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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Impact of science & technology on society
A Silicon Valley icon - and inventor of the iPod and iPhone - dispenses valuable tips and life lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage in their careers. Tony Fadell has spent the last three decades making things and founding companies that have profoundly changed millions of lives. After leading the team that created the iPod and iPhone, products that saved a struggling Apple, Tony founded Nest Labs and revolutionised household electronics. He has worked with everyone from Steve Jobs to Larry Page, advised companies from Impossible Foods to Diamond Foundry, built products that have literally shaped the modern world, and learned a lot of things about business, innovation and solving all manner of problems. In BUILD, Tony shares stories and valuable lessons from his career, offering advice and solutions for your toughest moments. For anyone striving to grow in their career, start-up founders and start-up dreamers, leaders of businesses big and small, this book will show you how to navigate challenges and take that next big leap.
It's been said that, after 9/11, the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic, we're a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces - perhaps THE driving force - of world history: fear of God, of famine, war, disease, poverty, and other people. In Fear: An Alternative History of the World, Robert Peckham considers the impact of fear in history, as both a coercive tool of power and as a catalyst for social change. Beginning with the Black Death in the fourteenth century, Peckham traces a shadow history of fear. He takes us through the French Revolution and the social movements of the nineteenth century to modern market crashes, Cold War paranoia and the AIDS pandemic, into a digital culture increasingly marked by uniquely twenty-first-century fears. What did fear mean to us in the past, and how can a better understanding of it equip us to face the future? As Peckham demonstrates, fear can challenge as well as cement authority. Some crises have destroyed societies; others have been the making of them. Through the stories of the people and the moments that changed history, Fear: An Alternative History of the World reveals how fear and panic made us who we are.
Known as the `four horsemen' of New Atheism, these four big thinkers of the twenty-first century met only once. Their electrifying examination of ideas on this remarkable occasion was intense and wide-ranging. Everything that was said as they agreed and disagreed with one another, interrogated ideas and exchanged insights - about religion and atheism, science and sense - speaks with urgency to our present age. Questions they asked of each other included:
The dialogue was recorded, and is now transcribed and presented here with new introductions from the surviving three horsemen. With a sparkling introduction from Stephen Fry, it makes essential reading for all their admirers and for anyone interested in exploring the tensions between faith and reason.
The story of YouTube, the global phenomenon which single-handedly upended traditional media and transformed Google into one of the world's most profitable companies. Since 2005, YouTube has exploded, giving a platform to unique and valuable voices, but also to propaganda, misinformation and illicit videos. The algorithm which determines whether a channel lives or dies - how or when videos are seen, and how much creators earn through advertising - is notoriously secretive, remaining a mystery to consumers and broadcasters alike. At the same time, the site is massively profitable for parent company Google, helping turn it into one of the most influential powers on the planet. In Like, Comment, Subscribe, Bloomberg tech journalist Mark Bergen delivers the definitive account on YouTube, detailing how it started, how it works and ultimately how it drives Google's success. It can be seen as the story of a technical marvel that has upended traditional media and created stars out of everyday people, or the story of the rise of a ruthless advertising conglomerate with little regard for its impact on the world beyond the bottom line - but in reality, it's the story of both.
Artificial intelligence is smarter than humans. It can process information at lightning speed and remain focused on specific tasks without distraction. AI can see into the future, predict outcomes and even use sensors to see around physical and virtual corners. So why does AI frequently get it so wrong and cause harm? The answer is us: the human beings who write the code and teach AI to mimic our behaviour. Scary Smart explains how to fix the current trajectory now, to make sure that the AI of the future can preserve our species. This book offers a blueprint, pointing the way to what we can do to safeguard ourselves, those we love and the planet itself.
This volume consists of written chapters taken from the
presentations at the symposium "100+ Years of Plastics: Leo
Baekeland and Beyond," held March 22, 2010, at the 239th ACS
National Meeting in San Francisco. The symposium celebrates the
100th anniversary of the formation of General Bakelite Corp., which
was preceded by Leo Baekland's synthesis of Bakelite in 1907 and
the unveiling of the Bakelite process in 1909. It is quite
reasonable to use the synthesis of Bakelite as the starting point
of the Age of Plastics. Indeed, Time magazine in its June 14, 1999,
issue on the 100 most influential people of the 20th century chose
Leo Baekeland and his Bakelite synthesis as the sole representative
of chemistry.
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SPECTATOR AND FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 'If you read just one book about how the modern world is driving us crazy, read this one' TELEGRAPH 'This book is exactly what the world needs right now' OPRAH WINFREY 'A beautifully researched and argued exploration of the breakdown of humankind's ability to pay attention' STEPHEN FRY 'A really important book . . . Everyone should read it' PHILIPPA PERRY Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back? For Stolen Focus, internationally bestselling author Johann Hari went on a three-year journey to uncover the reasons behind our shortening attention spans. He interviewed the leading experts in the world on attention, and learned that everything we think about this subject is wrong. We think our inability to focus is a personal failing - a flaw in each one of us. It is not. This has been done to all of us by powerful external forces. Our focus has been stolen. Johann discovered there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, all of which have robbed some of our attention. He shows us how in a thrilling journey that ranges from Silicon Valley dissidents, to a favela in Rio where attention vanished, to an office in New Zealand that found a remarkable way to restore our attention. Crucially, he learned how - as individuals, and as a society - we can get our focus back, if we are determined to fight for it.
Data Ethics of Power takes a reflective and fresh look at the ethical implications of transforming everyday life and the world through the effortless, costless, and seamless accumulation of extra layers of data. By shedding light on the constant tensions that exist between ethical principles and the interests invested in this socio-technical transformation, the book bridges the theory and practice divide in the study of the power dynamics that underpin these processes of the digitalization of the world. Gry Hasselbalch expertly draws on nearly two decades of experience in the field, and key literature, to advance a better understanding of the challenges faced by big data and AI developers. She provides an innovative ethical framework for studying and governing Big-Data and Artificial Intelligence. Offering both a historical account and a theoretical analysis of power dynamics and their ethical implications, as well as incisive ideas to guide future research and governance practices, the book makes a significant contribution to the establishment of an emerging data and AI ethics discipline. This timely book is a must-read for scholars studying AI, data, and technology ethics. Policymakers in the regulatory, governance, public administration, and management sectors will find the practical proposals for a human-centric approach to big data and AI to be a valuable resource for revising and developing future policies.
Professors and research advisors have always endeavored to make the opportunity to gain new knowledge available to their students. However, new knowledge takes different forms. From a student perspective, it comes from reading textbooks and primary literature or attending classes and seminars. Professors share in these activities with their students, but they know that physically taking part in the acquisition of new knowledge through active research is where the true excitement begins. For many, if not all, faculty members research is the source of passion for chemistry, and sharing it with a rising generation of chemists often comprises a substantial part of the decision to pursue a career in the field of undergraduate education. These chapters and additional ones provide starting points for developing such a culture at the department level. In several cases the starting point is redesigning introductory or research methods courses to place a stronger emphasis on authentic research and its associated skills. In other cases the establishment of a thriving research group by one faculty member is the catalyst for initiating the departmental transformation. There are also several examples of how to set up an undergraduate research group in departments that place a heavy emphasis on research, and those that place less emphasis on research. Many of these offer roadmaps for developing interdisciplinary research groups or translating resource-intensive graduate-level research to an environment that is resource-restrictive. In still other cases the research has an experiential learning component. For many of the above examples the departmental/institutional role is not always obvious and may not be influential or important. This is a reminder that undergraduate research need not be "institutional" to be successful.
Ithiel de Sola Pool was a pioneering social scientist, a distinguished scholar of the political process, and one of the most original thinkers in the development of the social sciences. Passionately engaged in politics, he continued his role of leadership throughout his life, building the MIT Political Science Department into an outstanding group. He organized international teams of social scientists and collaborated widely to develop the understanding of social change. He was a frequent adviser to governments as consultant and in-house critic, and a successful advocate of limits on government regulation. "Politics in Wired Nations" presents his writings on the social and political impact of different communication systems and new telecommunications technology. Included in this volume is the first study of trends in a global information society, and the first study of social networks and the "small world" phenomenon that creates new relationships and routes of informal influence and political power, both domestic and international. Pool's essays on the politics of foreign trade, the influence of American businessmen on Congress, and changeable "unnatural" institutions of the modern world (e.g., bureaucracies, mega-cities, and nation-states) are herein contained. Pool describes a nonviolent revolution in freedom and political control that is possible as the world changes from the era of one-way mass communications--targeted to national audiences--to a new era of abundant, high-capacity, low-cost, interactive, and user-controlled communications on a global scale. He discusses policy choices for freedom, the battlegrounds ahead, and the risks of government involvement in the regulation of new telecommunication technologies.
This insightful Handbook scrutinizes alternative concepts and approaches to the dominant economic or industrial theories of innovation. Providing an assessment of these approaches, it questions the absence of these neglected types of innovation and suggests diverse theories. International contributors provide a historical and critical analysis of all aspects of innovation, answering important questions such as 'are we just reinventing the wheel?'. Examining concepts that have existed for over a decade, chapters provide clarity on answering this question and investigate whether progress is actually being made. Split into seven parts, starting with the visions of innovation and reviewing multiple approaches and types of innovation, as well as utilising case studies to illustrate theories, this timely book provides an excellent update to this field. This Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers of business management and public policy as well as policy makers and stakeholders.
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, Salim S. Abdool Karim was catapulted into a prominent position in the media and on television as the face of South African science in the country's response to the pandemic. Up to that point, his groundbreaking research on AIDS had garnered many awards, leading to his recognition as one of the world’s leading epidemiologists, making him ideally positioned to take the scientific lead in the Covid-19 response. Standing Up for Science is Abdool Karim’s personal, behind-the-scenes account of the first three years of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is inspiring and informative, shedding light on the difficulties in providing scientific advice, on the international co-operation that was integral to responding to the pandemic, as well as giving insight to some of the controversies in the science-to-policy process, and drawing lessons from Covid-19 to prepare for future pandemics. Beyond the recent events in which the story is grounded, the book is an ode to the value of science and its power to help us tackle some of the world's biggest problems.
Written in an accessible style with comprehensive coverage, the Handbook of Gender and Technology provides an excellent foundation examining gender equity in technology fields. Covering the state of the art, chapters consider three key influences - environmental, identity and individual - to highlight interventions to address the gender gap in technology. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the expert contributors seek to understand the subjective reality of those experiencing gender barriers and provide the reader with both theory and research results into gender diversity in technology. This Handbook provides a comprehensive review of issues faced by women and gender minorities in technology fields. It is global in perspective, including chapters about Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. It is intersectional in approach, including the standpoint of racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Providing a unified look at the challenges faced, this insightful Handbook will be an excellent resource for scholars interested in gender and social inclusion in technology fields. It will also provide an informative guide for policymakers and managers in global organisations tasked with developing interventions using data-driven practices to address the gender gap.
How will artificial intelligence change our world within twenty years?
Providing an insightful analysis of the key issues and significant trends relating to labour within the platform economy, this Modern Guide considers the existing comparative evidence covering all world regions. It also provides an in-depth look at digital labour platforms in their historical, economic and geographical contexts. Highlighting the diversity of experience of platform work, case studies illustrate how general trends play out, both in online and location-based labour platforms, across the globe. Chapters illustrate a need for a post-pandemic regulatory requirement of digital labour platforms at different policy levels, whilst providing a general overview of key topics. Interlinking contributions with a global scope and coverage identify the challenges faced and offer thoughtful regulatory solutions. This engaging book will be an invaluable resource for academics of labour economics, legal and business studies and sociology. It will also benefit policy makers in social and political geography and political science looking for a deeper understanding of the topic.
In recent years, China has become a world leader in e-commerce, e-currency, 5G and artificial intelligence, cementing itself as a major competitor to established powers. Gerald Chan poses the question: How has China pulled this off? Arguing that the answer lies in the country's Digital Silk Road, a multi- faceted programme to connect the world via digital means, the book explores how China has shaped the development of the digital order, secured a critical role in internet governance and upset the status-quo powers. Integrating empirical research with innovative theory, this forward-looking book is the first of its kind to unravel the complex web spun through China's Digital Silk Road. Chapters offer a unique Chinese perspective on the evolution of the global digital economy and digital currencies, highlighting China's growing influence in driving technological development and setting global industrial standards. Following on from Chan's previous publications on the country's high-speed rail networks and maritime infrastructure, China's Digital Silk Road offers a timely look at China's predominant role in shaping the global digital order. Advancing a geo-developmental framework to analyse China's Belt and Road Initiative, the book will be of unique interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics and global development.
Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This cutting edge book introduces the origins and consequences of digital platforms, examining how artificial intelligence-enabled digital platforms collect and process data from and about users by providing social media and e-commerce services. Robin Mansell and W. Edward Steinmueller compare and contrast neoclassical, institutional and critical political economy approaches. They show how uneven power relationships between platform operators and their users are analysed in different economic traditions. Key features include: analysis of economic and public values provides a foundation for platform regulation examines the impacts of platforms on the media industry challenges claims of the inevitability of platform dominance discusses key challenges, including: artificial intelligence, data sharing and competition in the digital economy. This concise book will be indispensable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of media and communication studies, innovation studies and economics, particularly those focusing on platform economics.
Every child constantly changes and undergoes processes of emotional, cognitive, normative and physical development. At each age and stage of development children need continued support and assurance from adults in order to assimilate the effects of these changes. The pace of the child's development and its outcome are determined by both genetic factors and the influence of the environment. The young child in context: a psycho-social perspective examines the complex yet clearly defined phases in child development and suggests how best to encourage and assist children through the formative first nine years of their lives. In the revised second edition, the case is put more strongly that the context of each child is of crucial importance and that stimulation is essential in enabling the child to reach his or her full potential. The young child in context follows two different perspectives on the development of the young child: psychological and social-educational. Each chapter provides definitions of concepts, self-test questions, field assignments, additional assignments for revision and case studies related to the topics covered. Issues are discussed within a South African context.
Smile, lift up your Voices. Life is your Play. Wander around on the stage of Life and Learn. LEARN is the fifth book by the secular philosopher bill thompson after SMILE, VOICES, PLAY, WANDER, and now LEARN. The book is for those who have had enough of Homo Sapiens and are turning to Homo Conatus who is always waiting in the wings of the greek theatres of words. Homo Conatus, wanting to exist and enhance the SELF. Individuals needing a progressive politics, a shared EARTH in order to flourish safely. This requires DEPTH, an existential that and how. A basic understanding of biology and cosmology on top of any old sapient understandings of space and time machines. This new understanding that Homo Conatus requires turns Freudianism upside down and microcosmic. Hysteria is normal. Boring is normal. In between is Play. This new deal for the children of the 21st Century has been researched by the Greeks [Aristotle], Romans [Cicero], Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Newton [not as a mechanics but] as the complexity that surpasses the understandings of the older Homo Sapiens because of quantum electrodynamics or chemistry for short. Quantum Dynamic Homeostasis. So Darwin and then secular universities around the world for our teleonomic developments, new technologies. Any chances of a maintaining a civil order whilst opening up to diverse opinionsa has to change gear from sapiens to Conatus and embrace the teleonomics of the modern synthesis [1958]. Not a lot of people know enough about this yet, and Learn is the fifth a introduction to Homo Conatusa by the secular philosopher bill thompson [who is still trying to work out what it is like to be human]. And is that not what you do on a daily basis?
This cutting-edge Handbook offers fresh perspectives on the key topics related to the unequal use of digital technologies. Considering the ways in which technologies are employed, variations in conditions under which people use digital media and differences in their digital skills, it unpacks the implications of digital inequality on life outcomes. International contributors assess a variety of key contexts that impact access to digital technologies, including contextual variations related to geography and infrastructure, as well as individual differences related to age, income, health and disability status. Chapters explore how variations emerge across the life course, illustrating the effects of digital disparities on personal wellbeing. Intervening in critical debates relating to the digital divide, this Handbook offers key insights into privacy and trust issues that affect technological usage. Employing both quantitative and qualitative investigations into the relationship between social inequality and the Internet, this Handbook is crucial reading for scholars and researchers in both communication and sociology, particularly those focusing on digital inequalities and human-computer interaction. It will also benefit policymakers in need of innovative approaches to understanding, challenging and addressing the digital divide.
This innovative book explores the foundations of the smart city and, through a critique of its challenges and concerns, showcases how to redefine the concept for increased sustainability, liveability and resilience in urban areas. It undertakes a review of the smart city concept, providing a new perspective on how technology-based urban solutions must be centred around human dimensions to render more liveable urban fabrics. Chapters highlight how existing digital infrastructures can be coupled with emerging ones, so that they can provide increased efficiency and performance, with an ultimate objective of rendering safer, more sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities, aligning with the needs of the SDGs. The book also covers emerging technologies and concepts, such as 6G and the '15-minute city', underlining how these can develop within smart city frameworks. This is an invigorating look into the concept of the smart city and how it can be improved and rethought, making it useful for urban studies and human geography academics and researchers. It also offers helpful insights for policy makers and planners on how to increase the quality of life in modern cities. |
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