Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World

Description

Future Imperfect describes and discusses a variety of technological revolutions that might happen over the next few decades, their implications and how to deal with them. Topics range from encryption and surveillance through biotechnology and nanotechnology to life extension, mind drugs, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. One theme of the book is that the future is radically uncertain. Technological changes already begun could lead to more or less privacy than we have ever known, freedom or slavery, effective immortality or the elimination of our species, and radical changes in life, marriage, law, medicine, work and play. We do not know which future will arrive, but it is unlikely to be much like the past. It is worth starting to think about it now.

David D. Friedman is Professor of Law at Santa Clara University, California. His first book, The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism, was published in 1973, remains in print and is considered a libertarian classic. His scientific interest in the future is also long-standing. Professor Friedman's web page, www.davidfriedman.com, averages more than 3,000 visitors a day and his blog, Ideas, at http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com receives about 400 daily visits.

'Professor Friedman has written a valuable book that explores some of the most interesting issues connecting technology and society in the years and decades to come. His explanations of the technologies are accessible to ordinary readers, and he tees up the societal issues in a lively way. While not everyone will agree on the magnitude of the threats, his treatment of the subjects will make everyone think, from the most expert Internet lawyer to the most enthusiastic geek - indeed anyone who cares about his or her future in a democratic society.' Henry H. Perritt, Jr, Chicago-Kent College of Law 'David Friedman turns his formidable analytical abilities on a number of futures. They won't all happen - but at least one of them almost certainly will. Friedman applies law to economics and economics to the law, to the benefit of our understanding of both. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the future - or any one of several futures. It doesn't hurt that it's a good read, either.' Jerry Pournelle, best selling science and science fiction writer, high tech columnist ' ... Friedman rightly emphasizes that future developments are contingent and their ramifications uncertain...Recommended ...' D. Bantz, Choice Magazine ' ... 22 very interesting chapters on various futures ... Friedman explains, clarifies, enlightens, and entertains ... This is a delightful book, written by a creative mind ...' Ross Levatter, Liberty ' ... Friedman gleefully sorts out a host of messes having to do with a wide range of world-changing technologies ... the death of copyright protection; nanotechnology; cloning, genetic engineering, and other advanced reproductive therapies; cognitive enhancement through pharmacology; the growing difficulty (due in part to tools that allow users to veil their identities) of enforcing contracts in cyberspace. Friedman is honest enough not to claim to be a seer - the future is both imperfect and uncertain. But he frames the possibilities even-handedly, with energetic comprehensiveness.' Lew McCreary, Harvard Business Review 'What a delightful and absorbing book! Friedman looks to the future with a science fiction writers sense of the possible combined with a social scientists understanding of what it all might mean.' N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard University 'David Friedman turns his formidable analytical abilities on a number of futures. They won't all happen - but at least one of them almost certainly will. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the future - or any one of several futures. It doesn't hurt that it's a good read, either.' Jerry Pournelle, best selling science and science fiction writer, high tech columnist 'Provocative would be another term for 'Future Imperfect', in which Friedman lays out a tantalizing range of either/or futures - greater personal privacy and choice protected by encryption and private contracts, or a Big Brotheresque world in which surveillance technologies and databases catalog our behaviors' San Francisco Chronicle