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The Coming Convergence
The Surprising Ways Diverse Technologies Interact to Shape Our World and Change the Future

Cover of The Coming Convergence

Imagine direct communication links between the human brain and machines, or tailored materials capable of adapting by themselves to changing environmental conditions, or computer chips and environmental sensors embedded into everyday clothing, or medical technologies that eliminate currently untreatable conditions such as blindness and paralysis. Now imagine all of these developments occurring at the same time. The stuff of science fiction?

Not So. These are actually the reasonable predictions of scientists attempting to forecast a few decades into the future based on the rapid pace of innovation.

  • Longer, healthier lives
  • Cheap, generally available food, energy, and technology
  • Reduced pollution and environmental stress
  • Economic disruption during transitional periods
  • Excessive power in too few hands
  • Increased vulnerability from overdependence on technology.