A field manual to the technologies that are changing our lives
Everywhere we turn, a startling new device promises to transfigure our lives. But at what cost? This urgent and revelatory excavation of the Information Age asks us to reconsider our relationship with the networked objects, services and spaces that now condition our experience of the world.
Having successfully colonized everyday life, these radical technologies – from the smartphone and the augmented-reality interface to distributed ledgers, digital fabrication, and artificial intelligence – are now shaping our experience of reality and subtly coloring the choices available to us. How do these technologies work? What challenges do they present to us, as individuals and societies? Who benefits from their adoption? In answering these questions, this timely guide clarifies the scale and nature of the crisis we now confront – and offers ways in which we might reclaim our stake in the future.
“Tremendously intelligent and stylish…a landmark primer.” — Steven Poole, The Guardian.
“Brilliant and scary.” — Saskia Sassen.
“This is an essential book.” — Brian Eno.