The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma, by Mustafa Suleyman, explores the intersection between technology and society, offering insights into the transformative potential and pitfalls of the rapidly advancing technological landscape. In this 2023 work, Suleyman, the co-founder of artificial intelligence company DeepMind, delivers a thought-provoking analysis of how the newest wave of emerging technologies—led by artificial intelligence and synthetic biology and compounded by quantum computing, clean energy, and robotics—will reshape the fabric of human existence. Drawing on his first-hand knowledge of present-day technological innovations and on research into the history of technology, Suleyman delves into the complexities of containment strategies and the ethical implications of unchecked technological progress. The Coming Wave offers readers a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the impending technological revolution, urging them to confront pressing questions about the future of humanity in an increasingly interconnected world.

This guide references the 2023 eBook edition published by Crown.

Summary

Suleyman proposes that humanity is shaped by waves: waves of commerce, of religion, of technology. The coming wave of technology, driven primarily by advances in AI and synthetic biology, will impact the world in unprecedented ways.