What Technology Wants

Kevin Kelly

Oct 2010 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Inevitable— a sweeping vision oftechnology as a living force that can expand our individual potential 
This provocative book introduces a brand-new view of technology. It suggests that technology as a whole is not a jumble of wires and metal but a living, evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies. Kevin Kelly looks out through the eyes of this global technological system to discover "what it wants." He uses vivid examples from the past to trace technology's long course and then follows a dozen trajectories of technology into the near future to project where technology is headed. This new theory of technology offers three practical lessons: By listening to what technology wants we can better prepare ourselves and our children for the inevitable technologies to come. By adopting the principles of pro-action and engagement, we can steer technologies into their best roles. And by aligning ourselves with the long-term imperatives of this near-living system, we can capture its full gifts. Written in intelligent and accessible language, this is a fascinating, innovative, and optimistic look at how humanity and technology join to produce increasing opportunities in the world and how technology can give our lives greater meaning.

Ratings and reviews

This is the first book I have read by this celebrated author and it has lived up to the hype. Kelly's hypothesis in the book is very simple: what technology wants is that we keep building new ways of using technology to benefit us, which in turn will drive us to develop even more new technologies. Although the title, quite eerily, gives technology a life-like form, it is not what Kelly professes. Instead what he means is that when compared to biological systems, technological advancements are somewhat predictable, even though we are unsure of how those advancements would affect us. Comparing technological development with Darwinan evolution, Kelly says that just like the eye evolved in genetically distinct species, technologies arise independently and often simultaneously. In simple words, we would have had the light bulb with or without Edison and we would have the airplane with or without the Wright brothers. But in building his thesis, Kelly makes sure that he does not just view the world from a technophile's perspective and gives it a balance by talking about lessons we can learn from the Amish, a group of people who refuse to adopt any modern technologies. The narrative Kelly constructs is a powerful one. He draws on examples from all the periods of human history and makes neat comparisons with nature to convince the reader that what technology wants is to keep moving forward. I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious, loves technology or wonders what the world will be in the future.

The world works according to an algorithm in which an anomaly appears, this is a new creativity for which the web needs to be constantly fed with data and everything that has an impact and influence, the new becomes a valuable for which a work of art in the world of the cosmic web interface, the expansion of the network connects with the ether begins and begins to transcend spiritual dimensions (｡☬０☬｡) architect of the Universe

Kevin Kelly proves in this book why he is the predominant technology philosopher of our age. His analysis is spot on accurate and easily grasped by laymen. This is easily the most important book I have read in the last 5 years.

About the author

Kevin Kelly, author of the acclaimed Out of Control (called "required reading for all executives" by Fortune) is editor-at-large of Wired magazine. He has been involved in such cultural innovations as The Hacker's Conference and The Well. He lives in the Bay Area.