"This is a vital book for those who care about the environment, society and deploying new technology to check the destructive power of humankind."
- Allan Thornton, President, Environmental Investigation Agency, Washington, DC.,
and recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Medal
"This book will shake conventional environmental wisdom to its roots. ... A landmark work that should be read by environmentalists and businesspersons alike."
- Patrick Moore, cofounder, Greenpeace; president, Greenspirit
"In Our Molecular Future [Mulhall] neatly outlines why our increasing ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules is a concern, and lays out the opportunities and threats this technology presents. And it's surprisingly readable, unlike most of the nanobabble in the science journals. In the end, as Mulhall admits, he poses more questions than he answers. But that's a good place to start."
-New Scientist
"I just finished reading Douglas Mulhall's outstanding new book Our Molecular Future . . . and I highly recommend it. Put this one at the top of your list! . . . In an easy to read format, with very few forays into geek-speak, Mulhall presents his well considered and thoroughly researched theories. Overall, an excellent overview for those who wish to understand how disruptive and enabling technologies may save us from ourselves and from mother nature. And along the way you will learn a lot about how nanoscale technologies may enhance our lives, provide abundance for all, and greatly raise the standard of living for everyone. . . . Rating: five stars out of five."
- Rocky Rawstern, Nanotech Now
What Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was to the 20th century, Our Molecular Future will be to the 21st century.
- What will happen to our jobs, health care, and investments when the molecular revolution hits?
- How might artificial intelligence transform our lives?
- How can molecular technologies help us cope with climate changes, earthquakes, and other extreme natural threats?
Our Molecular Future explores some intriguing possibilities that answer these questions and many others. Douglas Mulhall describes the exponential changes that are about to be wrought by the nanotechnology and robotic revolutions, which promise to reduce the scale of computing to the nanometerùa billionth of a meterùwhile increasing computing power to almost unimaginable levels.
The resulting convergence of genetics, robotics, and artificial intelligence may give us hitherto undreamed-of capacities to transform our environment and ourselves. In the not-so-distant future, our world may include machines that scour our arteries to prevent heart disease, cars and clothes that change color at our whim, exotic products built in our own desktop factories, and enhancements to our personal financial security despite greatly accelerated obsolescence.
But while technology is making these fantastic leaps, we may also encounter surprises that throw us into disarray: climate changes, earthquakes, or even a seemingly improbable asteroid collision. These extremes are not the nightmare scenarios of sensationalists, Mulhall stresses, nor are many of them human induced. Instead, they may be part of nature's cycleùrecurring more often than we've thought possible.
The good news is that this convergence of catastrophe and technological transformation may work to our advantage. If we're smart, according to Mulhall, we can use molecular machines to protect ourselves from nature's worst extremes, and harness their potential benefits to usher in an economic renaissance.
This visionary link between future technology and past disasters is a valuable guide for every one of us who wants to be prepared for the twenty-first century.
Further Praise for OUR MOLECULAR FUTURE:
"A provocative and profoundly convincing message from the future."
- Graham Hancock, archaeological journalist and author of Fingerprints of the Gods
"In a breezy, journalistic style, Our Molecular Future takes us on a tour through some of the issues that will preoccupy many minds in the decades ahead, as humanity closes in on such revolutionary technologies as machine-phase nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. These issues deserve attention!"
- Nick Bostrom, Department of Philosophy, Yale University
"'Impossible' science that can change our daily lives and thwart earth-threatening natural catastrophesùthe stuff of a dozen Hollywood thrillers? ... [Mulhall's] meticulously researched and concisely written text is the thinking person's guide to the new century."
- Eric Orbom, Hollywood art director and set designer for
such films as Future World, Spawn, and Deep Impact
"Our Molecular Future is not just a guidebook to the future; it is a challenge to each of us to steer that future, and to grapple with its moral and ethical issues. ... A compelling, thought-provoking book."
- Gerard J. Fryer, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
"Douglas Mulhall argues persuasively that we attend to an imminent revolution in the scientific enterprise. Professionally, I'm excited by the opportunities nanotechnology and its spin-offs will provide for the gifted adolescent scientists and philosophers that I study and work with. When they read Mulhall's book, they'll see clearly where promising prospects may arise. On a personal level, the subject matter of Our Molecular Future is both intriguing and terrifying. I'm grateful to have Mulhall's lucid thinking as a guide to this new territory."
- Rena F. Subotnik, Ph.D., Center for Gifted Education Policy,
American Psychological Association
"Mulhall offers a tantalizing glimpse of a nanotech future in which - to ensure the survival of our society - the tiniest of machines join battle with nature's greatest warriors - volcanic supereruptions, giant tsunamis, and impacting asteroids."
- Bill McGuire, Benfield Greig Professor of Geohazards and director,
Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, University College London
Book Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 392
ISBN: 1-57392-992-1
Shipping Weight: 2lbs
Author Bio:
Douglas Mulhall is a sustainable development specialist and technology journalist. He has managed scientific institutes that pioneered adaptive technologies such as water recycling and flood prevention, in collaboration with governments, research laboratories, and multinational companies He has written articles for professional journals, newspapers, and magazines, including the Futurist and Nanotechnology magazine.
For more information and updates, see
www.ourmolecularfuture.com.
