The future is not written, we can make a better, sustainable future for our children according to Chunka Mui, cofounder of the Future Histories Group and co-author of A Brief History of a Perfect Future: Inventing the world we can proudly leave our kids by 2050, with Paul Carroll, a former reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal, and Tim Andrews of consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton.
Mui, Carroll, and Andrews crafted a vision for evolving our society and technology to achieve an environmentally sustainable and just world. Their book describes how computation, telecommunications, and information can help to tune the waste out of our economy while innovations in genomics, energy, water management, and transportation deliver improved health and sustainable use of limited resources.
Starting from computing pioneer Alan Kay’s quip that the best way to predict the future is to invent it, A Brief History of a Perfect Future presents a realistic, slightly pessimistic forecast for 2050, but it offers ideas about how we can navigate out of catastrophe. The authors’ vision is far-ranging and we encourage you to read and decide for yourself. Do it with a skeptical but open mind and you’ll find that there are many paths through the climate and equity crises we face. The book is available now on Amazon and at Powell’s Books.
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This podcast originally aired on October 4, 2021.