Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform our Lives, Work, and World

by Jamie Metzl Narrated by James Anderson Foster, Jamie Metzl

Overview

A bold, inspiring, and multi-disciplinary exploration of cutting-edge human knowledge and capabilities-and how to harness their awesome, but terrifying potential

In Superconvergence, leading futurist and OneShared.World founder Jamie Metzl explores how genome sequencing, gene editing, artificial intelligence, and other technologies are not only changing our lives, but catalyzing each other in radical and accelerating ways. These technologies have the potential to improve our health, feed billions of people, supercharge our economies, and store essential information for millions of years, but can also-if we are not careful-do immeasurable harm.

The challenge we face is that while the ability to engineer the world around us is advancing exponentially, our processes for understanding the scope, scale, and implications of these changes is only increasing linearly and our capacity to govern our godlike capabilities wisely is only inching forward glacially. Luckily, in Jamie Metzl we have a thinker who*has followed this phenomenon for decades and who integrates science, history, politics, and international affairs to envision a future that many specialists, almost by definition, cannot see. In Superconvergence,*Metzl gives us the definitive account of the technological precipice on which we stand and the map to where we go from here.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In Superconvergence, Jamie Metzl takes readers on a magical journey through the science of the intersecting genetics, biotech, and AI revolutions, deeply explores the implications, and challenges us to think creatively and proactively about what comes next. Very few books are absolute must-reads. This is one.”—Siddhartha Mukherjee, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and author of The Gene: An Intimate History

"During the 25 years I have known Jamie Metzl, he has always been ahead of the curve. There is no one better to help us understand and prepare for the fast-approaching technological revolutions. Superconvergence is brilliant. I can't recommend it more strongly."—Sanjay Gupta MD, bestseller author, neurosurgeon, and Emmy-award winning chief medical correspondent (CNN)

"Our world is defined by our science and technology—whether we like it or not. The question now is not whether to use these powers, but how best to use them. In Superconvergence, Jamie Metzl takes us on a journey through the new capabilities that are radically transforming ecosystems inside us and around us, challenging each of us to get personally involved with building the future we want."—Beth Shapiro, University of California Santa Cruz evolutionary biologist and author of Life as We Made It: How 50,000 Years of Human Innovation Refined—and Redefined—Nature

"In a fine counter-blast to the pessimism of today, Jamie Metzl lays out just how spectacular the future of humanity and planet can be if we harness innovation responsibly and imaginatively to create what he calls the 'spiral of progress.'"—Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works, and co-author of Viral: The search for the Origin of Covid-19

“A page-turning journey through space and time that shows us how our lives will be changed by imminent technological advances we once only dreamed of.”—David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, and author of Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To

“The superconvergence of the genetics, biotechnology, and AI revolutions provides spectacular opportunities for building a better world. It also represents an almost limitless investment opportunity. We were excited to collaborate with Jamie Metzl, one of the world's great experts on how these aspirations can best be realized, including in capital markets. Superconvergence is a master class for imagining, investing in, and building a future we'd like to inhabit."—Jeremy Schwartz, Global Chief Investment Officer, WisdomTree

“A clear examination of a transitional moment in the story of life on Earth…. Metzl capably describes recent developments in genetics and biotech and looks at how AI is providing an analytical engine of unprecedented power…. An important book in which the author sets out a path for the future based on his experience and expertise.”—Kirkus

“Erudite, optimistic, and timely.”—Science Magazine

"[In Superconvergence] Mr. Metzl has identified an important truth: that the convergence of new technologies is galvanizing us to reimagine how to meet urgent challenges in medicine and the environment. It’s a compelling opportunity—provided we manage to sidestep self-induced catastrophes along the way."—The Wall Street Journal

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-03-22
A clear examination of a “transitional moment in the story of life on Earth, a new Cambrian explosion with a new biological driver—us.”

Managing one technological revolution would be hard enough, but our society is now facing three at once, writes Metzl, a well-known futurist and the author of Hacking Darwin. Genome sequencing and editing, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence have all moved out of the theoretical stage and into practical reality, and navigating the mechanics and possibilities of these new technologies is a massive challenge. Metzl capably describes recent developments in genetics and biotech and looks at how AI is providing an analytical engine of unprecedented power. It is easy to get swept away by the promise of these technologies in everything from medicine to industrial productivity, but there are also great risks. Several agreements and protocols aim to regulate the emerging tech, but they are limited in scope. The author proposes a new international agency operating through the UN to provide a framework for coordinated regulation and information exchange around the world. Its role would extend to conducting exercises to test the world’s ability to respond to crises. Metzl understands that this would be difficult to create, especially when one of the major players, China, has announced that domination of these areas is a national goal—and is already charging ahead with little apparent regard for the wider consequences. Nevertheless, Metzl believes that the rest of the world should take a cooperative approach. As he notes, we must “speed up our pace of social organization to better match the speed of our technological innovation....All of this is a task greater than each of us but not greater than all of us.”

An important book in which the author sets out a path for the future based on his experience and expertise.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159214812
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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