On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

PREFACE

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT THE FUTURE. I write from a personal perspective, and in three modes: as a scientist, as a citizen, and as a worried member of the human species. The book’s unifying theme is that the flourishing of the world’s growing population depends on the wisdom with which science and technology is deployed.

Today’s young people can expect to live to the end of the century. So how can they ensure that ever more powerful technologies—bio, cyber, and AI—can open up a benign future, without threatening catastrophic downsides? The stakes are higher than ever before; what happens this century will resonate for thousands of years. In addressing such a wide-ranging theme I’m mindful that even the experts have a poor record of forecasting. But I’m unrepentant because it’s crucial to enhance public and political discourse on long-term scientific and global trends.

The themes of this book have evolved and clarified through lectures for varied audiences, including the 2010 BBC Reith Lectures, published as From Here to Infinity (Martin Rees, From Here to Infinity: Scientific Horizons [London: Profile Books, 2011; New York: W. W. Norton, 2012]). I’m therefore grateful for the feedback from listeners and readers. And I acknowledge with special gratitude the input (knowing or unknowing) from friends and colleagues with specialised expertise, who are not specifically quoted in the text. Among them are (alphabetically) Partha Dasgupta, Stu Feldman, Ian Golden, Demis Hassabis, Hugh Hunt, Charlie Kennel, David King, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Catharine Rhodes, Richard Roberts, Eric Schmidt, and Julius Weitzdorfer.

I am specially grateful to Ingrid Gnerlich of Princeton University Press for instigating the book, and for her advice while I was writing it. I’m also grateful to Dawn Hall for the copyediting, to Julie Shawvan for the index, to Chris Ferrante for the text design, and to Jill Harris, Sara Henning-Stout, Alison Kalett, Debra Liese, Donna Liese, Arthur Werneck, and Kimberley Williams from the Press for their efficiency in seeing the book through the publishing process.