Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World

Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World
David D. Friedman | 2008-07-21 00:00:00 | Cambridge University Press | 351 | Law
Future Imperfect describes and discusses a variety of technological revolutions that might happen over the next few decades, their implications, and how to deal with them. Topics range from encryption and surveillance through biotechnology and nanotechnology to life extension, mind drugs, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. One theme of the book is that the future is radically uncertain. Technological changes already begun could lead to more or less privacy than we have ever known, freedom or slavery, effective immortality or the elimination of our species, and radical changes in life, marriage, law, medicine, work, and play. We do not know which future will arrive, but it is unlikely to be much like the past. It is worth starting to think about it now.
Reviews
Rather than debating what will happen in the future, Friedman brings our attention to the changes that will occur within our culture and legal system as a result of these technologies. He starts with numerous hypotheticals, poses potential answers to those hypotheticals, and then goes above and beyond with further problems and solutions, until it seems that only through market powers can we find ourselves able to deal with the onslaught of changes we're about to encounter.
Reviews
Future Imperfect is an economist's take on the radically unpredictable technological change to come over the next thirty years. It is thorough, fair, and well-reasoned.



The first half focuses on changes in information technology, particularly in regard to privacy and encryption. I found this material somewhat dry, although it is especially well-researched due to the author's familiarity with the material. I found the extreme good and bad outcomes less desirable and terrifying than those in the second section; perhaps that is why it was less interesting.



The second half of the book is more speculative, and some apparently say less thorough, but I think that is really because there is more uncertainty involved in space, nanotech, and biotech research. We really do not know whether the grey goo scenario is possible, or whether the fact that "natural nanotech machines" haven't already created such a disaster means that it is impossible. We do not know if our conciousnesses can be uploaded into a machine, or what the implications would be. We do not know if space elevators will be of sufficient use to justify their costs in thirty years. Personally I think this makes this part of the book much more interesting. I had a similar feeling when reading Matt Ridley's The Red Queen; the end of the book was very speculative, and some friends disparaged it for departing from well-established science. While I find the "what is" stuff interesting, the "what if" is even moreso.



It's well-written, painless (probably for non-lawyers and non-economists, even), and discusses important issues. I think it is well worth picking up for anyone interested in the technologies that will become important within our lifetimes.
Reviews
This book is a very good survey of current and emerging technologies for the next few decades and their probable social impacts (and possible but not likely impacts). I didn't learn much new, because I try to keep up with current and emerging technology, at least with its capabilities; being able to do most of them is beyond my abilites. As the earlier reviewer mentioned, Friedman's coverage of space flight is weak, but that is because the author (and I) strongly suspects not much is likely to change substantially there for the next few decades. The review of biotechnologies is weaker than computational technologies because the author is less personally knowledgable in that area, it is still a very good summary of what has appeared in the popular science press.



The greatest strength of the book is the extremely thorough discussion of internet security issues and technologies and their likely impacts.


Reviews
THis book is a easy to medium read. It is well written and enjoyable. The auther shows the posible legal benefits and repercussions of possible future technologies.

He's good while discussing web tech's, but his space and biotech are weak.

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