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  • The Inevitable

  • Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
  • By: Kevin Kelly
  • Narrated by: George Newbern
  • Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (567 ratings)
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The Inevitable cover art

The Inevitable

By: Kevin Kelly
Narrated by: George Newbern
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Summary

A New York Times Best Seller

From one of our leading technology thinkers and writers, a guide through the 12 technological imperatives that will shape the next 30 years and transform our lives.

Much of what will happen in the next 30 years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion. In this fascinating, provocative new book, Kevin Kelly provides an optimistic road map for the future, showing how the coming changes in our lives - from virtual reality in the home to an on-demand economy to artificial intelligence embedded in everything we manufacture - can be understood as the result of a few long-term, accelerating forces. Kelly both describes these deep trends - interacting, cognifying, flowing, screening, accessing, sharing, filtering, remixing, tracking, and questioning - and demonstrates how they overlap and are codependent on one another.

These larger forces will completely revolutionize the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate with each other. By understanding and embracing them, says Kelly, it will be easier for us to remain on top of the coming wave of changes and to arrange our day-to-day relationships with technology in ways that bring forth maximum benefits. Kelly’s bright, hopeful book will be indispensable to anyone who seeks guidance on where their business, industry, or life is heading - what to invent, where to work, in what to invest, how to better reach customers, and what to begin to put into place - as this new world emerges. 

©2016 Kevin Kelly (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Inevitable

Average customer ratings
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    2 out of 5 stars

Unimaginative and unrelentingly tedious

The future, told at great length as seen through the narrow squint of a silicon valley tech optimist. Forget genetics, economics, cheap solar power, climate change, politics, developing countries, religion, poverty...
The book starts by saying that the future is complex and wildly unpredictable. Then predicts a future based on tech startups producing better faster computers, better AI and better screens and more joined up versions of what we have now.
It feels like one of those old General Electric World of Tomorrow films, but produced by Google or Facebook.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know it will be a lot more interesting than this.

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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book but...

Short and sweet on this one. This book is very informative and contains a lot of info. But KK's writing style is very repetitive. He makes the same points over and over again. Didn't need to be over 11 hours.

Lots of good info, and he certainly knows what he's talking about, but I couldn't say that I enjoyed it... it was more like a workout. But maybe that's what he was going for.





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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting recap of tech trends, blasé side-stepping of concerns

The narration is fine and the main points are worth a listen. These things seem genuinely inevitable so everyone should be aware of where they might lead. But the author’s decision to ignore (or embrace) real social drawbacks is infuriating. Just because something is inevitable doesn’t mean we have no choice about the speed of its takeover or how it is used.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bringing many thoughts into one place

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Would definitely recommend this book. It brings many concepts that a lot of futurists predict may happen and build on them so much so that they merge together.

What did you like best about this story?

Enables people to think about the future with a clearer mind, and come up with ideas so we can have an opportunity to play a major part in it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was best to listen to this in stages so you can digest the writers thoughts one step at a time.

Any additional comments?

This book does not make clear timelines or invention predictions, such as a flying cars will be in use in 2040 ect. but touches on the atmosphere and culture of the future.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Most Prophetic

There is a lot packed into this book
Its dense , and the narrator handled the content well, all be it in erring towards robotic away from melodic.

But it suited the nature of the book
There is a lot in here that really meets the title of the inevitable.

Its a great step forwards to understanding todays emerging connected society and big data and how and why things are changing as they are.
Well worth the time to listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lots of lists?

Lots of interesting ideas and observations about the influence of technology on society, and how it will shape our future. I'd recommend anyone who reads this to also read "throwing rocks at the Google bus" by Douglas Rushkoff to dig deeper into the perils represented by the digital economy. Overall, I'm not sure if "The Inevitable" lends well to an audio book. I felt that large chunks of the content seemed to be listed items. Perhaps this wasn't helped by the robotic rendering from the narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Exceptional.

Thoroughly thought through review of current technology trends. Thought provoking, deep analysis and some good predictions given life by the short stories. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not engaging

I may have purchased this book too late. There were very few revelations and the contents did not flow for me. I found myself re-reading several sections.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightening, inspiring and cautionary predictions

I like Kevin Kelly's enthusiasm for the digital changes on the horizon. I'm not sure that he included enough cautionary balance though. There will be vast swathes of the globe that will be left out of these changes and some that vehemently challenge them.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

In the third chapter and I adore this book already

As a Sci fi writer this is fuel to the mind. Kelly really unravels much deeper and richer framework to think about the biotech revolution.

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