419 pages
English language
Published Aug. 19, 2017
Surveys the potential of emerging technologies, drawing on the insights of experts to explore how artificial intelligence, algorithms, and new approaches to organization will change business and life in the near future.
I really just loved this book. It’s great to be exposed to new ways of thinking of things, understanding the interactions between humans and machines, and generally being inspired. Definitely going to read this again.
4.5 stars. Tim O’Reilly is my favorite techno-utopian because he’s all about figuring out how to democratize the gains from tech advances so they reduce inequality and help society as a whole, rather than further concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a select few. None of the economic and other theories expressed in WTF are radically new, but he applies them in a fresh way to the tech industry. For example, as more jobs become automated, he looks at how we can move away from the old education model of going to college once, for 4 years, at great expense, and transform that into a culture of lifelong learning that enables workers to periodically update their skills inexpensively. Another topic is how we better value externalities so that corporate incentives are aligned with public-benefit goals like reducing global warming. It’s thought-provoking reading that does a great job of …
4.5 stars. Tim O’Reilly is my favorite techno-utopian because he’s all about figuring out how to democratize the gains from tech advances so they reduce inequality and help society as a whole, rather than further concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a select few. None of the economic and other theories expressed in WTF are radically new, but he applies them in a fresh way to the tech industry. For example, as more jobs become automated, he looks at how we can move away from the old education model of going to college once, for 4 years, at great expense, and transform that into a culture of lifelong learning that enables workers to periodically update their skills inexpensively. Another topic is how we better value externalities so that corporate incentives are aligned with public-benefit goals like reducing global warming. It’s thought-provoking reading that does a great job of helping point us in the direction of how we can make a better future.
