Introducing The Future is Faster than you Think – Diamandis and Kotler

Written by Stuart Haden on October 13, 2021

In Feb 2018 I posted a vlog – ‘How flow can help us to keep pace with the rise of the machines’. In this posting I tackle the opportunity from the other direction. When I was reading The Future is Faster than you Think by Diamandis and Kotler the first chapter made me realise what would happen when the future (e.g. technology) converges with optimal performance. In short if the performance of technology increases then the performance of humans must also increase.

It sounds obvious but it’s not necessarily the improvement in technology that facilities this shift, it’s the shift in mindset that it can create. Diamandis and Kotler dive deep, describing converging technologies such as – autonomous cars, high speed trains, space travel, quantum computing, AI, networks, sensors, robotics, VR, AR, 3D printing, blockchain, nanotechnology and biotechnology.

These blew my mind, but I anchored my learning with the perhaps more accessible and even fun example of flying cars! “By 2027 or so, you’ll be able to order up an aerial rideshare as easily as you do an Uber today. And by 2030, urban aviation could be a major mode of getting from A to B.” Thus optimal technology demands optimal performance. Can you imagine arriving at work in a flying car.  It would be near impossible to land in that manner and then tolerate an early morning meeting with no agenda, late attendees and a lack of direction. Surely you’d be amped for the day ahead. Both for yourself and those around you.