BR 190: The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly

Category: 1 – Read ASAP! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: The Inevitable is a fascinating book. It is one I’d recommend to anyone – regardless of their interest in technology. And, it is a must read if you are interested in technology. I think Kevin Kelly has structured the book very well. The book focuses on verbs instead of trends. Kevin Kelly takes a collection of 12 verbs that technology has enabled (e.g. sharing, tracking) and imagines what the world would look like if we took the verbs to their natural end.

Top 3 learnings:

1. The biggest challenge with developing artificial intelligence is that we have to redefine how we think about intelligence. Driving a car requires an intelligence that is very different from the playing chess. Over time, as we break up these tasks, we’ll find that AI can solve problems in ways that are very different from how we’d solve them. Most of our jobs will go away. Our main role will be figuring out what the machines will do for us.

2. Expect screens and augmented reality to be everywhere. So, we will expect to interact with anything and everything as we’ll expect anything and everything to have a screen. AR glasses are likely going to be something that everyone wears.

3. The singularity might be a reality. Because, as machines consume more data, they will inevitably be able to do things that the human mind can’t. While the optimists focus on a future where machines and humans co-exist, who is to say that needs to be true? In many ways, we’re only at the beginning. Thus, the future may unfold very differently from what we expect.

Book notes here.