Where Will Man Take Us?: The bold story of the man technology is creating — by Atul Jalan
Publisher: Penguin Portfolio
Pages: 272
Price: Rs. 399 INR(Paperback), Rs. 228 INR(Kindle Edition)
ISBN: 978–0143446934
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2SzNtUJ
The first person who will live to be 150 years old has already been born.
The screen that we peer into will soon be within us.
We could soon be taking happiness pills before breakfast.
The perfect partner might need to be charged before bed.
This is a new world we are walking into. And the man who began this journey won’t be the man who ends this journey. Where Will Man Take Us? explores the changes technology is bringing about in us-as a society and as a species. What will the next generation turn into, what will it be like, how will the new Adam and Eve live and love?
In this book, Atul Jalan tackles nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and genetics, seamlessly weaving the future of technology with the changing dynamics of human love, morality and ethics.
About the author:
Atul Jalan, forever on the lookout for the next exciting idea and the next exciting thing to do, is an entrepreneur who is always on the move.
A childhood interest in technology transformed into a lasting love-life-technology intersections-through which he now explores how the technology man built is transforming him and the institutions he has created. What interests him the most about this merging of biology with technology is the fact that there is no end to it.
There is always something new, something exciting, something surprising around the corner. When not peeking at how technology impacts life next door, Jalan likes to travel-preferably on the bicycle he’s built himself with the aid of a few tech tools he is testing.
A science storyteller and futurist, Jalan is the founder-CEO of a pioneering AI venture, Manthan, by day. It is his fourth successful venture as an entrepreneur, and there is no knowing where he might take us next.
For more about him, visit https://atuljalan.com/.
My take on the book:
Artificial Intelligence is the concept with the maximum buzz in current times. However, any training or briefing around AI is predominantly starting with popular concepts like Self driven cars or Robotics. Author Atul starts this book with details on how the whole discussion around AI started not in recent times but from almost six decades ago. The book is divided into five sections and each section appropriately delves into the multiple facets of AI.
The first section Drivers of Change touches on the origin of AI and touches on the concepts around Nanotechnology, Quantum Computing and Genetics. The second section is dedicated to how AI is transforming the society starting from affecting voting choices to Blockchain driven monetary transactions to the argument around data privacy and ownership.
The third section touches on how Math is central to this entire concept and how calculations happened centuries ago. The forth section delves into the mysteries beyond the known knowledge like astrology, extraterrestrial life. The last and final section discusses about the New age man on how technology might create the human with required qualities, how technology is already increasing the lifespan of humans and some futuristic thinking.
This book is an interesting read for all those who want to know about Artificial Intelligence beyond the technical jargon. The author brilliantly captures the concepts from older times comparing them to the known technologies and sciences from current times to even futuristic expectations. The flow of the concepts across the sections is well planned. So is the language and examples which are easy to understand and relate to.
If you are a science enthusiast or aspiring to work in future in Artificial Intelligence, this book is a must read. For those not belonging to these categories, this can be given a try to stay relevant in the current times and to grasp interesting concepts.
My rating:
5/5.