The Economic Singularity: Artificial Intelligence and the Death of Capitalism

“Read The Economic Singularity if you want to think intelligently about the future.” --Aubrey de Grey Artificial intelligence (AI) is overtaking our human ability to absorb and process information. Robots are becoming increasingly dextrous, flexible, and safe to be around (except the military ones). It is our most powerful technology, and you need to understand it. This new book from best-selling AI writer Calum Chace argues that within a few decades, most humans will not be able to work for money. Self-driving cars will probably be the canary in the coal mine, providing a wake-up call for everyone who isn’t yet paying attention. All jobs will be affected, from fast food McJobs to lawyers and journalists. This is the single most important development facing humanity in the first half of the 21st century. The fashionable belief that Universal Basic Income is the solution is only partly correct. We are probably going to need an entirely new economic system, and we better start planning soon - for the Economic Singularity! The outcome can be very good – a world in which machines do all the boring jobs and humans do pretty much what they please. But there are major risks, which we can only avoid by being alert to the possible futures and planning how to avoid the negative ones. Calum Chace is a best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction books and articles, focusing on the subject of artificial intelligence. His books include Surviving AI, a non-fiction book about the promise and the challenges of AI, and Pandora's Brain, a techno-thriller about the first superintelligence. He is a regular speaker on artificial intelligence and related technologies and runs a blog on the subject at www.pandoras-brain.com. He also serves as chairman and coach for growing companies. Before becoming a full-time writer, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and business, in which he was a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He maintains his interest in business by serving as chairman and coach for a selection of growing companies. In 2000 he co-wrote The Internet Startup Bible, a business best-seller published by Random House. A long time ago, Calum studied philosophy at Oxford University, where he discovered that the science fiction he had been reading since boyhood was actually philosophy in fancy dress.