public libraries, 293
public roads, 79–80
publishers, 62n, 92, 182, 277–78, 281, 347, 352–60
punishing vs. rewarding network effects, 169–74, 182, 183
quants, 75–76
quantum field theory, 167n, 195
QuNeo, 117, 118, 119
Rabois, Keith, 185
“race to the bottom,” 178
radiant risk, 61–63, 118–19, 120, 156, 183–84
Ragnarok, 30
railroads, 43, 172
Rand, Ayn, 167, 204
randomness, 143
rationality, 144
Reagan, Ronald, 149
real estate, 33, 46, 49–52, 61, 78, 95–96, 99, 193, 224, 227, 239, 245, 255, 274n, 289n, 296, 298, 300, 301
reality, 55–56, 59–60, 124n, 127–28, 154–56, 161, 165–68, 194–95, 203–4, 216–17, 295–303, 364–65
see also Virtual Reality (VR)
reason, 195–96
recessions, economic, 31, 54, 60, 76–77, 79, 151–52, 167, 204, 311, 336–37
record labels, 347
recycling, 88, 89
Reddit, 118n, 186, 254
reductionism, 184
regulation, economic, 37–38, 44, 45–46, 49–50, 54, 56, 69–70, 77–78, 266n, 274, 299–300, 311, 321–22, 350–51
relativity theory, 167n
religion, 124–25, 126, 131, 139, 190, 193–95, 211–17, 293, 300n, 326
remote computers, 11–12
rents, 144
Republican Party, 79, 202
research and development, 40–45, 85–89, 117–20, 128, 136–37, 145, 154, 215, 229–30, 236
retail sector, 69, 70–74, 95–96, 169–74, 272, 349–51, 355–56
retirement, 49, 150
revenue growth plans, 173n
revenues, 149, 149, 150, 151, 173n, 225, 234–35, 242, 347–48
reversible computers, 143n
revolutions, 199, 291, 331
rhythm, 159–62
Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Kiyosaki), 46
risk, 54, 55, 57, 59–63, 71–72, 85, 117, 118–19, 120, 156, 170–71, 179, 183–84, 188, 242, 277–81, 284, 337, 350
externalization of, 59n, 117, 277–81
risk aversion, 188
risk pools, 277–81, 284
risk radiation, 61–63, 118–19, 120, 156, 183–84
robo call centers, 177n
robotic cars, 90–92
robotics, robots, 11, 12, 17, 23, 42, 55, 85–86, 90–92, 97–100, 111, 129, 135–36, 155, 157, 162, 260, 261, 269, 296n, 342, 359–60
Roman Empire, 24–25
root nodes, 241
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 129
Rousseau humor, 126, 129, 130–31
routers, 171–72
royalties, 47, 240, 254, 263–64, 323, 338
Rubin, Edgar, 121
rupture, 66–67
salaries, 10, 46–47, 50–54, 152, 178, 270–71, 287–88, 291–94, 338–39, 365
sampling, 71–72, 191, 221, 224–26, 259
San Francisco, University of, 190
satellites, 110
savings, 49, 72–74
scalable solutions, 47
scams, 119–21, 186, 275n, 287–88, 299–300
scanned books, 192, 193
SceneTap, 108n
Schmidt, Eric, 305n, 352
Schwartz, Peter, 214
science fiction, 18, 126–27, 136, 137–38, 139, 193, 230n, 309, 356n
search engines, 51, 60, 70, 81, 120, 191, 267, 289, 293
Second Life, 270, 343
Secret, The (Byrne), 216
securitization, 76–78, 99, 289n
security, 14–15, 175, 239–40, 305–8, 345
self-actualization, 211–17
self-driving vehicles, 90–92, 98, 311, 343, 367
servants, 22
servers, 12n, 15, 31, 53–57, 71–72, 95–96, 143–44, 171, 180, 183, 206, 245, 358
see also Siren Servers
“Sexy Sadie,” 213
Shakur, Tupac, 329
Shelley, Mary, 327
Short History of Progress, A (Wright), 132
“shrinking markets,” 66–67
shuttles, 22, 23n, 24
signal-processing algorithms, 76–78, 148
silicon chips, 10, 86–87
Silicon Valley, 12, 13, 14, 21, 34n, 56, 59, 60, 66–67, 70, 71, 75–76, 80, 93, 96–97, 100, 102, 108n, 125n, 132, 136, 154, 157, 162, 170, 179–89, 192, 193, 200, 207, 210, 211–18, 228, 230, 233, 258, 275n, 294, 299–300, 325–31, 345, 349, 352, 354–58
singularity, 22–25, 125, 215, 217, 327–28, 366, 367
Singularity University, 193, 325, 327–28
Sirenic Age, 66n, 354
Siren Servers, 53–57, 59, 61–64, 65, 66n, 69–78, 82, 91–99, 114–19, 143–48, 154–56, 166–89, 191, 200, 201, 203, 210n, 216, 235, 246–50, 258, 259, 269, 271, 272, 280, 285, 289, 293–94, 298, 301, 302–3, 307–10, 314–23, 326, 336–51, 354, 365, 366
Siri, 95
skilled labor, 99–100
Skout, 280n
Skype, 95, 129
slavery, 22, 23, 33n
Sleeper, 130
small businesses, 173
smartphones, 34n, 39, 162, 172, 192, 269n, 273
Smith, Adam, 121, 126
Smolin, Lee, 148n
social contract, 20, 49, 247, 284, 288, 335, 336
social engineering, 112–13, 190–91
socialism, 14, 128, 254, 257, 341n
social mobility, 66, 97, 292–94
social networks, 18, 51, 56, 60, 70, 81, 89, 107–9, 113, 114, 129, 167–68, 172–73, 179, 180, 190, 199, 200–201, 202, 204, 227, 241, 242–43, 259, 267, 269n, 274–75, 280n, 286, 307–8, 317, 336, 337, 343, 349, 358, 365–66
see also Facebook
social safety nets, 10, 44, 54, 202, 251, 293
Social Security, 251, 345
software, 7, 9, 11, 14, 17, 68, 86, 99, 100–101, 128, 129, 147, 154, 155, 165, 172–73, 177–78, 182, 192, 234, 236, 241–42, 258, 262, 273–74, 283, 331, 347, 357
software-mediated technology, 7, 11, 14, 86, 100–101, 165, 234, 236, 258, 347
South Korea, 133
Soviet Union, 70
“space elevator pitch,” 233, 342, 361
space travel, 233, 266
Spain, 159–60
spam, 178, 275n
spending levels, 287–88
spirituality, 126, 211–17, 325–31, 364
spreadsheet programs, 230
“spy data tax,” 234–35
Square, 185
Stalin, Joseph, 125n
Stanford Research Institute (SRI), 215
Stanford University, 60, 75, 90, 95, 97, 101, 102, 103, 162, 325
Starr, Ringo, 256
Star Trek, 138, 139, 230n
startup companies, 39, 60, 69, 93–94, 108n, 124n, 136, 179–89, 265, 274n, 279–80, 309–10, 326, 341, 343–45, 348, 352, 355
starvation, 123
Star Wars, 137
star (winner-take-all) system, 38–43, 50, 54–55, 204, 243, 256–57, 263, 329–30
statistics, 11, 20, 71–72, 75–78, 90–91, 93, 110n, 114–15, 186, 192
“stickiness,” 170, 171
stimulus, economic, 151–52
stoplights, 90
Strangelove humor, 127
student debt, 92, 95
“Study 27,” 160
“Study 36,” 160
Sumer, 29
supergoop, 85–89
supernatural phenomena, 55, 124–25, 127, 132, 192, 194–95, 300
supply chain, 70–72, 174, 187
Supreme Court, U.S., 104–5
surgery, 11–13, 17, 18, 98, 157–58, 363
surveillance, 1–2, 11, 14, 50–51, 64, 71–72, 99, 108–9, 114–15, 120–21, 152, 177n, 199–200, 201, 206–7, 234–35, 246, 272, 291, 305, 309–11, 315, 316, 317, 319–24
Surviving Progress, 132
sustainable economies, 235–37, 285�
��87
Sutherland, Ivan, 221
swarms, 99, 109
synthesizers, 160
synthetic biology, 162
tablets, 85, 86, 87, 88, 113, 162, 229
Tahrir Square, 95
Tamagotchis, 98
target ads, 170
taxation, 44, 45, 49, 52, 60, 74–75, 77, 82, 149, 149, 150, 151, 202, 210, 234–35, 263, 273, 289–90
taxis, 44, 91–92, 239, 240, 266–67, 269, 273, 311
Teamsters, 91
TechCrunch, 189
tech fixes, 295–96
technical schools, 96–97
technologists (“techies”), 9–10, 15–16, 45, 47–48, 66–67, 88, 122, 124, 131–32, 134, 139–40, 157–62, 165–66, 178, 193–94, 295–98, 307, 309, 325–31, 341, 342, 356n
technology:
author’s experience in, 47–48, 62n, 69–72, 93–94, 114, 130, 131–32, 153, 158–62, 178, 206–7, 228, 265, 266–67, 309–10, 325, 328, 343, 352–53, 362n, 364, 365n, 366
bio-, 11–13, 17, 18, 109–10, 162, 330–31
chaos and, 165–66, 273n, 331
collusion in, 65–66, 72, 169–74, 255, 350–51
complexity of, 53–54
costs of, 8, 18, 72–74, 87n, 136–37, 170–71, 176–77, 184–85
creepiness of, 305–24
cultural impact of, 8–9, 21, 23–25, 53, 130, 135–40
development and emergence of, 7–18, 21, 53–54, 60–61, 66–67, 85–86, 87, 97–98, 129–38, 157–58, 182, 188–90, 193–96, 217
digital, 2–3, 7–8, 15–16, 18, 31, 40, 43, 50–51, 132, 208
economic impact of, 1–3, 15–18, 29–30, 37, 40, 53–54, 60–66, 71–74, 79–110, 124, 134–37, 161, 162, 169–77, 181–82, 183, 184–85, 218, 254, 277–78, 298, 335–39, 341–51, 357–58
educational, 92–97
efficiency of, 90, 118, 191
employment in, 56–57, 60, 71–74, 79, 123, 135, 178
engineering for, 113–14, 123–24, 192, 194, 217, 218, 326
essential vs. worthless, 11–12
failure of, 188–89
fear of (technophobia), 129–32, 134–38
freedom as issue in, 32–33, 90–92, 277–78, 336
government influence in, 158, 199, 205–6, 234–35, 240, 246, 248–51, 307, 317, 341, 345–46, 350–51
human agency and, 8–21, 50–52, 85, 88, 91, 124–40, 144, 165–66, 175–78, 191–92, 193, 217, 253–64, 274–75, 283–85, 305–6, 328, 341–51, 358–60, 361, 362, 365–67
ideas for, 123, 124, 158, 188–89, 225, 245–46, 286–87, 299, 358–60
industrial, 49, 83, 85–89, 123, 132, 154, 343
information, 7, 32–35, 49, 66n, 71–72, 109, 110, 116, 120, 125n, 126, 135, 136, 254, 312–16, 317
investment in, 66, 181, 183, 184, 218, 277–78, 298, 348
limitations of, 157–62, 196, 222
monopolies for, 60, 65–66, 169–74, 181–82, 187–88, 190, 202, 326, 350
morality and, 50–51, 72, 73–74, 188, 194–95, 262, 335–36
motivation and, 7–18, 85–86, 97–98, 216
nano-, 11, 12, 17, 162
new vs. old, 20–21
obsolescence of, 89, 97
political impact of, 13–18, 22–25, 85, 122, 124–26, 128, 134–37, 199–234, 295–96, 342
progress in, 9–18, 20, 21, 37, 43, 48, 57, 88, 98, 123, 124–40, 130–37, 256–57, 267, 325–31, 341–42
resources for, 55–56, 157–58
rupture as concept in, 66–67
scams in, 119–21, 186, 275n, 287–88, 299–300
singularity of, 22–25, 125, 215, 217, 327–28, 366, 367
social impact of, 9–21, 124–40, 167n, 187, 280–81, 310–11
software-mediated, 7, 11, 14, 86, 100–101, 165, 234, 236, 258, 347
startup companies in, 39, 60, 69, 93–94, 108n, 124n, 136, 179–89, 265, 274n, 279–80, 309–10, 326, 341, 343–45, 348, 352, 355
utopian, 13–18, 21, 31, 37–38, 45–46, 96, 128, 130, 167, 205, 207, 265, 267, 270, 283, 290, 291, 308–9, 316
see also specific technologies
technophobia, 129–32, 134–38
television, 86, 185–86, 191, 216, 267
temperature, 56, 145
Ten Commandments, 300n
Terminator, The, 137
terrorism, 133, 200
Tesla, Nikola, 327
Texas, 203
text, 162, 352–60
textile industry, 22, 23n, 24, 135
theocracy, 194–95
Theocracy humor, 124–25
thermodynamics, 88, 143n
Thiel, Peter, 60, 93, 326
thought experiments, 55, 139
thought schemas, 13
3D printers, 7, 85–89, 90, 99, 154, 162, 212, 269, 310–11, 316, 331, 347, 348, 349
Thrun, Sebastian, 94
Tibet, 214
Time Machine, The (Wells), 127, 137, 261, 331
topology, network, 241–43, 246
touchscreens, 86
tourism, 79
Toyota Prius, 302
tracking services, 109, 120–21, 122
trade, 29
traffic, 90–92, 314
“tragedy of the commons,” 66n
Transformers, 98
translation services, 19–20, 182, 191, 195, 261, 262, 284, 338
transparency, 63–66, 74–78, 118, 176, 190–91, 205–6, 278, 291, 306–9, 316, 336
transportation, 79–80, 87, 90–92, 123, 258
travel agents, 64
Travelocity, 65
travel sites, 63, 64, 65, 181, 279–80
tree-shaped networks, 241–42, 243, 246
tribal dramas, 126
trickle-down effect, 148–49, 204
triumphalism, 128, 157–62
tropes (humors), 124–40, 157, 170, 230
trust, 32–34, 35, 42, 51–52
Turing, Alan, 127–28, 134
Turing’s humor, 127–28, 191–94
Turing Test, 330
Twitter, 128, 173n, 180, 182, 188, 199, 200n, 201, 204, 245, 258, 259, 349, 365n
2001: A Space Odyssey, 137
underemployment, 257–58
unemployment, 7–8, 22, 79, 85–106, 117, 151–52, 234, 257–58, 321–22, 331, 343
“unintentional manipulation,” 144
United States, 25, 45, 54, 79–80, 86, 138, 199–204
universities, 92–97
upper class, 45, 48
used car market, 118–19
user interface, 362–63, 364
utopianism, 13–18, 21, 30, 31, 37–38, 45–46, 96, 128, 130, 167, 205, 207, 265, 267, 270, 283, 290, 291, 308–9, 316
value, economic, 21, 33–35, 52, 61, 64–67, 73n, 108, 283–90, 299–300, 321–22, 364
value, information, 1–3, 15–16, 20, 210, 235–43, 257–58, 259, 261–63, 271–75, 321–24, 358–60
Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyles (VALS), 215
variables, 149–50
vendors, 71–74
venture capital, 66, 181, 218, 277–78, 298, 348
videos, 60, 100, 162, 185–86, 204, 223, 225, 226, 239, 240, 242, 245, 277, 287, 329, 335–36, 349, 354, 356
Vietnam War, 353n
vinyl records, 89
viral videos, 185–86
Virtual Reality (VR), 12, 47–48, 127, 129, 132, 158, 162, 214, 283–85, 312–13, 314, 315, 325, 343, 356, 362n
viruses, 132–33
visibility, 184, 185–86, 234, 355
visual cognition, 111–12
VitaBop, 100–106, 284n
vitamins, 100–106
Voice, The, 185–86
“voodoo economics,” 149
voting, 122, 202–4, 249
Wachowski, Lana, 165
Wall Street, 49, 70, 76–77, 181, 184, 234, 317, 331, 350
Wal-Mart, 69, 70–74, 89, 174, 187, 201
Warhol, Andy, 108
War of the Worlds, The (We
lls), 137
water supplies, 17, 18
Watts, Alan, 211–12
Wave, 189
wealth:
aggregate or concentration of, 9, 42–43, 53, 60, 61, 74–75, 96, 97, 108, 115, 148, 157–58, 166, 175, 201, 202, 208, 234, 278–79, 298, 305, 335, 355, 360
creation of, 32, 33–34, 46–47, 50–51, 57, 62–63, 79, 92, 96, 120, 148–49, 210, 241–43, 270–75, 291–94, 338–39, 349
inequalities and redistribution of, 20, 37–45, 65–66, 92, 97, 144, 254, 256–57, 274–75, 286–87, 290–94, 298, 299–300
see also income levels
weather forecasting, 110, 120, 150
weaving, 22, 23n, 24
webcams, 99, 245
websites, 80, 170, 200, 201, 343
Wells, H. G., 126–27, 137, 261, 331
Wells’s humor, 126–27
What the Dormouse Said (Markoff), 213
Wheeler, John Archibald, 195
Wiener, Norbert, 230
WikiLeaks, 14, 199, 205
Wikipedia, 59n, 93, 94, 176n, 188–89, 206, 226, 235, 254, 259, 291, 338, 359
Windows, 349
winner-take-all system, 38–43, 50, 54–55, 204, 243, 256–57, 263, 329–30
Wired, 82
wireless connections, 171–72, 184–85, 273, 296n, 309, 316, 331
Wozniak, Steve, 93
writers, 352–60
Xanadu, 222, 223, 225, 228–29
Xerox PARC, 229–30
You Are Not a Gadget (Lanier), 353
YouTube, 39, 60, 101, 185, 186–87, 242, 259, 278
zero-sum games, 240, 297–98
Zuckerberg, Mark, 93, 190
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