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Latest Read: The Future Is Faster Than You Think

The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler.

The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler

Peter is an engineer, physician, and entrepreneur. He founded The X Prize Foundation, and executive chairman of Singularity University. Steven is an American author and entrepreneur. He has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Los Angles Times, Wired, Time magazine, GQ, Discover, and Popular Science.

Together they have published a series of books Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think and BOLD: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World. The Future Is Faster Than You Think is the third and last of this series.

As usual, whenever predictions of the future are written, they are never accurate. It is somewhat difficult to believe it has been thirteen years since reading The Next 100 Years by George Friedman.We all know, somehow the future gets in the way of….their future. Peter and Steven’s book is not an exception.

So, reading this during the hopefully fading months of the COVID pandemic reveals so much of their hype (including dates) never materialized. It is a shame the published date of their book was less than 60 days before our country went on lockdown.

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3D Printing Blockchain Education Innovation IoT Network Reading Technology

Latest Read: The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things By Samuel Greengard. Samuel is a business and technology writer whose work has appeared in Wired, Entrepreneur, and other publications. He holds a degree in journalism from California State University-Northridge and is a past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

The Internet of Things by Samuel Greengard

This book is a very lightweight, suitable for a complete novice to technology. However, this content is outside previous MIT Press titles by select content experts. However, every book has an audience and this is perfect for anyone seeking to understand IoT

In fact, beginning with the example when a lamp was merely a lamp. This provides the backdrop to the integration of modern wifi and bluetooth technologies into devices like a lamp, providing lighting controls via a mobile app.

For this reason, Samuel provides how IoT is changing everything in modern society. He helps define the concepts and key terms with mobility as the baseline for all these technologies. However it is the area where he communicates the recent emerging digital technology has now defined IoT. This products now tie services, data, and people. Those models are outlined as Automation, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Edge AI, Analytics, Robotics, 3D Printing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Blockchain.

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Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Metadata

Metadata by Jeffrey Pomerantz. Jeffrey earned his Ph.D. from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. He is Associate Professor in the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and in addition a Visiting Professor at the University of Washington.

Metadata by Jeffrey Pomerantz

At first glance, one may consider this book is only for Library Science and Information Technology students and professionals. However, today internet publishing and content creators suggests you would be wrong.

In fact, this book is very essential. I found this a very welcoming and informative read. Above all, metadata is addressing traditional data elements: creator, created, modified, name, and related networks.

Jeremy elegantly explains what metadata is and why this is so critical to our society today. Twenty years ago the audience impact was considerably smaller. However, today we are an internet publishing society and this is now second nature to many social media content creators.

Jeremy introduces this key element via the Snowden revelations regarding PRISM. The collection of phone metadata reveals the NSA could identify quite a bit about each cellular call. This was certainly metadata’s aha moment on a global scale. However, this subject really shines in Bruce Schneier’s excellent book Click Here to Kill Everybody. I would also highly recommend reading Surveillance Valley by Yasha Levine.

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Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Succeeding with AI

Succeeding with AI: How to make AI work for your business
by Veljko Krunic. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from University of Colorado Boulder. Today he is CEO of Health Saver AI and holds two AI patients.

Succeeding with AI: How to make AI work for your business by Veljko Krunic

Based upon the AI books I have been reading, none certainly addresses the business side of AI. Veljko is writing this book for business leaders. At first glance one may believe technology project managers would be a target audience. This is perfect for business leaders and analysts with no AI programming.

For any business seeking to define investments for data driven decision making, this is a worth title to read. The approach is completely a business approach to AI projects, how they are different and when to fail quickly early in a project.

In addition, Veljko’s underlying message for business teams is the profit is the resulting data outcomes, as it seems almost every business seeking to gain an upper hand have already kickstarted small AI projects. Veljko certainly helps leaders understand the foundation requirements (developers, and data scientists) required to succeed.

The hard requirements for AI if overlooked, will not be enough to prove a business case and result in wasted investments. This is along the lines of The Myth of Artificial Intelligence Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do by Erik Larson.

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Education Reading Vietnam War

Latest Read: Tightrope

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by the husband/wife team of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Nicholas is a two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, in addition he has been a finalist seven times while Sheryl is also a Pulitzer winner.

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
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Nicholas in fact, grew up on a sheep and cherry farm near Yamhill, Oregon and his hometown is the cornerstone of this book. Subsequently he graduated from Harvard and holds a law degree from Oxford, while Sheryl graduated from Cornell and holds an MPA from Princeton and an MBA from Harvard.

In addition, Sheryl and Nicholas have co-authored China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia. Furthermore, Sheryl wrote her third best-seller Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in 2009.

Nicholas did not qualify to run for Governor in Oregon in 2022 due to his residence in NYC. His family still owns their farm in Oregon. I certainly hope he runs for office in the future. This book obviously reveals they hold a solid understanding of the challenges and opportunities confronting our country.

Tightrope should be difficult book to fully digest. The impact around our local community and our country are certainly profound. Likewise, Tightrope documents a real world view of where we are heading, and it is not all too positive.

Life is not a box of chocolates

Chapter One begins with a simple message as Nicholas reflects upon the kids he rode the school bus while growing up. In fact, one quickly becomes aware of how families across our country have struggled, faltered, and died just like the kids on bus number six.

Furthermore, this book addresses a deep level of concerns for America today: homelessness, isolation, obesity, depression, unemployment, drugs, alcoholism, incarceration, diabetics and suicide. Tightrope on the other hand, demonstrates how government programs can be very helpful to address long standing inequities at the federal to local levels.

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
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