The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

Kevin Kelly’s excellent, very readable writing helps in absorbing the rather complex subjects he describes in The Inevitable. He elaborates on twelve technological forces that, in twelve chapters, he claims will shape our future in the next thirty years. These are long, detailed chapters with notes and references at the end of the book. Anyone interested in common, everyday technology like artificial intelligence, cloud storage, virtual reality, or Google search will likely enjoy this book. Every chapter is long, extensive, and very detailed. Most readers will likely to read one chapter at a time, as the detailed text (though very readable) will require your undivided attention. The book is filled with fascinating information on things like artificial intelligence (you don’t teach a machine how to play; it has to learn on its own), Google search (each search costs a fraction of a cent but brings in good income through AdSense), Wikipedia (which started in 2000 with a very dubious future), and Netflix (and why so many prefer instant streaming to discs). Not every reader will be interested in immersing themselves in a single technological subject to such an extent, but those who are will greatly enjoy this volume.