the future be made? Kevin Kelly argues that the sequence of events ensuing from technical innovation has its own momentum . . . and that our best strategy is to understand and embrace it. Whether you find this prospect wonderful or terrifying, you will want to read this extremely thought-provoking book.”
Brian Eno, musician and composer
“Kevin Kelly has been predicting our technological future with uncanny prescience for years. Now he’s given us a glimpse of how the next three decades will unfold with The Inevitable, a book jam-packed with insight, ideas, and optimism.”
Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One