21st Century Technologies Promises And Perils Of A Dynamic Future

This book reviews the extraordinary promise of technological advances over the next twenty years or so, and assesses some of the key issues -- economic, social, environmental, ethical -- that decision-makers in government, business and society will face in the decades ahead.

This book explores some of the opportunities and risks - economic, social and technological - that decision-makers will have to address, and outlines what needs to be done to foster society's capacity to manage its future more flexibly and with broader participation of its citizens.

This book integrates the basic theories (GST and Parson’s AGIL framework), applying them to the components of social systems, state-run and business firms. China’s development experience offers a valuable case study that can provide readers deeper insights into this comparatively young discipline, and into China. Though the discipline of systems engineering and its application to hardware engineering system are well established, social systems engineering is an emerging discipline still being explored. This book may be the first English-language publication on this promising subject.

This book asks some hard questions about our changing world, and examines the policy opportunities that need to be grasped if we are to foster sustainable social foundations for the 21st century.

People are using the future to search for better ways to achieve sustainability, inclusiveness, prosperity, well-being and peace. In addition, the way the future is understood and used is changing in almost all domains, from social science to daily life. This book presents the results of significant research undertaken by UNESCO with a number of partners to detect and define the theory and practice of anticipation around the world today. It uses the concept of 'Futures Literacy' as a tool to define the understanding of anticipatory systems and processes - also known as the Discipline of Anticipation. This innovative title explores: " new topics such as Futures Literacy and the Discipline of Anticipation; " the evidence collected from over 30 Futures Literacy Laboratories and presented in 14 full case studies; " the need and opportunity for significant innovation in human decision-making systems. This book will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, policy-makers and students, as well as activists working on sustainability issues and innovation, future studies and anticipation studies.

This book explores the implications of newly developing risks such as hugely damaging hurricanes, new diseases, terrorist attacks, and disruptions to critical infrastructures.

* The thoughts of nanotechnology and its use for military, human health, and food applications, are no longer the futuristic notions of dreamers. Learn how computers no smaller than your own blood cells will be your hope for a new tomorrow. * Can't have a child or you would like a child free of disease, with a certain color hair and eyes. Or, would you like to choose your child's potential IQ? Read inside to find out more. * Have you ever dreamed that someday there would truly exist a fountain of youth? Well your wait is over. * The end of world hunger, the creation of super humans, and the ability to travel from home to any where in the world in 2 seconds on a beam of light, may yet exist within our lifetime. Learn more.. * Learn how DNA computers will replace today's silicon micro processor in the years to come... * A cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson disease, Sickle cell anemia, and even Cancer may already exist. Learn more today!!! * Will computers with the capability of using artificial intelligence take over mankind or will we remain in control? These are but a few of the exciting discoveries that you will find inside this book. Don't wait, take a glimps of the future as it exist today, and journey with me as we go in search of a world beyond the 21st century.

This book introduces a 'Big History' perspective to understand the acceleration of social, technological and economic trends towards a near-term singularity, marking a radical turning point in the evolution of our planet. It traces the emergence of accelerating innovation rates through global history and highlights major historical transformations throughout the evolution of life, humans, and civilization. The authors pursue an interdisciplinary approach, also drawing on concepts from physics and evolutionary biology, to offer potential models of the underlying mechanisms driving this acceleration, along with potential clues on how it might progress. The contributions gathered here are divided into five parts, the first of which studies historical mega-trends in relation to a variety of aspects including technology, population, energy, and information. The second part is dedicated to a variety of models that can help understand the potential mechanisms, and support extrapolation. In turn, the third part explores various potential future scenarios, along with the paths and decisions that are required. The fourth part presents philosophical perspectives on the potential deeper meaning and implications of the trend towards singularity, while the fifth and last part discusses the implications of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars from various disciplines interested in historical trends, technological change and evolutionary processes.