- Publisher: Bloomsbury
- Year: 2024
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 368pp
- Illustrated: No
- Dimensions: 220x140mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.5kg
- ISBN: 9781399403108
- Product code: 546794
The Long History of the Future
Why Tomorrow's Technology Still Isn't Here
Nicole Kobie New Hardback
Postscript summary
For decades people have imagined a future where robots in flying cars whizz through the air above glittering, fully automated cities, but it never seems to arrive. This study follows the work of pioneers such as Babbage, Lovelace and Turing, before assessing the potential – for good or bad – of AI, and explaining the difficulty of integrating innovations that work in the lab with existing physical and social infrastructure.
Product information
Full publisher description
We love to imagine the future. But why are groundbreaking future technologies always just around the corner, and never a reality?
For decades we've delighted in dreaming about a sci-fi utopia, from flying cars and bionic humans to hyperloops and smart cities. And why not? Building a better world - be it a free-flying commute or an automated urban lifestyle - is a worthy dream. Given the pace of technological change, nothing seems impossible anymore. But why are these innovations always out of reach?
Delving into the remarkable history of technology, The Long History of the Future introduces us to the clever scientists, genius engineers and eccentric innovators who first brought these ideas to life and have struggled to make them work since. These stories reveal a more realistic picture of how these technologies may evolve - and how we'll eventually get to use them. You may never be able to buy a fully driverless car, but automated braking and steering could slash collision rates. Smart cities won't perfect city life, but they could help empty bins on time. Hyperloops may never arrive, but superfast trains are already here.
We always believe current technology is the best it could be. By looking to the past and the future, Nicole Kobie shows how history always proves us wrong and how what lies ahead may not be what we imagine, but so much better.
For decades we've delighted in dreaming about a sci-fi utopia, from flying cars and bionic humans to hyperloops and smart cities. And why not? Building a better world - be it a free-flying commute or an automated urban lifestyle - is a worthy dream. Given the pace of technological change, nothing seems impossible anymore. But why are these innovations always out of reach?
Delving into the remarkable history of technology, The Long History of the Future introduces us to the clever scientists, genius engineers and eccentric innovators who first brought these ideas to life and have struggled to make them work since. These stories reveal a more realistic picture of how these technologies may evolve - and how we'll eventually get to use them. You may never be able to buy a fully driverless car, but automated braking and steering could slash collision rates. Smart cities won't perfect city life, but they could help empty bins on time. Hyperloops may never arrive, but superfast trains are already here.
We always believe current technology is the best it could be. By looking to the past and the future, Nicole Kobie shows how history always proves us wrong and how what lies ahead may not be what we imagine, but so much better.
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546794
The Long History of the Future
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For decades people have imagined a future where robots in flying cars whizz through the air above glittering, fully automated cities, but it never seems to arrive. This study follows the work of pioneers such as Babbage, Lovelace and Turing, before assessing the potential – for good or bad – of AI, and explaining the difficulty of integrating innovations that work in the lab with existing physical and social infrastructure.
Hardback
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rrp_info:£18.99
productId:187277
bic_code:PDR, PDZ, TBX
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Nicole Kobie
General
220x140mm
Bloomsbury
No
Hardback
