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Conversations with the Future: 21 Visions for the 21st Century Kindle Edition
In “Conversations with the Future: 21 Visions for the 21st Century,” we embark on a thought-provoking journey through the complexities and possibilities that the future holds. This collection of enlightening dialogues offers readers an in-depth look at the potential scenarios and challenges of the 21st century.
Each chapter presents a unique vision of the future, shaped by conversations with leading thinkers, innovators, and scholars. From the role of AI in shaping our lives to the impact of genetics, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, and life extension, the book explores a wide range of topics that are crucial to our collective future.
“Conversations with the Future” is more than just a book; it’s an invitation to engage in the dialogue about our future and to consider how our actions today will shape the world of tomorrow. Whether you’re a futurist, a student, or simply curious about what lies ahead, this book will provide you with insights and perspectives that will provoke thought, inspire action, and ignite conversation.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 20, 2017
- File size3.0 MB
Product details
- ASIN : B01N4QF7GU
- Publisher : Singularity Media, Inc.
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : January 20, 2017
- Language : English
- File size : 3.0 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Print length : 504 pages
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,465,423 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #46 in Medical Biotechnology
- #186 in Biotechnology (Kindle Store)
- #255 in Computer Systems Analysis & Design (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Kristina Jacobs is an Author, Editor and Publisher. Jacobs is the best-selling author of fourteen poetry chapbooks: Just my Luck, The Heart of the Otherlands, True North, Chasing Ordinary, Charm All Over the Place, All the Purple Days, Drawn by Grace, Dept. 56, Sparks, Inside Invisible, Dawn After Dusk, The Wildwood Guardian, Grey Weir and Slipshod Mornings & Meandering Midnights.
Kristina started out writing children's fantasy in 2000. Sambala the Mighty and Mimba the Wanderer was her first book, followed by Orion and the Land of the Tomatoes.
Her other published works include two award-winning short story collections: The Adventures of Sample Girl and Tales of the Wyrd. She even penned one short "you solve it" murder mystery called The Salted Caper and a book of lyrics called Musicians Wanted.
In 2011, Kristina Jacobs also founded The Next Level Publishing, producing books for small businesses.
With the Indie Collaboration she's contributed to several anthologies including: Yuletide Tales, Kiss and Tales, Snips, Snails & Puppy Dog Tales, Summer Shorts and Kiss and Tales 2.
Kristina Jacobs is an Author, Editor and Publisher. Jacobs is the best-selling author of eighteen poetry chapbooks: Signs Point Left, Lucky 13, Crook-Tailed Tales, Breaking Radio Silence, Just my Luck, The Heart of the Otherlands, True North, Chasing Ordinary, Charm All Over the Place, All the Purple Days, Drawn by Grace, Dept. 56, Sparks, Inside Invisible, Dawn After Dusk, The Wildwood Guardian, Grey Weir and Slipshod Mornings & Meandering Midnights.
Her published works include her debut novel, Gateways Through the Penumbra and three award-winning short story collections: EverHollow: Stories from the Otherlands,The Adventures of Sample Girl and Tales of the Wyrd. She even penned one short "you solve it" murder mystery called The Salted Caper and a book of lyrics called Musicians Wanted.
She started out writing children's fantasy in 2000. Sambala the Mighty and Mimba the Wanderer was her first book, followed by Orion and the Land of the Tomatoes.
In 2011, Kristina Jacobs founded The Next Level Publishing, producing books for small businesses.
In 2009, Nikola Danaylov completed his master's degree and entered the army of unemployed job seekers at the peak of the recession. "I stopped counting after I sent out 300 resumes - I got one interview which apparently didn't go well because they never called me back," Nikola remembers. "One of my applications went out to the first and only blog dedicated to the technological singularity at that time. They were looking to hire a staff writer and, given my education, past research and writing skills, I thought I made the best candidate you could get. I eagerly anticipated an email telling me how totally perfect I was for the job, but the email never came. So, after two weeks of waiting in vain, it slowly started to dawn on me that I wasn't getting that job either. Then, a crazy thought occurred to me: maybe, just maybe, I didn't need them. Perhaps there was some tiny chance I might be able to do it on my own. I could start my own Singularity website. I mean, how hard could it be?"
Fifteen years after its humble beginning, the SingularityFM podcast has had over 7 million views on iTunes and YouTube and has been featured on international TV networks as well as on some of the biggest blogs in the world, such as BBC, ArteTV, MTV, Space, TV Japan, io9, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, ZDNet, BoingBoing and others. Today Singularity Weblog and the SingularityFM podcast are among the original first and most widely recognized independent media in the niche, and, according to Prof. Roman Yampolskiy, Nikola has established himself as the "Larry King of the Singularity."
Nikola Danaylov has become a sought after keynote speaker on topics ranging from technology, transhumanism, the technological singularity and ethics to new media, blogging, and podcasting. Nikola has been interviewed for numerous documentary films, blogs, podcasts, magazines, and newspapers.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book readable and entertaining, with one review noting it contains 21 visions of the future of humanity. They appreciate its thought-provoking content, with one customer mentioning it discusses terms like technological singularity.
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Customers find the book easy to read and appreciate it as an introductory text, with one customer describing it as a highly satisfying collection of work.
"Great book AND podcast. I've enjoyed the podcast for years and this book is equally entertaining. Two thumbs up. Great." Read more
"This is an excellent read, coming at the questions of the "technological singularity" from a variety of different angles...." Read more
"...Future Finding Read An entertaining and highly satisfying collection of work that no one else but ND could deliver" Read more
"...I enjoyed reading it very much, I find it very useful and I highly recommend it" Read more
Customers find the book's content thought-provoking, with one customer noting it contains 21 visions of the future of humanity, while another mentions it discusses advanced concepts like technological singularity.
"...It's a lively and engaging read, provoking thoughts that you ask yourself why you didn't think them before...." Read more
"The books contains 21 visions of the future of humanity and discusses terms like technological singularity, transhumanism, robotics, cryonics among..." Read more
"...how one thinks about the future, each of these interviews will sharpen your thinking and open new reflective and contemplative avenues for any..." Read more
"A great collection of conversations with futurists and a great resource for anyone interested in the future as a reference and as a source of things..." Read more
Customers find the book entertaining, with one noting how it keeps the conversation lively.
"...It's a lively and engaging read, provoking thoughts that you ask yourself why you didn't think them before...." Read more
"...willingness to ask both the hard and the dummy questions keeps the conversation lively and down to Earth...." Read more
"Condensed Distilled Future Finding Read An entertaining and highly satisfying collection of work that no one else but ND could deliver" Read more
"...I've enjoyed the podcast for years and this book is equally entertaining. Two thumbs up. Great." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2017Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThis is an excellent read, coming at the questions of the "technological singularity" from a variety of different angles. Remarkably, the "conversations" are with some really high-level thinkers, yet are presented in a way that is readily accessible even if you've never given this stuff any serious thought before. And, rather than presenting a single, monolithic "this is what's coming" vision, these conversations offer a diversity of views, coming at the question from many different angles.
Whether we think about it consciously or not, we all know that technology is advancing and bringing us to a place where our tools are becoming something much more than "tools" have ever been before. Our smartphones, our laptops, the internet itself -- things which did not even exist, and which most of us would not have even imagined could exist, a few decades ago -- are already indispensable to our lives. And they have changed us. As our tools become smarter and smarter, maybe smarter than us ... how will they change our lives, and, more importantly, how will they change us? This book does not answer those questions. Instead, it provokes them.
The author presents a delightful variety of perspectives on just what that future may hold, and just what that future could mean to who and what we are. Heavy stuff, coming from heavy thinkers, but presented relatively lightly. You don't need to be any sort of expert to be able to follow the conversations. It's a lively and engaging read, provoking thoughts that you ask yourself why you didn't think them before.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who can remember a world before Facebook and who has ever wondered how if so much has changed in the near past, how much will change in the near future. This book also be a terrific gift for anyone with the slightest interest in what the future may hold ... from the serious techie to the casual sci-fi fan. Highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2017Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseIn Conversations, Nikola brings the best of his Singularity podcast to book form. The formula is simple: round up leading tech entrepreneurs, sci-fi writers, innovators and futurists and get them to share their stories and ideas about technology and the future. Sometimes what they say is surprising, provocative or in direct contradiction to other experts. This is all part of the conversation. Although the subject matter is sometimes technical, Nikola's informal interview style and willingness to ask both the hard and the dummy questions keeps the conversation lively and down to Earth. Even when the topic veers into marginal costs and quantum decoherence, the reader never feels out of his depth. Nikola also explores the personal side of his subjects, probing at their motivations and trying to get at what makes them tick. As a result, the conversations don't feel like professorial lectures but more like meeting up at a coffee shop with new friends, who just happen to be among the most interesting and accomplished people you've ever met.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018Format: KindleVerified PurchaseCondensed
Distilled
Future Finding Read
An entertaining and highly satisfying collection of work that no one else but ND could deliver
- Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2023Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThe books contains 21 visions of the future of humanity and discusses terms like technological singularity, transhumanism, robotics, cryonics among others. Will robots be human race last invention? "The future will always find us, but will we find the future? "I enjoyed reading it very much, I find it very useful and I highly recommend it
- Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI have been listening to Nikola Danaylov's (alias Socrates)'s superbly incisive and insightful interviews for a long time, and wait with excitement for the next fascinating person he interviews [see singularityweblog]. Now we have these incredible interviews compiled into Conversations with the Future, which I find so valuable in complementing the audio and video interviews. Regardless of your how one thinks about the future, each of these interviews will sharpen your thinking and open new reflective and contemplative avenues for any curious soul. I have learned a considerable amount from each individual, and my reading has broadened appreciably as a result of Nikola Danaylov's remarkable accumulation of learned people's deep thoughts and deep work. I am already looking forward to the next volume!!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2017Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThe technological singularity, by one definition, is a singular, near-future phenomena in which the exponentially increasing pace of technological advancement will not be measured in functional human terms. Conversations with the Future is the compilation of some of Danaylov's most enlightening and provocative interviews about and related to the technological singularity. Topics range from industrial automation to artificial intelligence to radical life extension and much more. In my opinion, Danaylov is the best at what he does—asking the questions so that you may ponder and perhaps formulate your own answers. Highly recommended to everyone interested in the future.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2017Format: KindleVerified Purchase"The 'Larry King' of the Singularity” is indeed a great way to describe Nikola Danaylov. Nikola has interviewed more than 200 experts on the Singularity and now has written an excellent book documenting what 21 of them had to say. Read it. You'll be glad you did.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2017Format: KindleVerified PurchaseA good introductory book on the concept of the Singularity edited from his interview podcast on Singularity Weblog (now Singularity FM). You can't complain about the Kindle price.
He interviews a wide range of people from Ray Kurzweill to Marvin Minsky and more.
Top reviews from other countries
- KelvinReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars For those who have missed the online interviews or for ...
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseFor those who have missed the online interviews or for those coming to the subject for the first time, here it is presented and collated by a young man who was not only one of the first to journey into the Singularity landscape and communicate with the 'natives' there, but does so with a healthy scepticism and above all a keenly focussed ethical lens.
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Armando Zeferino MilioniReviewed in Brazil on May 17, 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars Frustrou um pouquinho
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseO livro é muito bom e eu o recomendo a qualquer leitor. A minha frustração decorre apenas do fato de que eu já conhecia mais de 80% do seu conteúdo, pois sou um frequentador do portal singularityfm (antigo singularity 1on1). Esse portal tem podcasts com entrevistas feitas pelo autor do livro, Nikola Danaylov, e eu já havia ouvido a grande maioria das entrevistas que são transcritas no livro. Quem não fez isso ainda, contudo, encontrará um ótimo material sobre a singularidade tecnológica que talvez nos aguarde para breve e sobre as perspectivas de evolução do H.Sapiens, no transhumanismo sobre o qual alguns tanto falam.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on February 16, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Prep for the singularity; make an AI your friend!
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseA well researched and written catalogue of what you need to know about if you plan to hang around and continue, kicking and screaming into the future. All these visions are important, if only for context to be able to make sense of the world around you now, and after the singularity. Required reading for all human beings, and especially all 'post'human survivors.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Australia on August 23, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Great cross-section of leading experts and their visions of the future
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI have listened to all Nikolas interviews twice, but reading them takes out the emotion and let's me experience them from a different angle and gain a greater appreciation of the topic. This book would also make a great introduction for people new to the subject. I found Nikolas comments in each vision a little distracting even though it was a more honest description of the interview but would have preferred to see a bit more use of creative license to make it flow more like a story. I particularly enjoyed the last vision by nikola himself and would like to see an extrapolation of this in the form of a second book. Huge fan of Nikola and his work and would recommend anyone interested in expanding their horizons to check out this book.
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Bernd RobkerReviewed in Germany on July 20, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Eine notwendige Diskussion
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseAls Individuen und als Zivilisation werden wir dort leben: in der Zukunft. Diese simple Erkenntnis sollte uns motivieren, uns Gedanken darum zu machen, wie die Zukunft aussehen wird und wie wir sie gestalten können.
Ein entscheidendes Thema dabei ist die technische Singularität. Damit ist der Punkt gemeint, an dem die technische Entwicklung sich verselbständigt, weil sie nicht mehr von Menschen, sondern von Künstlicher Intelligenz vorangetrieben wird. Schon heute schlagen Computer die weltbesten menschlichen Spieler in Schach, Jeopardy und Go, das Computerprogramm Watson stellt zuverlässigere medizinische Diagnosen als Ärzteteams. Der Punkt, an dem Computer nicht nur Intelligenz, sondern ein Bewusstsein entwickeln - womit sie neben den Menschen zur zweiten intelligenten und empfindenden Spezies auf dem Planeten werden - könnte in den 2020ern erreicht werden. Wenn die Computer ihrerseits neue und bessere Computer entwickelt, wird sich diese Entwicklung auf ein Maß beschleunigen, dass jenseits des menschlichen Erfassungsvermögens liegen wird. Der simple Grund dafür liegt darin, dass sich die Rechenleistung von Computern nahezu beliebig erweitern und zusammenschalten lässt. Ist das Grund zur Optimismus oder zur Sorge?
Es ist dem Autor Nikola Danaylov hoch anzurechnen, dass er darauf keine Antwort gibt. Stattdessen stellt er Fragen. Dieser Interviewband enthält das Best-Of aus einer Vielzahl von Interviews, die er für sein Weblog geführt hat. Darin kommen die Insider der Entwicklung zu Wort, die zur technischen Singularität hinführen könnte. Der Pionier der Spracherkennung Ray Kurzweil, der theoretische Physiker Michio Kaku, die Unternehmerin Suzanne Gildert, deren Unternehmen menschenähnliche Roboter entwickelt, Noam Chomsky, aber auch Science-Fiction-Autoren wie Vernor Vinge, Transhumanisten und viele andere. Gerade dieses weite Spektrum in den persönlichen und beruflichen Hintergründen ermöglicht die Betrachtung des Themas aus vielen verschiedenen Blickwinkeln, was dem Leser ermöglicht, seine eigenen Einschätzungen und Wertungen vorzunehmen. Dass die Interviewpartner oftmals unterschiedlicher Meinung sind, wirkt dabei belebend.
Ein Diskussionsbeitrag im besten Sinne zu einem Thema, das jeden angeht: unsere Zukunft, die Zukunft der Menschheit.