The What, Why, and How of Tomorrow's Technology

 

When Things Start to Think
by Neil Gershenfeld
Henry Holt and Company, 225 pages, $25.

"The future of computing," writes Neil Gershenfeld, "lies back in a book." Huh?

Think about it. You can read a book without power, in any light, and from any angle. You can access any part of it immediately, annotate it easily, and maintain it effortlessly. It is high-resolution, high-contrast, and robustly packaged.

By contrast, computers are bulky, power-hungry machines. And most of them are ungainly or downright ugly.

Gershenfeld notes that when he worked with computer firms and publishing companies while at MIT's Media Lab, he thought it odd that people wanted to replace paper with these machines. "If paper is such a good system," he asked, "why not continue to use it?"

Gershenfeld is no Luddite. On the contrary. He thinks we haven't gone far enough with technology. We've had a digital revolution. What we need now, he says, is a digital evolution.

We need to fix the division of labor between people and machines - we should expect them to do more. They must be better integrated with the rest of the world.

Connecting to Freedom

"The real promise of connecting computers is to free people, by embedding the means to solve problems in the things around us," says the author.

He means "embedding" literally - in paper, musical instruments, even clothing.

For example, in the future, computers in your jacket or shoes may monitor your heart rate, measure your footsteps, or augment your memory by recording your experiences.

In fact, the future isn't that far away. Wearable computers already exist. FedEx uses this technology in its package-tracking system.

Some aviation mechanics who work on large aircraft now wear computers with display glasses that enable them to follow instructions while working in confined spaces.

Gershenfeld goes beyond these examples of things that think to address why they should think and how they will be developed. He examines how things violate people's rights and how people violate the rights of things. He talks about taking advantage of what nature already can do. And much more. This is a book that will boggle your mind and tickle your imagination.

Copyright 1999 Soundview Executive Book Summaries