Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving Us Behind and What to Do About It

A revelatory take on where technology is taking us, from one of the worlds most-followed tech writers. Financial Times Technology Book of the Year 2021 The Times Ideas and Philosophy Book of the Year 2021 'Essential . . . Highly recommended!' Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn We are entering the Exponential Age. Between faster computers, better software and bigger data, ours is the first era in human history in which technology is constantly accelerating. Azeem Azhar - writer, technologist, and creator of the acclaimed Exponential View newsletter - understands this shift better than anyone. Technology, he argues, is developing at an increasing, exponential rate. But human society - from our businesses to our political institutions - can only ever adapt at a slower, incremental pace. The result is an 'exponential gap', between the power of new technology and our ability to keep up. In Exponential, Azhar shows how this exponential gap can explain our society's most pressing problems - from established businesses' difficulty keeping up with digital platforms, to the sclerotic response of liberal democracies to fast-moving social problems. And he draws on cutting-edge social science to explain how to stop the exponential gap eroding our economies, our politics and our lives. Exponential technology is upending our society. This book explains how. 'Read this book if you are interested in how we can design a more inclusive and sustainable system with a re-direction of technological change at its centre.' Mariana Mazzucato, UCL professor and author of The Value of Everything and Mission Economy

About the Author :
Azeem Azhar is the creator of Exponential View, a leading platform for in-depth tech analysis. His weekly newsletter is read by 200,000 people from around the world, and his hit podcast has featured guests including Yuval Noah Harari, Tony Blair and Kate Raworth. A member of the World Economic Forum's Global Futures Council, Azhar contributes to publications including the Financial Times, Wired and the MIT Technology Review.

Review :
Valuable and timely . . . The importance of the book lies in its diligent and comprehensive definition of a new phase in human affairs . . . An enticing and necessary read. As a primer on our latest multi-dimensional technological revolution and how it is rewriting the rules of society, economics and politics, this book is hard to beat. The exponentially growing mismatch between the tools available to democracies and the sheer might of technology giants is one of the great challenges of our time . . . Azeem Azhar's excellent book Exponential offers some solutions. As high-tech innovation accelerates in ways that deliver huge benefits to society but also create unique challenges, Azeem Azhar delivers a comprehensive but lively take on the key issues informing what he calls the Exponential Age. It's an essential addition to the ongoing discourse about where these remarkable new technologies can take us, and where we should be aiming to go. Highly recommended! While many talk about the rate of innovation, too few talk about its direction. Azeem's new book helps bring that directionality to the surface through a dynamic understanding of the connections between economic, social and technological forces. Read this book if you are interested in how we can design a more inclusive and sustainable system with a re-direction of technological change at its centre. A sweeping, engaging, nuanced, and ultimately conflicted look at how recent innovations in computing and other emerging technologies have radically transformed human existence, with consequences that we can hardly fathom . . . A deft and clear-eyed treatment of complex issues such as globalisation and the future of automation . . . Perhaps Azhar's most valuable insight is that conservatively managing the individual risks posed by new technologies will not suffice. Azeem Azhar is one of the best-regarded thought leaders in the industry. But more importantly, he has a broad understanding of the exponential ways technology can be used to solve our biggest problems, shape our society, and bridge cultural divides. Azeem Azhar is a globally recognised voice on technology and its impact. He has written a fascinating and important book, required reading for anyone seeking to understand the new economy and the massive global corporations that seek to dominate that economy. Azhar is unapologetically bullish about the power of technology . . . He speaks powerfully about how we need to shape technology to put it back in the service of society. Brilliant. Every generation fears technology is changing frighteningly fast. Usually it is hyperbole, the fear of the unknown. But today technological shifts are posing challenges to our security, our democracies, our way of life, our sanity. Azeem Azhar's brilliant book demystifies these exponentially fast changes and - importantly - shows how the chronic volatility can be harnessed for good. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how to reclaim a good society from the snapping jaws of looming chaos. We are living through a period of unprecedented technological change . . . Exponential offers a new framework for understanding the impact of technology on the economy, politics and the future. A powerful argument . . . Azhar's writing is informative and accessible, and his prescient ideas are only going to become more important. A details-rich journey from the discovery of the first transistor in 1947 to the arrival of TikTok. Azhar has a knack for interrogating and inverting conventional thinking . . . A convincing case that something extraordinary is taking place in business and society.