HUM 110 -The Future

Eminent physicist and economist, Robert Ayres, examines the history of technology as a change agent in society, focusing on societal roots rather than technology as an autonomous, self-perpetuating phenomenon. With rare exceptions, technology is developed in response to societal needs that have evolutionary roots and causes.

Three of the world's most accomplished and deep thinkers come together to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the way it is transforming human society--and what this technology means for us all. AI is discovering new medicines, running military drones, and transforming the world around us--yet we do not understand the decisions it makes, and we don't know how to control them.

But with the founding of Oculus, and the belief that his tantalizing vision of the future everything he had into creating a device that would allow gould one day be more than science fiction, Luckey put evamers like him to step into virtual worlds and, in doing so, hopefully kickstart a VR revolution.  With the help of an industry legend, a serial entrepreneur, and a slew of colorful characters--including those behind gaming sensations like Doom, Words with Friends, and Guitar Hero--Luckey's scrappy startup would finally deliver the dream of immersive and affordable virtual reality to consumers, leading geeks and gamers to be excited in a way that they hadn't been in years, and tech firms and investors scrambling to get in on the action before it was too late.

Diamandis, a space-entrepreneur-turned-innovation-pioneer, and Kotler, bestselling author and peak performance expert, probe the science of technological convergence and how it will reinvent every part of our lives--transportation, retail, advertising, education, health, entertainment, food, and finance--taking humanity into uncharted territories and reimagining the world as we know it.

This book explores what constitutes an enhancement fit for humanity in the age of nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information technologies, and technologies related to the cognitive sciences. It considers the influence of emergent technology upon our understanding of human nature and the impact on future generations.

The coming Augmented Age, promises a level of disruption, behavioral shifts and changes that are unparalleled. While consumers today are camping outside of an Apple store waiting to be one of the first to score a new Apple Watch or iPhone, the next generation of wearables will be able to predict if we're likely to have a heart attack and recommend a course of action.

Readers will explore the issues surrounding drones, including why drones are controversial, how drone technology has outpaced regulation, whether or not domestic law enforcement agencies should be allowed to use drones, and if commercial drone use should be allowed.

Astonishing technological advances are arriving in increasing numbers. Scholar and entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa uses this book to alert us to dozens of them and raise important questions about what they may mean for us.

Since 2010 it has been possible to determine a person's genetic makeup in a matter of days at an accessible cost for many millions of people. There is a movement to use this information to help prospective parents "eliminate preventable genetic disease." As the prospect of systematically excluding the appearance of unwanted mutations in our children comes within reach, David B. Goldstein examines the possible consequences from these types of choices.

In a compelling new work of feminist critical theory, Bassett, Kember and O'Riordan scrutinise many of the assumptions of a masculinist digital world, highlighting the tendency of digital humanities scholarship to venerate and essentialise technical forms, and to adopt gendered writing and citation practices. Contesting these writings, practices and politics, the authors foreground feminist traditions and contributions to the field, offering alternative modes of knowledge production, and a radically different, poetic writing style.