A
Abbott, Diane, 116
Abesmarket.com, 65
Abrams, Daniel, 146
Accent Software, 63
addiction, 157
Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, 48
Afghanistan, 34
Africa, 25, 35, 42, 43, 68–69, 106, 116–17, 161
Age of Exploration, 22
Age of Sprititual Machines, The (Kurzweil), 4
Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, 63
Alcatel, 63
Alone Together (Turkle), 119
Altman, Irwin, 123
Angus, Colin, 69
Apple, 18, 67, 90, 102, 139–40
Arab Spring uprisings, 35
Armenia, 144
ARPAnet, 12
artificial intelligence, 9
AshleyMadison.com, 110, 111–12
asymmetrical warfare (guerrilla warfare), 34–35
Atari, 90
Atlanta, GA, 59
Atlas (humanoid rescue machine), 23
Audi, 58
Australopithecines, 1–2
Avengers, The (movie), 28
B
Bangladesh, 144
Big Data (analytics), 173–74, 175, 177
BigDog, 23
Bin Laden, Osama, 35
bioengineered viruses, 17
biotech, 184
Bismarck, Otto von, 30
Bloch, Yoni, 65
Blogger and blogs, 82
blue-chip firms, 67
Boivin, Patrick, 87–88
books and publishing, 80–82
Boston Dynamics, 23
Brain Activity Map, 157
Brain Research, 48
Brandeis, Louis, 123
Brazil, 25
Brin, Sergey, 181
Brown, John Seely, 5–6, 7, 178
Brynjolfsson, Erik, 61, 62, 70
business cycles, 2
Buxton, Bill, 9
C
Cable TV, 86
California Life Company (Calico), 52–53
cameras and photos, 3, 18, 76–80
Canada
charitable support and generosity of the people, 165
and cremation, 151
life satisfaction and happiness, 161, 162–63
music industry, 84
population replacement level, 47
privacy issues, 124, 129–30, 131, 132
religion, 144
startup businesses and entrepreneurship, 68, 69
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 68
Cannes, 86
capitalism, 186
census-inspired policies, 173–74
Center for Disease Control (CDC), 44, 105, 116
charitable support, 164–65, 173
China
communism, 186
companies listed on NASDAQ, 64
economic growth, 24–26, 28, 29
food production, 181
mechanized restaurant, 58
one-child policy, 99–100
religion, 145
Citizen Lab, 134
Clarke, Arthur C., 6–7
compasses, 22
Compugen, 63
conflict-related deaths, 33–34
Consumer Electronics Show, 58
Cooper, Steve, 106–7
Coppola, Francis Ford, 86
Corning, 63
Costa Rica, 162
Costello, Kristen, 110
Courtney, Polly, 82
Creative Destruction of Medicine, The (Topol), 50
cremations, 150–51
D
da Vinci “robot surgeon,” 58
Daisy Hill Hospital, Ireland, 58
David, Itai, 65
Dell, 24
Delphic Oracle, 184
Denmark and Danes, 105, 161, 163, 165–68, 169–72, 173
Devane, Ciaran, 49
Diamandis, Peter, 10
digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), 139
digital photo frames, 78
diminishing marginal utility of income, 161–62
DNA sequence, 4–5
domestic home-based firms, 70
Dresher, Melvin, 31
Dunbar, Robin and “Dunbar’s number,” 103, 104
E
E7 (emergent seven) countries, 25, 26
e-readers, 81
Easterlin, Richard, 161
Easterlin Paradox, 161
economic growth, 27, 38, 42, 44
Edison, Thomas, 82
education, 27, 30–31, 39, 71, 145
eHarmony, 106
Electronic Arts, 92
encryption, 122, 133, 137, 138
Enfin l’Automne (film), 88
environmental damage, 182
Estonia, 144
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (movie), 28
Europe and Europeans, 42, 68, 143, 167, 168
European Values Survey, 160–61, 166
exponential growth, 4–5, 11, 23, 25
extramarital affairs, 110–13
friends and relationships, 102–4, 106, 112
photos, 78–79
privacy issues, 128, 129, 133, 134, 136
families, children, and relationships, 98–102, 119, 163–64
FamilyLeaf, 103
Federal Drug Administration, 58
Finland, 161
First-world-problems.com, 99
Fitbit (step-counting wristbands), 51
Flexicurity system, 169–70
Flickr, 79
Flood, Merrill, 31
food production, 16, 45–46, 181–82
France, 47, 59, 64, 81, 146, 169
Friendster, 78
Funder, Anna, 134
G
Gallup World Poll surveys, 160–61, 162
game theory, 31, 33, 166, 173, 180, 188
Garcia, Justin, 117
gastrointestinal infections, 50
Gates, Bill, 26
genetically modified foods, 46
genetics, 25
Germany, 30, 47, 64, 98, 99, 134, 167
gesture controls and computers, 8
Ghana, 144
G.I. Bill, 30
Gini, Corrado, 27
Gini coefficient, 27–28, 30, 118, 166
global economic growth, 27, 31
global hierarchies, 23
global warming, 17
globalization, 28, 32–33, 177, 179, 188, 190–91
Good, I. J., 13
Good, Jonathan, 77
and the California Life Company, 52–53
and diversification, 69–70
and encryption, 133
the Internet and startups, 24, 67
and the military, 23
privacy issues, 121, 128, 129, 136
and self-driving cars, 58
teaching machines context, 8
Google Earth, 23
governments and government surveillances, 122, 132, 136, 137
graphics chips, 3
Great Recession, 61
Green Revolution, 45
gross domestic product (GDP), 23–24, 25, 26
gross national happiness (GNH), 174–76
Gundelach, Peter, 166–67, 168, 171
Gutenberg, Johannes, 80
H
Hamilton’s Rule, 189–90
HaoiFork, 51
happiness and life satisfaction, 155–56, 157–58, 159–77, 180
Hawaiins, 39
health care industry, 50–51
health-related causes of death, 44
heart disease, 50
hedonic treadmill theory, 162
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 19, 186
HIV, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, 44–45, 118
Homo sapiens, 1–2
Hootsuite, 119
HotSpot Shield, 137
hourglasses, 22
Hracs, Brian, 83
Human Brain Project, 48
Human Genome Project, 4–5, 48, 157
humans and humanity
human evolution, 1–2, 5, 13–14
life as a commodity and the value of human life, 54–55
life expectancy and human health, 39–45, 47–49
living in extreme poverty, 24
moving toward greater individualism, 136
potential for finding new ideas, 62
quality of life, 49–54
and technology, 17–20
upper echelon and billionaires, 29
working at something personally satisfying, 70–71
Hungary, 105
I
Icon Group International, 59–60
income disparities, 26–31
income-related stress, 29
India, 24–26, 29, 33, 46, 85, 106, 174, 181
individualism, 149–50, 151, 154, 163, 168, 182–83, 184–85, 191
Industrial Revolution, 13, 17, 36, 41, 71, 117, 127
Inglehart, Ronald, 145
insularity, 184
Intel, 3
InteraXon, 69
International Religiosity and Atheism Index, 144
Internet, 24, 25, 82, 103, 113, 115–16, 138, 171
Internet of Things, 8
iPads and tablets, 18, 51, 81, 90, 98, 171
iPhone Film Festival, 86
Iraq, 34
Ireland, 165
Israel, technology, and the acceptance of risk, 63–66, 72
Israel Seed Partners, 63
Italy, 163
iTunes, 85
J
Japan, 41, 43, 77, 85, 105–6, 151, 166
Jobs, Steve, 140
June (bracelet), 51
K
Kant, Immanuel, 186
Karinthy, Frigyes, 102
Keyhole, 23
kin selection, 189
Kindle Direct Publishing platform, 81
Kinect, 65
Kinsey Institute, 114
Kjerulf, Alexander, 168–69, 170–71
knowledge navigator, 18
Kodak, 76
Kolibree’s toothbrush, 51
Kosa, Tracy Ann, 124–27, 128, 129, 137
Kurzweil, Ray “High Priest of the Singularity,” 4, 10, 11, 48, 50, 153, 154
Kuznet, Simon, 27
Kuznets Curve, 27
L
LaBarre, Suzanne, 184
Levitt, Steven, 182
LG, 141
Liberia, 165
Little Emperor Syndrome, 99
LittleBigPlanet (video game), 91–92, 95
Logitech, 77
London, England, 133
Lynch, Patrick, 150
M
M-Systems, 66
Maine, 146
Manhattan Project, 123–24
Manzoni, Olivier, 157
marriage rates, arranged marriages, and cohabitation, 105–6, 154, 163, 183
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, 160, 162, 163, 176–77, 183
Match.com, 106
McDade, Thomas, 29
McDonald’s, 67
Media Molecule, 92–93
Medved, Jonathan, 63–64, 65, 67
memory chips, 48–49
memory storage, 3
microphones, 3
Microsoft Research, 9
Middle East, 35, 143, 171, 179
Minecraft (video game), 90–91
minimum wages, 30
Modu, 66
Monsanto, 46
Monsieur robot, 59
moonshot, 52
Moore, Gordon, 2–3
Moore’s Law, 2–4, 10, 18, 51, 76, 77, 137
Moran, Dov, 66
Moravec, Hans, 10
movie industry, 85–86
MP3, 83
Muse (brainwave-reading headband), 51, 69
music industry, 82–85
Myhrvold, Nathan, 182
MySpace, 78
N
nanotechnology, 9, 17, 25, 184
Napster, 83–84
NASA, 46
NASDAQ stock market, 63
National Security Agency (NSA), 122, 130
Neanderthals, 1–2
Nest thermostat, 8
Netflix, 86
neural engineering, 158
neuroplasticity, 156–57
neuroscience and neuroscientists, 9, 25, 48, 153, 156–57, 184
New Hampshire, 146
New Orleans, LA, 40
Nielsen, 84
Niépce, Nicéphore, 76
Nike Fuelband (step-counting wristbands), 51
Nissan, 58
Noh Yu, 139–40, 141–42, 151–52
noninfectious airways disease, 50
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny (Wright), 188
Noodlebot, 58
Nørretranders, Tor, 171–73
Norris, Pippa, 145
Norway, 161
nuclear annihilation, 17
O
Obama, President Barack, 48
obesity epidemic, 44
Occupy Wall Street, 26, 29, 37, 163, 179
OkCupid, 108–9
Okinawa diet, 43–44
online dating and profiles, 107–13
Onuchic, José, 37
organic foods, 46
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 42, 98, 105
OurCroud, 63
P
Page, Larry, 53
Papua New Guinea, 7–8
Paraguay, 165
Path, 103
Paul, Gregory, 145
Paul, Pamela, 115
per capita income and the population, 38, 42, 144, 145, 162
Persson, Markus, 90–91
Pew Internet Project, 131
Pew Research Center, 102
phantom pain and the brain, 156–57
pharmaceutical companies, 52
Philippines, 46
Phylactère Cola (sketch show), 87
Piazza, Pier Vincenzo, 157
Picasa, 79
Pinterest, 79
placebo effect, 152
pneumonia and influenza, 50
Polidori, John, 40
politicians and inequality, 36–37
population growth, 17, 45, 46–47
pornography (porn), 16, 115–16, 117
Portugal, 105
Prescott, Edward, 26
PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, 26, 191
Prison Modela, Cuba, 135
Prisoner’s Dilemma, 31–32, 37, 180, 185, 188
privacy impact assessments (PIAs), 124–25
Pro Tools, 85
Proctor and Gamle, 67
psychological negativity, 172–73
Puerto Rico, 162
Q
Qing Dynasty, 33
R
Race Against the Machine (Brynjolfsson, McAfee), 61, 62
RAND Corporation, 31
Reader’s Digest Europe (magazine), 162
Red Camera, 86
religion and spirituality, 141, 142–50, 152, 154, 164, 183
Rice, Anne, 39–40, 41, 53–55, 147
robot train, 166
robotics and robots, 9, 23, 25, 56–61, 66, 141, 158, 184
Rogers, Deborah, 36
Roosevelt, President Theodore, 30
Runquan, Cui, 58
S
Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (Norris, Inglehart), 145
Sandisk, 66
Sasson, Steve, 18
Scandinavia, 151
Schick, Shane, 148–50, 152, 153
Schmidt, Eric, 121, 122, 128, 137
Schulhof, Michael, 65
Scott de Martinville, Édouard-Léon, 82
Seeger, Anthony, 85
self-tracking devices, 50–51
Sensoria’s Fitness Socks, 51
Sex, Bombs, and Burgers (Nowak), 16, 17, 88–89
sexual activity, 113–17
Silicon Valley, 23
Sinclair, David, 47–48
Singularity, 11–13, 50, 153–54, 187
Singularity University, 9–10, 158
Siri voice assistant, 18
Slovakia, 98
smartphones, apps, and cell phones, 3, 7, 8, 16–17, 98, 113, 137, 139–40
Smith, David, 93–96
social dialectic, 185–86
social media, 35, 102–7, 119, 121, 129, 133
South Carolina, 146
South Korea, 25, 59, 98, 139–41, 170
Spector, Alfred, 8
Spengler, Oswald, 19
Sri Lanka, 165
Stith, Charles, 35–36
Stoddart, Jennifer, 129–31
Street View, 53
Sundance Film Festival, 86
Super Mario (video game), 91
SuperFreakonomics (Levitt), 182
SurfEasy, 137
Swaziland, 42
Sweden, 25, 30, 35, 105, 133, 144
T
Taiping Rebellion, 33
Tearaway (video game), 93
technology
and communication and expression, 80, 95, 97, 98, 118–20, 154
and creativity, 94–95, 96, 183, 187
and the economy, 21–38, 42, 165, 179, 182
and entrepreneurship, 68–71, 72–73, 96
and human relations, 97–120, 142, 183, 190–91
jobs in the tech sector, 67
merging our brains with technology, 154
predictions, 18–19
privacy settings and protection, 122–38, 142
progress of and existential crises and threats, 17, 60–62
and the question of improving humanity’s lot, 14–15, 142, 178–79, 185–86
rate of advancement, 2–5, 6–13, 22–23, 179
and the shifting of the balance of power, 25–26
and startups, 67–70
and unemployment, 60–62
technology journalism, 15–16, 149
texting, 119
Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal, 30
thermostats, 7–8
Toyota, 58
True Lies (movie), 86
trust issues, 104–5, 162–63, 173
Tucker, Albert, 31–32
Tumblr, 82
Tunisia, 35
Turchin, Peter, 19
Turkey, 25
Turkle, Sherry, 119–20
Tweetdeck, 119
Two Guys Who Sold the World (film), 88
U
ubiquitous computing, 6–8, 9, 10, 13, 178
Ubisoft Montreal, 93
UC Berkeley scientists, 49
United Kingdom, 47, 64, 80–81, 101, 151, 163, 165
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 81
United Nations’ Human Development Index, 65
United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal, 25
United States
and 9/11 terrorist attack, 167
books and publishers, 80–82
charitable support and generosity of the people, 165
and cremation, 151
highest level of inequality among developed nations, 146
and inequality, 163
life satisfaction levels and happiness, 85, 160, 161, 163
and marriage, 105
movie industry, 85
and NASDAQ, 64
techology companies, 173
United Way, 71
University of California, 59
University of Southern California, 48–49
Uppsala University Conflict Data Program in Sweden, 35
US productivity growth, 60–61
USB flash drives, 66
V
Venter, Craig, 10
Vermont, 146
VMWare, 63
voice commands, 8
Vringo, 63
W
Wake Forest University, 48–49
Wal-Mart, 24
Warren, Samuel, 123
Watson (IBM supercomputer), 10, 11, 52
Waze app, 65
Weigelt, John, 127
West Virginia, 39
Westin, Alan, 123
Wi-Fi-connected digital bathroom scales, 7, 8
Windows 7, 14
Windows 8, 14
Windows Vista debacle of 2007, 14, 126
Windows XP, 14
wireless radios, 3
WordPress, 82
World Bank, 43
World Giving Report, 164–65
World Happiness Report, 159–60, 163, 164
World Health Organization, 44
World War I, 33
World War II, 23, 30, 33, 45, 167
Wright, Robert, 188–89
X
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), 6, 7, 9
Y
Yaple, Haley, 146
Yemen, 35
Yotel, New York City, NY, 59
youth dependency, 98
YouTube, 62, 66, 86–87, 88, 101
Z
zero net job creation, 61
Zuckerman, Phil, 146