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![The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by [Kevin Kelly]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51uuwTA3FkL._SY346_.jpg)
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The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future Kindle Edition
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Product description
Review
“A quintessential work of technological futurism . . . what’s valuable about The Inevitable, from a business perspective, is less what it says about how to innovate, and more what it says about where to innovate.” – James Surowiecki, strategy + business, “Best Business Books 2017 – Innovation”
"Anyone can claim to be a prophet, a fortune teller, or a futurist, and plenty of people do. What makes Kevin Kelly different is that he's right. In this book, you're swept along by his clear prose and unassailable arguments until it finally hits you: The technological, cultural, and societal changes he’s foreseeing really are inevitable. It’s like having a crystal ball, only without the risk of shattering."
—David Pogue, Yahoo Tech
"This book offers profound insight into what happens (soon!) when intelligence flows as easily into objects as electricity."
—Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail
“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
"As exhilarating as the most outlandish science fiction novel, but based on very real trends. Kevin Kelly is the perfect tour guide for this life-changing future."
—Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing
"Creating a fictional future is easy; Kevin Kelly makes a habit of doing the difficult by showing us where we're actually going. The Inevitable is an eye-opening roadmap for what lies ahead. Science fiction is on its way to becoming science fact."
—Hugh Howey, author of Wool
“Automatic must-read.”
—Marc Andreessen, co-founder Andreessen Horowitz --This text refers to the paperback edition.
"Anyone can claim to be a prophet, a fortune teller, or a futurist, and plenty of people do. What makes Kevin Kelly different is that he's right. In this book, you're swept along by his clear prose and unassailable arguments until it finally hits you: The technological, cultural, and societal changes he’s foreseeing really are inevitable. It’s like having a crystal ball, only without the risk of shattering."
—David Pogue, Yahoo Tech
"This book offers profound insight into what happens (soon!) when intelligence flows as easily into objects as electricity."
—Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail
“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
"As exhilarating as the most outlandish science fiction novel, but based on very real trends. Kevin Kelly is the perfect tour guide for this life-changing future."
—Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing
"Creating a fictional future is easy; Kevin Kelly makes a habit of doing the difficult by showing us where we're actually going. The Inevitable is an eye-opening roadmap for what lies ahead. Science fiction is on its way to becoming science fact."
—Hugh Howey, author of Wool
“Automatic must-read.”
—Marc Andreessen, co-founder Andreessen Horowitz --This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Kevin Kelly helped launch Wired magazine and was its executive editor for its first seven years. He has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time, and The Wall Street Journal among many other publications. His previous books include Out of Control, New Rules for the New Economy, Cool Tools, and What Technology Wants. Currently Senior Maverick at Wired, Kelly lives in Pacifica, California.
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B016JPTOUG
- Publisher : Penguin Books; Reprint edition (June 7 2016)
- Language : English
- File size : 1162 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 334 pages
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#69,096 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #9 in Technology & Society in Science
- #21 in Social Aspects of Technology
- #31 in Robotics
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
765 global ratings
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Top reviews
Top reviews from Canada
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Reviewed in Canada on October 14, 2017
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I found many outrageous statements in this book, especially in the earlier chapters. They irritated me quite a bit, and seemed to indicate a serious lack of objective balance in the book. But by the end of the book more balance had appeared, and I was able to agree that Kelly has his finger on the pulse of technological/social developments. I finally concluded the book was sound and important. So I have to say "The Inevitable" is an important book for anyone interested in the future of our increasingly technology society.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016
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Kevin is one of the most thoughtful people writing today. He avoids breathlessness and over-enthusiasm, but has an optimistic view of the world that considers every aspect of society. Fantastic.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in Canada on October 4, 2016
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As someone who follows technology closely (and works in the industry), I found few facts in this book novel. What is novel, however, is Kelly's expansion of the technologies' trajectories and implications in ways only someone with his level of knowledge, experience and understanding of technology could contribute. So even if you think you know the key technologies shaping the future, it's worth a read. There are some genuinely novel insights and observations here that should inspire new ideas and an appreciation for just how much more technology will transform society; as Kelly notes, this is just the beginning.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2019
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This book is an eye opener. The author gives a sampling of technological changes that are often taken for granted. These changes effect multiple levels in our society in a variety of ways. Worth reading for a better understanding of what is happening all around us.
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great book, this and Rise of the Robots and The Second Machine Age are all great reads. Very informative. They all remind me of Alvin Tofflers groundbreaking book Future Shock. Very insightful in terms of the future of human labour.
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Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2017
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I am very impressed by the content of this book.as far as I'm concerned it's a must read for anyone who needs to understand what's coming up! Great book! Period!
Reviewed in Canada on December 16, 2016
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Must read. Regrettably, the author has a really clear and competent view of the proximate future of out society.
Reviewed in Canada on February 8, 2017
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This book explains the now and one version of our future. It is a great read and very thought provoking. Wow
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

nevillek
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, good stories, a few missed opportunities.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2016Verified Purchase
Kevin Kelly has form - he's been writing about digital technology and its likely impact for around 30 years, and he's often seen new things emerge long before anyone else.
"The inevitable" is set around 12 themes, and for each theme, Kelly writes about both the past and the present with lucidity, and then extrapolates to the future. He includes little pastiches of what life will be like in 20 years when a particular technology trend has progressed to be almost unrecognizable from today's perspective.
The book is clear, well-organized and an entertaining read. It rattles along at a decent pace, and the overall tone is positive.
I have some minor quibbles about the editing - there are a few more typos than I'd like.
I felt two things were missing, though.
Firstly, while digital advances have brought undoubted benefits, Kelly doesn't spend enough time on the challenges. Sure, being able to collect lots of information on ourselves, others and our environments is great - but this also creates privacy challenges, and creates new opportunities for those who would harm us. Kelly doesn't look at these aspects in any detail.
The other missed opportunity is that Kelly's outlook is very "middle-class American" - nearly all the anecdotes, pastiches and comparators are from the perspective of a relatively affluent, relatively comfortable person living in a stable, safe environment. Digital technology arguably will affect people in developing countries much more - and I didn't see much from Kelly on this.
"The inevitable" is set around 12 themes, and for each theme, Kelly writes about both the past and the present with lucidity, and then extrapolates to the future. He includes little pastiches of what life will be like in 20 years when a particular technology trend has progressed to be almost unrecognizable from today's perspective.
The book is clear, well-organized and an entertaining read. It rattles along at a decent pace, and the overall tone is positive.
I have some minor quibbles about the editing - there are a few more typos than I'd like.
I felt two things were missing, though.
Firstly, while digital advances have brought undoubted benefits, Kelly doesn't spend enough time on the challenges. Sure, being able to collect lots of information on ourselves, others and our environments is great - but this also creates privacy challenges, and creates new opportunities for those who would harm us. Kelly doesn't look at these aspects in any detail.
The other missed opportunity is that Kelly's outlook is very "middle-class American" - nearly all the anecdotes, pastiches and comparators are from the perspective of a relatively affluent, relatively comfortable person living in a stable, safe environment. Digital technology arguably will affect people in developing countries much more - and I didn't see much from Kelly on this.
45 people found this helpful
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Mr. Cliff P. Harris
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but the author lives in a tech elite bubble.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2016Verified Purchase
Its an interesting read, but nothing ground-breaking. The real problem is that its written entirely in the bubble of a silicon valley member of the tech elite. So its INEVITABLE that we will have cheaper technology, more sensors, fastyer communications, more data. There is apparently no downside or no limit. This takes zero consideration of environmental and economic factors. Increasing inequality, resource constraints and climate change mean that the tech-paradise the author suggests is inevitable may be inevitable for a tiny tiny percentage of the worlds population.
An interesting book if you want to know the future of palo alto, but I'd recommend al gores 'the future' if you want a more global and less rose-tinted view of real future developments.
An interesting book if you want to know the future of palo alto, but I'd recommend al gores 'the future' if you want a more global and less rose-tinted view of real future developments.
33 people found this helpful
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Chase Richards
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing in scope and delivery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2017Verified Purchase
I found that this book fell short of expectations, and didn't really deliver anything besides some idle musings.
Maybe I expected too much, but I was hoping for some hard-edged looks at current technologies that were emerging, and threatening to disrupt how we live, work, and consume.
Instead, the ideas are a bit wishy-washy. He struggles to force his vague "technological forces" into a bizarre "doing, sharing, becoming, etc" framework that suits some things but not others. The author also seems to put a vaguely futuristic spin on current technologies and behaviours within the current paradigm, without offering anything truly novel.
While I was hoping for a glimpse into the future, really what I found was a very opinion-based look at what's happening today. This is coloured by pseudo-anthropological language that masks a very superficial understanding and treatment of the technologies discussed.
The book struggled to hold my attention until the end but I persevered. Unfortunately, the effort wasn't very rewarding.
Maybe I expected too much, but I was hoping for some hard-edged looks at current technologies that were emerging, and threatening to disrupt how we live, work, and consume.
Instead, the ideas are a bit wishy-washy. He struggles to force his vague "technological forces" into a bizarre "doing, sharing, becoming, etc" framework that suits some things but not others. The author also seems to put a vaguely futuristic spin on current technologies and behaviours within the current paradigm, without offering anything truly novel.
While I was hoping for a glimpse into the future, really what I found was a very opinion-based look at what's happening today. This is coloured by pseudo-anthropological language that masks a very superficial understanding and treatment of the technologies discussed.
The book struggled to hold my attention until the end but I persevered. Unfortunately, the effort wasn't very rewarding.
16 people found this helpful
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Jillian Florence
3.0 out of 5 stars
Inevitable - really? The future is spam.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2020Verified Purchase
The author starts by talking about how wrong all future predictions were from the early internet, as well as how difficult it is to predict. So how can he predict life in 2046?
Who want to just accept that every building to be covered in personalised Ads? This certainly isn't a desire future of any sane person. This is not inevitable because anyone who sees ad screens everywhere will implode into madness or rage.
Already cities are become chavified with 100s of screens in buildings and pubs. This need stopping now.
Ads will pay you to watch them? Er no. I'll rather crowdfund an ad repellent. See an Ad - broadcast their competitors instead before hacking the ad billboards to display beautiful screens of nature or amazing architecture.
Help shape your future. Help those who work in video advertising to get a life. Get a hobby! Afterall, you're just an Adobe subscriber.
Who want to just accept that every building to be covered in personalised Ads? This certainly isn't a desire future of any sane person. This is not inevitable because anyone who sees ad screens everywhere will implode into madness or rage.
Already cities are become chavified with 100s of screens in buildings and pubs. This need stopping now.
Ads will pay you to watch them? Er no. I'll rather crowdfund an ad repellent. See an Ad - broadcast their competitors instead before hacking the ad billboards to display beautiful screens of nature or amazing architecture.
Help shape your future. Help those who work in video advertising to get a life. Get a hobby! Afterall, you're just an Adobe subscriber.
3 people found this helpful
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Czechboy
3.0 out of 5 stars
1 for future results of tech, 5 for present analysis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2017Verified Purchase
While I see the future as Charlton Heston running through a starving, overpopulated city waving a big gun around shouting 'Soylent Green is people,' Kelly thinks of it as some coming together of everything and everyone.
His notion that we will all be online informing ourselves all of the time seems awful to me.
I think there will be a unabomber type rejection of tech as people desire a return to privacy and less intrusion into there lives.
AI for him means we will all be baking artisan bread for each other, for me it means unemployment and destruction.
Of course for him tech will mean he remains part of the elite, for me it means a free fall into modern slavery.
Just my ten bob's worth.
Good book really let down by his gushing enthusiasm for, well, for everything that he thinks tech will bring.
His notion that we will all be online informing ourselves all of the time seems awful to me.
I think there will be a unabomber type rejection of tech as people desire a return to privacy and less intrusion into there lives.
AI for him means we will all be baking artisan bread for each other, for me it means unemployment and destruction.
Of course for him tech will mean he remains part of the elite, for me it means a free fall into modern slavery.
Just my ten bob's worth.
Good book really let down by his gushing enthusiasm for, well, for everything that he thinks tech will bring.
6 people found this helpful
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