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Present Future: Business, Science, and the Deep Tech Revolution
2023 Goody Business Books Finalist in Science and Technology2022 Next Big Idea Club Top 10 Business Book2022 Gold Medalist in the AXIOM Business Book Awards in Business Technology2021 Foreword Indies Gold Winner in Science & TechnologyAmazon Bestseller in General Technology & Reference, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Professional & Technical, Development & Growth Economics, and TechnologyLearn from the past. Understand the present. Explore the future.“ . . . Present Future is a fascinating, expert look at the history of the key technological advances affecting life today, and preparation for the exponential leaps yet to come. . . . ”
—BILL MARIS, Founder and First CEO of Google Ventures, Founder of Calico, Founder of Section 32
“With the context of an economic historian and the on-the-ground insights of an active technology investor, Perelmuter’s Present Future brings readers to the bleeding edge of the science and technologies poised to revolutionize the 21st century. Comprehensive and yet enthralling, the book is a must-read for anyone who has an intellectual or commercial interest in what the future may hold.”
—PETER HEBERT, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Lux Capital
“. . . Perelmuter draws upon his own experiences as a successful tech entrepreneur and investor, and the writings of dozens of other experts, to highlight the most important implications of multiple emerging technologies. Recommended!”
—BEN CASNOCHA, Co-Author of the #1 New York Times best seller The Start-up of You
“A comprehensive survey of action across the entire frontier of advanced technologies is daunting in concept and even more so in execution. Guy Perelmuter has pulled it off, providing an accessible yet historically informed review from the world of algorithms to the world of genomic analysis by way of just about every field of science in between. Most He avoids the hype-ridden cheerleading that all too often accompanies accounts of breakthrough innovation. . . ”
—BILL JANEWAY, Venture Capitalist, Economist, Author of Doing Capitalism in The Innovation Reconfiguring the Three-Player Game Between Markets, Speculators and the State
—BILL MARIS, Founder and First CEO of Google Ventures, Founder of Calico, Founder of Section 32
“With the context of an economic historian and the on-the-ground insights of an active technology investor, Perelmuter’s Present Future brings readers to the bleeding edge of the science and technologies poised to revolutionize the 21st century. Comprehensive and yet enthralling, the book is a must-read for anyone who has an intellectual or commercial interest in what the future may hold.”
—PETER HEBERT, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Lux Capital
“. . . Perelmuter draws upon his own experiences as a successful tech entrepreneur and investor, and the writings of dozens of other experts, to highlight the most important implications of multiple emerging technologies. Recommended!”
—BEN CASNOCHA, Co-Author of the #1 New York Times best seller The Start-up of You
“A comprehensive survey of action across the entire frontier of advanced technologies is daunting in concept and even more so in execution. Guy Perelmuter has pulled it off, providing an accessible yet historically informed review from the world of algorithms to the world of genomic analysis by way of just about every field of science in between. Most He avoids the hype-ridden cheerleading that all too often accompanies accounts of breakthrough innovation. . . ”
—BILL JANEWAY, Venture Capitalist, Economist, Author of Doing Capitalism in The Innovation Reconfiguring the Three-Player Game Between Markets, Speculators and the State
354 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 23, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 21, 2022
Perfect primer for deep tech revolution. Accessible, incredibly well researched, and the perfect amount of skepticism for what the future will entail. The historical underpinnings of each section are fantastic, it is astonishing in many cases the pace of advancement but also how often technology has significantly lagged ideas. Really strong book, the future will be WILD
November 7, 2021
While I had to read this for one of my master's classes, it was a very good and informative read. Some of what was discussed is a bit disconcerting and Orweillian, but I think having a better understanding of Deep Tech now, and where it may be headed, is a good thing. Would definitely recommend.
November 2, 2021
Overall good book with review of technologies from a relative up-to-date perspective (book released in Feb 2021). The book is not overly dense as long as the reader is tech-aware, but the book doesn’t go into any overly deep theory or extrapolation either. The books walks through topics such as IoT, 3d printing, cybersecurity, evolution of education, big data, and others. There were some interesting ideas which I included below.
- Automation of tasks via technology has the potential for creating deflationary spiral. With reduction of size of labor market, consumers could feel less secure about spending. However with increased automation, economic output could grow. In order to reassure consumers and spend wisely, some economists and tech leaders think that UBI (Universal Basic Income) could be the essential solution.
- Shift from “rules + data = results” to “data + results = rules” shift that is emerging from deep data / neural network technology. Essential for some tech to evolve, but a fundamental shift in control.
- Interesting phrase of M2M or Machine to Machine communication with no human intervention.
- Shift away from hospital care (# of hospitals decreasing, especially in developed countries) and advent of connected medical devices and non-invasive procedures point to more home bound care and even passing away in the comfort of our homes.
- Automation of tasks via technology has the potential for creating deflationary spiral. With reduction of size of labor market, consumers could feel less secure about spending. However with increased automation, economic output could grow. In order to reassure consumers and spend wisely, some economists and tech leaders think that UBI (Universal Basic Income) could be the essential solution.
- Shift from “rules + data = results” to “data + results = rules” shift that is emerging from deep data / neural network technology. Essential for some tech to evolve, but a fundamental shift in control.
- Interesting phrase of M2M or Machine to Machine communication with no human intervention.
- Shift away from hospital care (# of hospitals decreasing, especially in developed countries) and advent of connected medical devices and non-invasive procedures point to more home bound care and even passing away in the comfort of our homes.
May 20, 2023
To someone who is relatively up to date about the current state of tech, the book won't bring anything new. It's rather superficial and the second half is about average. It started out strong, but I quickly realized it's not a "future future" book that would make me think or feel cozy and excited about all the future possibilities. It's not even Black Mirrorishly eerie. It's like trying to impress an otherwise technologically illiterate grandma of all the stuff that is presently possible with hints of what kind of path they are on. But without touching science fiction. At some points it was a letdown by repeating stuff already talked about earlier in the book. I feel like I expected something more exciting, but all it did was describe a bunch of tech I'm familar with. It failed to venture deep enough in any of them to offer any kind of amazing insight. And those few that could be considered as such, I've already read about in other books, like the possible breaking of today's encryptions by future quantum computers and whatnot. You'll like this book if all this is new to you, otherwise I'd pick books that each focus on a particular topic.
September 3, 2022
Guy Perlemuter is an economist and founder of a deep tech venture capital firm, though his formal education consists of degrees in both computer and electrical engineering—making him a very credible expert on this topic. Present Future is a “comprehensive survey of action across the entire frontier of advanced technologies [and] is daunting in concept and even more so in execution. Guy Perelmuter has pulled it off, providing an accessible yet historically informed review from the world of algorithms to the world of genomic analysis by way of just about every field of science in between. Most important: He avoids the hype-ridden cheerleading that all too often accompanies accounts of breakthrough innovation.” He looks not only at the future of deep tech but traces their origins for the reader in such a way that evokes the imagination of what the future may hold across the tech realm.
July 22, 2021
Rambling nonsense from a spoiled brat. It's clear that the author grew up protected, either upper-middle or upper class. He has no clue about how AI will change society, employment in particular. His knowledge of technology seems to be completely superficial, as a preppy who had his way eased for him doesn't need to know much.
I was sent a copy to review on a major source, but I'm not mean enough to do it there. However, I'll put my thoughts here and recycle the paper.
I was sent a copy to review on a major source, but I'm not mean enough to do it there. However, I'll put my thoughts here and recycle the paper.
April 20, 2022
Reviewed for Foreword Books Indies Awards.
An overview of a lot of the technology impacting our daily lives and the broader world around us. I was impressed with the ease with which the author handled a lot of the content, and even managed to explain blockchain in a short but understandable manner. This book is a good starting point for anyone to look at the current state of technology, and while it doesn't go very deep on any topics, it is a good launching point for further study.
An overview of a lot of the technology impacting our daily lives and the broader world around us. I was impressed with the ease with which the author handled a lot of the content, and even managed to explain blockchain in a short but understandable manner. This book is a good starting point for anyone to look at the current state of technology, and while it doesn't go very deep on any topics, it is a good launching point for further study.
March 30, 2022
Good overview of many present technology, their uses, and a look to the near future
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews