Index

NOTE: Bold page numbers refer to charts.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, 4–5

abundance

as all-inclusive idea, 22

as both plan and perspective, 239

challenge to achieving, 25–26, 27

characteristics of, 302

as creating a world of possibility, 13, 236

definition of, 12, 13–14, 146

energy as important lynchpin for, 155

evidence for, 241–42

as global vision, 12, 35

as humanity’s greatest challenge, 242

innovation as key to, 229

lack of belief in possibility of, 25–26, 27, 29, 30, 73

Malthusians and, 92

possibility of, 9–11

as race against time, 217

rate of technological progress and, 48

targets for, 239

websites about, 241–42

See also pyramid of abundance

academic institutions, 56–57

See also specific institution

accessibility, as challenge to abundance, 6, 44, 238

acid rain, 39

activism, 206, 207–10

Acumen Fund, 136

Adamchak, Raoul, 104

adjacent possible, 236–39

Advanced Projects Research Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), 165

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), 61, 170

Aero Club of America, 218–19

aeroponics, 106, 108

aerospace. See space flight

AeroVironment, 125

Afghanistan: U.S. invasion of, 64

Africa

“cheetah generation” in, 156

children in, 270

Coca-Cola in, 91

education in, 176, 178–79, 182, 270

energy in, 155, 157, 169, 264

food and agriculture in, 111, 114

health care in, 70, 197

Internet users in, 286, 287

life span in, 190

mobile/cell phones in, 91, 285

pollution in, 156

population of, 273, 279

possibility of abundance and, 9

poverty in, 156, 249

quality of life in, 43

Rosling’s study and, 47

sanitation in, 249, 250

and shoe salesmen story, 100

social entrepreneurship and, 130

technophilanthropy in, 139

trunk line extension project in, 90

UAVs for, 126–27

undernourished people in, 254

water in, 16, 91, 247, 249

women and children in, 156

and world urbanization prospects, 274

See also specific nation

The Age of Intelligent Machines (Kurzweil), 55

The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (Kurzweil), 55

agriculture

agroecology and, 114–15

artificial intelligence and, 108–9, 115

biotechnology and, 102–4, 113–15

as brute force equation, 100–102

charts about, 251–57

computers and, 96

constraints on, 101

cultured meat and, 112–13, 114

DIY and, 120, 127

economy and, 256

education and, 188

energy and, 19, 109

environment and, 109

GMO/GEs and, 102–4, 109, 113–15

information and, 103, 104

integrative, 111, 115

as key to environmental challenge, 150

as petroleum backed, 100–101, 102

population and, 106

precision, 96

robotics and, 108–9, 115

sustainable, 150

ultra-yield, 61

Venter’s experiments with, 61

vertical farming and, 105–9, 114, 115

water and, 86, 87, 91, 95, 96, 256

See also farmers/farming; food; hunger

agroecology, 114–15

AI. See artificial intelligence

AIDS, 70, 137, 190, 196, 226, 255, 259

air

bioterrorism and, 297

pollution of, 13, 19, 33, 190

progress and, 42

purification of, 19

See also aeroponics

air bags, 228, 229

Air Force, U.S., exponential technology and, 52–53

Air New Zealand, 163

Airbus, 225

al Qaeda, 211

Alcock, John, 218

Aldrin, Buzz, 124

algae, 161–63

Algeria, 263, 278

“alkanivore,” 128

Allen, Paul, 139

Allen, Will, 111

altruism, 34

aluminum: lesson of, 3–6

Amazon basin/rain forest, 95–96, 113, 165

Ames Research Center (NASA), 57

Amnesty International, 8

amygdala, 32–33, 34, 36, 37

Amyris Biotechnologies, 163

anchoring, 31

Anderson, Chris, 81, 125, 126, 127, 152

Andrews, Emem, 157

Android, 83–84, 151

Ansari, Amir, 220, 232

Ansari, Anousheh, 8–9, 220, 232

Ansari, Hamid, 220, 232

Ansari X PRIZE, 220, 221, 225, 232

AOL, 165

Apangea Learning, 187

Apollo space program, 218, 233

app stores, 151

Appert, Nicolas, 221

Apple Computer, 122, 146, 151, 230, 232–33

aquaculture, 110–12, 113, 115, 257

aquaponics, 109

Aquion Energy, 165

Arab nations, 47, 286

Arab Spring, 84, 210, 212

Archimedes, 57

Architecture Machine Groups, 177

Archon Genomics X PRIZE, 224, 225

Armadillo Aerospace, 223

Army, U.S.: “super soldier” program of, 303

artificial intelligence (AI)

agriculture and, 108–9, 115

dangers of, 72, 302

dematerialization and, 151

education and, 187–88

exponential technologies and, 56, 63–66

health care and, 65, 66, 71

at Singularity University, 57–58

as transformation technology, 10, 72

UAV and, 126–27

Artificial Intelligence Lab, MIT, 177

Asia

food and agriculture in, 111, 252

health care in, 197

Internet users in, 286, 287

population in, 279

sanitation in, 249

undernourished people in, 254

and world urbanization prospects, 274

See also specific nation

asking the right questions, 181–82

assassination, 44

assemblers, 71–72

assisted living: robotics and, 199

Association of American Medical Colleges, 70, 192

AT&T, 170

Atala, Anthony, 201

atomic power, 41, 293

attention: role of brain in, 32–33

Atwater, Harry, 164

Australia, 287

authority bias, 36

authority figures, 37

Autodesk, 68, 73

availability

definition of abundance and, 13, 146

progress and, 42, 43

See also accessibility

availability heuristic, 29

Avatar (movie), 68

avatars, 184, 303

aviation, 69, 125–27, 218–20

See also space flight

B Lab, 130

backyard nukes, 168–69

Bacon, Francis, 105

Baer, Daniel B., 212

bandwagon effect, 31

Bangladesh, 89, 142, 144–45, 204, 273

banking

cyber crime and, 298

dangers of exponential technologies and, 298, 302

mobile, 145–46

Barry, Dan, 198–99

basic needs

American spending for, 238

Maslow’s hierarchy and, 14, 237, 245

time and, 40

See also specific need

Bass, Carl, 68–70

Beebe, Andrew, 158, 160, 161

Béland, Francis, 221–22

Benedict, Ruth, 14

Bentley, Peter, 146

“The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen” (Rosling), 46–48

Betancourt, Ingrid, 208

Bezos, Jeff, 231

bicycle-parts pump, 90

Bigstep, 158

Bill Arnold Middle School (Grand Prairie, Texas), 187

bio oil, 162

BioBricks, 128

BioCassava Plus, 104

biodiversity, 114, 115

biofuels, 60–61, 161–64

bioinformatics, 10, 57–58

biological evolution: cooperation and, 77–79

biomass energy systems, 109, 269

biomaterials, 150

biomedical engineering, 10

biomimicry, 152

bionic hearts, 55

BioRegional Development, 5

Biosphere 2, 19

biotech crops, 251, 252

See also GEs/GMO (genetically modified crops)

biotechnology

agriculture and, 102–4, 113–15

cooperation and, 77–79

dangers of, 72, 294–97, 298

dematerialization and, 152

education and, 175

nanotechnology and, 95

at Singularity University, 57–58

as transformation technology, 10, 72

bioterrorism, 196, 294–97

birth control, 17

Bishop, Matthew, 136, 137

black markets, 295, 296

Blees, Tom, 167–68

blood tests, 23

Blue Heron Biotechnology, 60

Blumenthal, Richard, 299

Boeing Company, 163, 225

Bones (TV show), 194

BoP (bottom of the pyramid) market

cell phones and, 144–45, 146, 147

coffeehouses/idea exchange in, 148–50

democracy and, 147

happiness and, 238–39

health care and, 195

resource curse and, 146–48

as world’s biggest market, 140–44, 150

See also “rising billion”

The Bottom Billion (Collier), 147

BP Deepwater Horizon, 128, 221–22

Bradford, Travis, 172

brain

cognitive biases and, 29–31

Dunbar’s number and, 36

exponential technologies and, 56

Google as included in human, 55–56

information processing by, 32–35, 191

interpersonal relationships processed by, 36

linear, 48

neuroeconomics and, 229–30

regrowth and rewiring of, 200

role in perceiving reality of, 27, 29–31, 32–34, 37

and world as global and exponential, 34–35

and world as local and linear, 34–35

See also specific part of brain

brainstorming, 234

Brand, Stewart, 103–4, 119–21, 122, 149, 167

Brazil, 161, 287

Brilliant, Larry, 295, 297

Brin, Sergey, 66

Broderick, Damien, 53

Brown, Arthur Whitten, 218

Brown, Lester, 101

Buckyballs, 72

Buffett, Warren, 134, 139

Burning Man event, 126

Burundi, 179

Bush, George W., 167, 207, 303–4

business/industry

energy and, 156, 262

as force for good, 121

Internet impact on, 62

social entrepreneurship and, 130

water and, 87, 91

See also specific business or type of business

California: solar energy in, 160

California Institute of Technology

JCAP and, 163

Singularity University compared with, 57

Camara, Carlos, 194

Cambodia, 177

Cambria Consulting, 181

Cameron, James, 222

Cameroon, 145

Camfed, 136

Canada, 287

cancer, 19, 31, 40, 156, 198, 202, 226

Capitalism at a Crossroads (Hart), 143

carbon emissions, 19, 162, 164, 167–69, 172, 270, 297

Carbon War Room, 172

Carlson, Rob, 129, 296

Carmack, John, 223–24

Carnegie, Andrew, 133, 134

cars

AI, 63–65

BoP market and, 143

dematerialization and, 151

electric, 163

energy for, 163, 164

exponential technologies and, 55, 297

prize for gas saving, 224

robotics and, 63–65, 67, 151

Case, Steve, 139

catallaxy: pursuit of, 18–20

cataracts, 196–98

cattle, 109–10, 112–13

Celera company, 60

Celgene Corporation, 200

cell phones

adjacent possible and, 239

BoP market and, 91, 144–45, 146, 147

cost of, 239

progress and, 43

in rural areas, 91

pyramid of abundance and, 19, 21–22

subscription growth in, 283

censorship, 207, 212

Centennial Challenges program, NASA, 223

Center for Digital Business, MIT, 234

Center for Disease Control, U.S., 296

Center for Global Development, 157

Center for Sustainable Energy Research, CalTech, 164

Central Glass, 94

Cerf, Vint, 61–63

change

adjacent possible as driver of, 236

as backbone of abundance, 35

in local and linear world, 34

Change Leadership Group, 178

charity. See technophilanthropy

charts

about dematerialization and demonetization, 289–90

about democracy, 272

about education, 270–71

about energy, 262–70

about exponential curves, 291–92

about food and agriculture, 251–57

about health and health care, 258–61

about information and communication technologies, 280–87

listing of, 243

about philanthropy, 287–88

about population and urbanization, 273–79

about water and sanitation, 246–50

Chase, Herbert, 193

Chernobyl, 168

chess: computers as playing, 55, 65

Chevron, 163

children/infants

in Africa, 156

energy and, 19

mortality of, 16–17, 19, 92, 190, 236, 249, 258, 259, 260, 275, 278, 279

technology engagement in, 271

Children of Jihad (Cohen), 207

China

censorship in, 207

energy in, 263

food and agriculture in, 101, 108, 110

health care in, 197, 204

Internet users in, 286

labor force in, 301

longevity in, 43

population of Africa and, 273

population in, 8, 43

quality of life in, 43

Rosling’s study and, 47, 48

water/sanitation in, 97, 101

wealth in, 43, 287

Chopra, Aneesh, 184

Chu, Stephen, 160, 163

Churchill, Winston, 112

Cincinnati County Day School, 183–84

circularity, 236

Cisco, 63, 73, 171

cities

coffeehouses in, 149

fertility rates and, 92

innovation in, 149

vertical farming in, 256

water/sanitation in, 247, 250

and world urbanization prospects, 274

civil rights, 43

Clarke, Arthur C., 53, 65, 227, 229

Clavier, Charles W., 219

Clean Air Act, 39

Clean Edge, 163

climate, 19, 63, 167

See also global warming

Clinton, Bill, 60

Clinton, Hillary, 207, 210

cloud computing, 71

Club of Rome, 7, 157

CNBC, 139

coal

in Africa, 157, 264

cost of, 160, 169, 268

deaths by, 265

as emergency backup, 166

energy poverty and, 155, 157

solar power compared with, 160, 268

as source of energy, 262, 263

storage of, 164, 166

U.S. demand for, 262

world consumption of, 269

coastal wave energy, 269

Coca-Cola, 91

coffeehouses, 148–50

cognitive biases, 29–31, 36, 38, 221

“cognitive surplus,” 83

Cohen, Jared, 24, 207–8, 209–10, 211–12, 213

Coli, Francois, 219

collaboration, 149, 153, 176, 188

See also cooperation; small groups

Collier, Paul, 147

Colombia, 206, 208–10

Columbia University

mChip technology at, 196

and Watson at medical school, 193

Commerce Department, U.S., 125

commodification, 142–43

Common Wealth (Sachs), 80

communications

BoP market and, 144–45

crowdsourcing and, 147

freedom and, 211–12

impact of, 21–22, 25

possibility of abundance and, 9–10

progress and, 42, 44

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 18, 21–22

See also data; information; information and communications technologies (ICTs)

Community Computer Center, 121

compassion, 34

Competing for the Future (Prahalad and Hamel), 140

competition. See incentive prizes

computers/computing

agriculture and, 96

artificial intelligence and, 65–66

chess playing by, 55, 65

cloud, 71

cost of, 53, 54, 55, 70, 177, 178, 281

cyber crime and, 298–300

dangers of exponential technologies and, 302

DIY and, 127

education and, 21, 174–76, 177–79, 186, 188

exponential growth of, 186, 280, 281

exponential technologies and, 53–54, 55–56

future of, 55–56

health care and, 192–93, 201–2

infinite, 69–70

laptop, 188, 281

Maker Movement and, 126

mobility of, 148

personal, 120, 121, 148

reality and, 298–99

security flaws and, 299

at Singularity University, 57–58

speed of, 53, 54, 55, 65–66, 281

as tools of cooperation, 80

as transformation technology, 10, 69–70

weapons and, 55

See also robotics

confirmation bias, 30, 37

connectivity

BoP market and, 144–45

cooperation and, 80–81

education and, 177

productivity and, 144–45

The Constitution of Liberty (Hayek), 43

constraints: power of, 224–25, 235

consumers/consumption

dematerialization and demonetization and, 150–51

diversification in, 45, 46

increase in, 149

of livestock products, 252, 253

population and, 43

power of, 263

progress and, 43, 46

control

cognitive biases and, 31

of nanotechnology, 72

See also regulation

Cook, Scott, 234

cookstove, electric, 19–20

cooperation

biological evolution and, 77–79

connectivity and, 80–81

democracy and, 84

division of labor and, 80–81

Goldcorp and, 81–82

ICT and, 79–81, 83–84, 213

as means of understanding and affecting global issues, 81–83

roots of, 77–79

specialization and, 78, 80–81

tools of, 77–84

See also collaboration

Cotton, Ann, 136

Craigslist, 152

Crapper, Thomas, 97

creativity

constraints on, 224–25

education and, 20, 21, 179–80

games and, 183

jobs and, 301, 302

See also innovation

Credit Suisse: Global Wealth Report of, 138

Crick, Francis, 128

critical thinking, 21

crops. See agriculture; farmers/farming; type of crop

Crowdrise, 130

crowdsourcing, 147

cultural evolution, 78

culture: as ability to exchange and innovate, 45

cultured meat, 112–13, 114

curiosity, 21, 217, 218

cyber crime, 298–300

Da Vinci, Leonardo, 51

da Vinci Surgical Systems, 197

DARPA. See Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

data

BioBrick, 128

cyber crime and, 298–300

about education, 187

about energy, 170

exchange of, 46–48

growth of digital, 282

about health care, 23, 71

LOC, 71

open-source, 128

and planet as global data field, 62

role of brain in processing, 32–35

United Nations, 46–48

See also communications; information

Datawind corporation, 84

Daugherty, Dale, 126

Davis, Noel, 219

death penalty, 44

decision-making: cognitive biases and, 29, 30

The Decision Tree (Goetz), 203

Deep Blue supercomputer, 65

DeepQA software, 192–93

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 61, 64, 197

Defense Department, U.S., 218, 223

DEKA Research and Development, 88

Delft University of Technology, 128

DeLong, J. Bradford, 45

dematerialization, 150–51, 153, 196, 238, 289–90

democracy, 43, 44, 81, 84, 147, 188, 213, 272

demonetization, 152, 196, 238, 289–90

Deng Xiaoping, 48

denim manufacturing, 141

desertification, 94

Despommier, Dickson, 106–7, 108

developed countries

data about, 47–48

dematerialization and demonetization in, 150–51

education in, 178

fertility rates in, 92

food and agriculture in, 251, 252

health care in, 198

Internet in, 284, 286

life span in, 190

mobile/cellular subscriptions in, 283

toilets in, 98

undernourished people in, 254

See also specific nation

developing nations

banking in, 145

data about, 47–48

digital manufacturing and infinite computing in, 70

education in, 178, 275

energy in, 169

fertility rates in, 92

food and agriculture in, 251, 252

freedom and, 206, 210

happiness and, 238–39

health care in, 197, 203–4, 249, 275

hunger in, 100

as incubator for technology, 150

Internet in, 284, 286

mobile/cellular subscriptions in, 283

resource curse in, 146–48

“rising billion” in, 149–50

technophilanthropy in, 136, 138

toilets in, 98

undernourished people in, 254

urbanization vs. income in, 275

water in, 249

YouTube users in, 84

See also specific nation

Development as Freedom (Sen), 24

Deville, Henri Sainte-Claire, 4

Dewey, John, 21

dialysis machine, 88–91

The Diamond Age (Stephenson), 187

“The Digital Disruption” (Cohen and Schmidt), 211–12

digital manufacturing, 57–58, 68–70

DIME Hydrophobic Materials, 94

disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), 259, 260

disaster relief, 93–94

disease

animals as source of, 110

benefits of technology and, 304

BoP market and, 143

children’s death and, 259

cultured meat and, 112–13

during disasters, 93

energy and, 19, 156

evolution of technology and, 304

exponential technologies and, 55, 56

incentive prizes and, 226

lack of belief in possibility of abundance and, 25

life span and, 190

nutrition-related, 255

pollution and, 260

population control and, 17

progress and, 42

pyramid of abundance and, 17, 19

stem cells and, 199–201

water/sanitation and, 16, 93, 98

See also health/health care; specific disease

Disney, 158

“disruptive convergence,” 35

disruptive technology, 143

distributed intelligence, 171

division of labor, 18, 45, 80–81, 179

DIY. See Do-It-Yourself (DIY) innovators

DIY Drones, 125–26, 127, 152

DNA

cost of sequencing, 261

and dangers of genetic engineering, 295

discovery of, 245

DIY innovators and, 127–28, 129

P4 medicine and, 202

population growth and history of technology and, 245

of prokaryotes, 77

ultraspecialization and, 57

Venter study of, 60–61

zero-cost diagnostics and, 195

See also GEs/GMO

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) innovators

achieving abundance and, 239

bio, 127–29

cooperation and, 77

as force for abundance, 144

free information and, 121

Maker Movement and, 125–27

possibility of abundance and, 10

power of small groups and, 122–25

robots for health care and, 199

social entrepreneurship and, 86, 129–31

statement of purpose for, 120

See also specific person

doctors, 70, 71, 191–92

Doctors Without Borders, 46

Doerr, John, 165

domino theory, 15, 18, 238

DonorsChoose.org, 129–30

Dorsey, Jack, 24, 210

Draper, John, 121

Drayton, Bill, 129

Drexler, K. Eric, 71, 72, 294

drones, DIY, 125–26, 127, 152

drugs

in age of health care abundance, 204

availability of, 70

foreign aid for, 147

income level and, 259

Kamen research and injecting, 88

P4 medicine and, 202

production of, 163

pyramid of abundance and, 19, 23

regulation of biotechnology and, 296

risk-benefit tradeoff of, 297

robotics and, 300

Duke, James B., 133

Dunbar, Robin, 36–37

Dyson, Freeman, 158

Eagleman, David, 32

Earle, Sylvia, 110–12

Earth: as pale blue dot, 98–99

Earth (Pliny the Elder), 3

Earth Policy Institute, 101

Easterly, William, 146–47

eBay, 132, 135, 152

Economist magazine, 114, 136, 146, 234

economy/economics

benefits of exponential technologies and, 303

complex, 302

definition of, 302

food and agriculture and, 256

freedom and, 205

“long-tailed,” 81

Ridley’s study of trends in, 40

robotics and, 67, 68

scarcity model of, 302

water and, 249

Edison, Thomas, 230, 233

education

access to, 238

American spending for, 238

artificial intelligence and, 65, 66, 187–88

and asking the right questions, 181–82

charts about, 270–71

computers and, 21, 174–76, 177–79, 186, 188

creativity and, 20, 21, 179–80

current system of, 20–21

as decentralized, 21

division of labor and, 179

dropouts from, 178

energy and, 19, 155, 156

exponential technologies and, 56, 301

freedom/democracy and, 188, 205

games and, 182–84, 186–87

“grandmother method” and, 175

“granny cloud” and, 176, 187

health/health care and, 188, 204

history of, 179

hole-in-the-wall, 174–77

ICT and, 81

infrastructure for, 182

Khan tutorials and, 184–86

and mastery-based learning, 186

miniaturization and, 151

“minimally invasive,” 176

personalized, 11, 21, 66, 186–88

population and, 275

population of primary school age children and, 270

possibility of abundance and, 11

poverty and, 174–76, 271

and primary school enrollment ratio and GDP per capita, 271

progress and, 44

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20–21, 245

reform of, 179–80

rising billion and, 204

self-directed, 174–75

short-comings of, 179–81

teacher shortage and, 176, 182

technophilanthropy and, 138, 139

tests as measures for progress in, 186–87

tools of cooperation and, 81

truancy and, 178, 182

“twenty-first-century,” 181–82

video games and, 182–84

water and, 17, 86

of women, 188

See also teachers

Education Department, U.S., 184

Education and Global Development Advisory Group, X PRIZE Foundation, 138

eGroups, 66

Egypt, 212

Ehrlich, Paul R., 7

EI Solutions, 158

elections of 2008, 24

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Wolfe), 119

electricity

access to, 275

cost of, 69, 264

definition of poverty and, 13

energy poverty and, 155, 156, 157–58

Generation IV technologies and, 168

Hall-Heroult process and, 4

in India, Vietnam, and Tanzania, 275

Kamen research and, 89

Myhrvold research and, 196

possibility of abundance and, 10

sanitation and, 97

solar energy and, 160, 161

sources of, 263, 268

storage of, 165

in urban and rural areas, 275

vertical farming and, 108

See also light/lighting

Electronics Arts, 165

11th Hour Project, 222

Ellison, Larry, 139

email, 62, 271, 298

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 119

empowerment

freedom and, 205–13

ICT and, 206, 210, 211–12, 213

of youth, 210

Endy, Drew, 127–28

energy

artificial intelligence and, 65

balkanization in, 170

carbon emissions and, 167–69, 172, 270

charts about, 262–70

consumption of, 170, 263, 269

cost of, 172, 263, 266

deaths by, 265

demand (uses) of, 262

dematerialization and, 152

distribution of, 169–71

DIY and, 127

education and, 19, 155, 156

environment and, 19, 150, 161, 165, 169

exponential technologies and, 56

“firming”/“time shifting,” 164

food and agriculture and, 101, 109, 161, 255, 256

freedom and, 206

as game changer, 18–20

health/health care and, 155, 156, 196

history of, 155

as important lynchpin for abundance, 155

industry and, 262

infrastructure for, 157

interdependencies of, 155

Internet impact on, 62–63

meaning of abundance of, 171–73

nanotechnology and, 72

networks and sensors for, 169–71

“perfect power” and, 171

pollution and, 156, 172

population and, 275

possibility of abundance and, 11

poverty of, 155–58

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 18–20, 245

“rising billion”/poor and, 155, 167, 204

smart grid for, 169–71, 172

sources of, 262, 263, 264

squanderable abundance of, 172

storage of, 164–66, 170–71, 172, 265, 266

synthetic life and, 161–64

technophilanthropy and, 139

transportation and, 161, 262

waste recycling and, 109

water and, 19, 87, 91, 95, 155, 172

See also type of energy

Energy Department, U.S. (DOE), 59–60, 160, 161–62, 163

energy grid, 164, 165–66, 170, 172

Energy Innovations (EI), 158

Enernet, 170

Engines of Creation (Drexler), 71

England. See Great Britain

Enlightenment, 148

Enough is Enough Nigeria, 206

Enterprise Community Partners, 130–31

Entrepreneurship Center, MIT, 190, 234

environment

agriculture and, 109

benefits of technology and, 304

education and, 188

energy and, 19, 161, 165, 169

evolution of technology and, 304

GE foods and, 103

innovation and, 39–40

pessimism and, 39–40

pyramid of abundance and, 16, 17, 19

water and, 16, 17, 87

See also climate; global warming

Environmental Protective Agency (EPA), 98

Estonia, 286

ethanol, 161

Ethernet, 170

Ethiopia, 90, 145

Ethos Water, 85–86

European Union, 82

EvidenceForAbundance.com, 241

evolution

biological, 77–79

continuation of, 303–4

cultural, 78

of great ideas, 227–29

life span and, 189

evolutionary psychology, 38, 39

exchange

progress and, 44–46

pyramid of abundance and, 18

experts, 233

exponential curves

charts about, 72, 291–92

linear curves vs., 291, 292

exponential technologies

benefits of, 302–3

cooperation and, 77–84

dangers of, 293–304

definition of exponential and, 53

as force for abundance, 144

global and exponential perspectives and, 34–35, 36–37

“good old days” reaction to, 302–3

limiting of development of, 303–4

limits of, 77

pervasiveness of, 56

regulation of, 295–96

as unstoppable, 303–4

See also specific technology

Exxon, 162, 163

Exxon Valdez oil spill, 222

Facebook, 36, 81, 130, 206, 209, 210, 212, 241, 296, 298

failure

getting comfortable with, 233, 234–35

upside of, 229–31

Fairchild Semiconductor, 53

False Alarm (Siegel), 33

family planning programs, 17, 92

famine: predictions about, 40

farmers/farming

BoP markets and, 146

dangers of exponential technologies and, 300

fertility rates and, 92

fish, 111

industrialization of, 100, 101

loss of jobs in, 300

rice, 111

vertical, 105–9, 114, 115, 255, 256

See also agriculture

Fast Company magazine, 130, 186, 224

fat insulin receptor gene, 202

fear

of failure, 234

innovation and, 230, 234, 235

as motivator that drives innovation, 217–18

and worst-case fear scenarios, 33

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 231

Fedoroff, Nina, 7–8

Felsenstein, Lee, 121

fertility, 92, 276, 277

fertilizers, 101

Feynman, Richard, 60, 71

Finland, 286, 304

fish/fishing, 101, 110–11, 146, 257

Fisher, Martin, 130

Fisher, Susan, 304

5x5x5 Rapid Innovation Method, 234–35

Flat World, Friedman’s, 15, 80

Flying Eye Hospital, 197

food

American spending for, 238

biotechnology and, 102–4

BoP market and, 146

charts about, 251–57

cost of, 108

dangers of exponential technologies and, 297, 301–2

distribution of, 100–101, 104–5, 109

energy and, 161, 255, 256

global warming and, 100

health/health care and, 103, 104, 189, 196, 255

and impact of human consumption on planet, 115

life span and, 189

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and, 14

nanotechnology and, 72

petroleum and, 100–101, 102, 103

population and, 115

possibility of abundance and, 11

production of, 100–104, 109

protein in, 109–12

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 15, 19, 245

“rising billion” and, 204

spending for, 253

transportation and, 108, 109

U.S. imports of, 108

Venter’s experiments with, 61

water and, 86, 105–8, 109

See also agriculture; hunger; type of food

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN, 106, 301

Ford, Henry, 13, 133, 233

foreign aid, 48, 147, 249

foreign/international relations, 211–12

foreign policy, U.S., 210

forests, 110, 113

Forrester, Jay, 7

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (Hart and Prahalad), 141–42

Fortune magazine, 5, 167

Foundation Giving, 139

Fox, Dale, 194–95

France, 101, 221, 273, 287

free press, 147

freedom

benefits of technology and, 304

censorship and, 207, 212

dangers of exponential technologies and, 297

definition of, 205

education and, 188

empowerment and, 205–13

evolution of technology and, 304

Internet and, 206, 207, 208, 210

population trends and, 272

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 22, 24–25, 87, 205, 245

technology and, 24

water and, 87

Freire, Paulo, 21

Friedman, Thomas, 15, 80

fuel

alternative, 64

bio-, 60–61, 161–64

fossil, 104, 164

pollution from, 260

See also type of fuel

Fuller, Buckminster, 120, 164

future

predicting the, 225, 239

self-creation of, 225, 239

Gagarin, Yuri, 124

Gallo, David, 221–22

Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 237

games

education and, 182–84

See also video games

Gartner Hype Curve, 292

Gates, Bill, 10, 17, 134, 137, 139, 165, 169, 186, 204

Gates Foundation, 97–98, 104, 178

Gee, James, 182–83, 186–87

Genentech, 128, 165

generation gap, 208

genetic engineering: dangers of, 293, 294–95

genetics

agriculture and, 102–4, 109, 113–15

DIY and, 127–28

health care and, 201–3

See also DNA; genetic engineering; GEs/GMO; RNA

genocide, 44

genome sequencing, 202–3, 224, 225

geothermal energy, 157, 172, 269

German Aerospace Center, 157

Germany, 101, 273, 287, 300

GEs/GMO (genetically modified crops), 102–4, 109, 113–15

Gianopulos, Jim, 132

Gilovich, Thomas, 31

“Giving Pledge,” 139

Gladwell, Malcolm, 22, 148

Gleick, Peter, 16

The Global Achievement Gap (Wagner), 178

global and exponential perspectives, 34–35, 36–37

Global Positioning Systems (GPS), 63–64, 96, 150, 196, 211

global warming, 100, 165, 173

Global Water Trust, 90

Global Wealth Report, 138

GMO (genetically modified organism) crops. See GEs/GMO (genetically modified crops)

Goel, Anita, 71, 195

Goetz, Thomas, 203

Goldcorp, 81–82

Golden, Daniel, 228, 229, 231

“good old days” reaction, 302–3

Goodman, Marc, 298–300

goods: rival and nonrival, 151–52

Google

artificial intelligence and, 65

bioterrorism/pandemic warnings on, 296

DIY innovators and, 129

Hassan and, 66

incentive prizes and, 224

as included in human brain, 55–56

individual empowerment and, 211, 212

Khan Academy and, 185

KPCB and, 165

PV panels at, 158

Singularity University founding conference and, 73

YouTube acquisition by, 35

“The Gospel of Wealth” (Carnegie), 134

Grameen Bank, 136

Grameenphone, 142, 145

“grandmother method,” 175

“granny cloud,” 176, 187

“gray goo” scenario, 72, 294

Great Britain, 41, 101, 148–49, 190, 221, 222, 273, 287, 304

Greece, 273

greed, 218

Green, Michael, 136

Green Revolution, 48, 101, 106, 150, 164

Greenblatt, Jonathan, 85, 90

greenhouse gases, 110, 112

Greiner, Helen, 68

Gross, Bill, 158

Growing Power, 111

Habermas, Jurgen, 24

“hacker ethic,” 121

HAL 9000 computer, 65, 66

Halcyon Molecular, 202

Hall, Charles Martin, 4

Hall-Héroult process, 4

halo effect, 231–32

Hamel, Gary, 140

happiness, 237–39

Harington, John, 97

Hariri, Robert, 199–201

Harrison, John, 222

Hart, Stuart, 140–41, 142, 143, 150, 152

haruspex, 51

Harvard Medical School

education at, 191

obesity studies at, 202

Hassan, Scott, 66–67

Hawley, Alan, 218

Hayek, Friedrich, 18, 43

health/health care

access to, 238

age of abundance in, 203–4

American spending for, 238

artificial intelligence and, 65, 66, 71

BoP markets and, 146

charts about, 258–61

computers and, 192–93, 195–96, 201–2

cost of, 199

cyber crime and, 298

dangers of exponential technologies and, 294–97, 298, 301

data about, 71

“death panels” and, 30

dematerialization and, 151

doctors’ knowledge and, 191–92

education and, 188, 204

energy and, 41, 155, 156, 196

food and agriculture and, 103, 104, 189, 196, 255

freedom and, 205

incentive prizes and, 225

income and, 238, 259

infrastructure for, 204

Lab-on-a-Chip and, 70–71

limits of being human and, 190–92

MacGyver triad and, 193, 194–96

medical education and, 190–91

miniaturization and, 151

Obama proposals for, 30

personalized, 23–24, 66, 71, 193, 201–3

pollution and, 260

possibility of abundance and, 11

preventable errors in, 191–92

progress and, 44, 48

protein and, 109–12

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 22–24, 245

Ridley study of trends in, 40

“rising billion” and, 195

robotics and, 67, 197–99

shortages of doctors and nurses in, 70, 71, 192

Singularity University program in, 57–58

stem cells and, 199–201

surgery and, 196–98

technophilanthropy and, 138, 139

transplants and, 201

water and, 17, 87, 92, 196, 249, 259, 260

zero-cost diagnostics and, 193, 194–96

See also bioterrorism; disease; infections; life expectancy/span

Heath, Chip, 224

Heath, Dan, 224

herbicides, 101, 103, 104, 107

Heritage Foundation, 180

Héroult, Paul, 4

Hessel, Andrew, 294–95, 296

heuristics, 29–30

Hewlett-Packard, 96

Heyerdahl, Thor, 41, 45

Hezbollah, 211

“Hierarchy of Human Needs,” Maslow’s, 14, 245

hierarchy, learning, 20

Hindustan Unilever, 143

Hitler, Adolph, 51

hole-in-the-wall education, 174–77

“hole we’re in is too deep to climb out of” hypothesis, 30, 33, 37, 42, 48, 73

Hollywood, 84, 294

Homebrew Computer Club, 121–22, 177

homicide, 44

Honda, 143

housing

affordable, 130–31

dangers of exponential technologies and, 302

freedom and, 205

possibility of abundance and, 11

rival and nonrival goods for, 151

social entrepreneurship and, 130–31

3-D printing and, 69

See also shelter

Housing and Urban Development Department, U.S. (HUD), 131

Huawei corporation, 83–84

Huffington, Arianna, 230

Huffington Post, 135, 230

Human Genome Project, 59–60, 128

human-machine interfaces: as transformation technology, 10

human rights, 25, 44, 205, 206, 213, 239

humans/humanity

and limits of being human, 190–92

as merging with technology, 303

hunger, 13, 16, 17, 25, 31, 105, 254

See also agriculture; food

Hurricane Katrina, 93

hydration: need for water and, 86

hydroelectric energy, 157

hydrophobic sand, 94

hydroponics, 105–8

“hype cycle,” 35

hyperagents, 137

I, Robot (movie), 66

IBM, 65, 94, 95, 159, 170, 192, 193

iBot, 88

Ibrahim, Mo, 139

Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, 139

Idealab, 158

Illumina, 202

“illusion of validity,” 28–29

immune system, psychological, 31

“impact investing,” 136

in-group bias, 37

In the Plex (Page), 55

In Vitro Meat Consortium, 112

incentive prizes, 218–20, 221–24, 225, 226, 239

India

agriculture in, 101, 103–4

Android technology in, 84

BoP market in, 143

cars in, 143

cell phones in, 145

denim manufacturing in, 141

education in, 174–76, 275

energy in, 169, 275

health/health care in, 143, 204, 275

high-net-worth individuals in, 287

population of Africa and, 273

population in, 8, 275

rich-poor gap in, 42

unemployment in, 301

water/sanitation in, 101, 275

industrialized nations. See developed countries

industry. See business/industry

infections

child mortality and, 259

energy and, 19

life expectancy and, 190

as nutrition-related disease, 255

pessimism and, 33

pollution and, 260

pyramid of abundance and, 16, 19, 22–23

respiratory, 19, 22–23, 41, 156, 190, 255, 260

water-related, 16, 260

zero-cost diagnostics and, 196

information

access to, 238

agriculture and, 103, 104

BoP market and, 146, 147

brain’s role in processing, 32–35, 191

as change agent, 24–25

as commodity, 46

dematerialization and, 152

exchange of, 44, 46

exponential technologies and, 54

free, 121

free flow of, 205, 206

free press and, 147

impact of, 21–22, 25

as key to environmental challenge, 150

open-source, 128

progress and, 44, 46

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 18, 21–22

Rosling study and, 46–48

speed of, 79

water and, 16, 87, 95

wireless, 150, 152

See also data; information and communications technologies

information and communications technologies (ICTs)

accountability and, 81

Android, 83–84

charts about, 280–87

cooperation and, 79–81, 83–84, 213

cost of, 84

dangers of, 298

democracy and, 81

empowerment and, 206, 210, 211–12, 213

exponential expansion of, 186

freedom and, 206, 210, 213

impact of, 25, 81, 206

international relations and, 211–12

life span and, 190

as neutral tool, 213

possibility of abundance and, 9–10

pyramid of abundance and, 14, 18, 21–22, 245

replication and, 81

scale and, 81

social entrepreneurship and, 129–30

InfoSpace, 138

infrastructure: water and, 91

Ingraham, Paul, 78

innovation

age and, 233

in cities, 149

constraints on, 224–25, 235

environmentalism and, 39–40

as evolutionary phenomenon, 304

fear and, 217–18, 230, 234, 235

first impressions and, 232

games and, 183

incentive prizes as driver of, 218–20, 221–24, 225, 226, 239

as key to abundance, 229

motivators that drive, 217–26

population and, 149

progress and, 45

rate of, 153, 217, 245

risk/failure and, 222–23, 225, 227–35

small groups as driver of, 223–24, 235

specialization and, 45

supercredibility line and, 231–32

“Think Different” and, 232–33

as unstoppable, 304

water and, 87–88

See also creativity

Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First, 105

integrated circuits on computer chip, 53

Intel, 53, 64, 73, 87

Intelius, 138

Intellectual Ventures, 167

intelligence, distributed, 171

International Development Cooperation Agency, Swedish, 25

International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, 128, 129, 294

International Space Station, 69

Internet

access to, 283, 287

addition of people to, 149

backbone of, 62

cooperation and, 82

creation of, 61–62

education and, 20–21, 174, 175, 176, 177, 182

Egyptian government shutdown of, 212

exponential technologies and, 54, 298, 302

freedom and, 206, 207, 208, 210, 212

as human right, 206

impact of, 62

integration of networks and, 170

IP addresses and, 63

“matching” of, 82

and networks and sensors as “Internet of things,” 62–63

police force for, 299–300

possibility of abundance and, 9, 10

as recruiting tool, 211

social entrepreneurship and, 129–30

storage on, 171

technophilanthropy and, 138

top ten moments on, 24

and total international bandwidth, 284

users of, 282, 286, 287

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), 62

Intuit, 234

Intuitive Surgical, 197

iPad, 290

iPhones, 54, 65, 146, 230, 290

Ipsen, Laura, 171

Iran, 24–25, 207–8, 210, 298

Iraq, 210, 211

Ireland, 96

Islamoff, Jacob, 219

Ismail, Salim, 84

Israel, 304

Israeli Defense Forces: Kahneman’s study for, 28

Italy, 273, 287

iTunes, 152

J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), 59

Jacobs, Emil, 160, 161

Jacobstein, Neil, 187–88, 301

Jain, Naveen, 138

James S. McDonnell Planetarium, 125, 219

Japan, 101, 108, 143, 273, 287

Jennings, Ken, 192

Jeopardy! (TV show), 192

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, 227, 228, 229

Jobs, Steve, 59, 121

jobs

dangers of exponential technologies and, 300–303

dematerialization and demonetization and, 152

education and, 20

energy and, 19

not needing, 301–2

Johnson & Johnson, 204

Johnson, Steven, 148, 236–37

Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, 163–64

Joy, Bill, 83, 150, 151, 165, 166, 293, 302, 303

Joyce, James, 60

JPMorganChase, 130

Junior (AI car), 63–64

Kahneman, Daniel, 27–28, 29–30, 31, 38, 237, 238

Kamen, Dean, 8–9, 46, 86, 88–91, 92, 205–6

Kasparov, Garry, 65, 192

Kauffman, Stuart, 236

Kay, Alan, 226

KAZI 560 job placement service, 21

Keillor, Garrison, 31

Keith, David, 173

Kelly, Kevin, 35, 52–53, 120–21, 122, 237

Kennedy, John F., 160, 217–18, 233

Kenya

agriculture in, 114

banking in, 145–46

education in, 156, 179

energy in, 155–57

health in, 156

human rights in, 206

ICT impact on, 25

jobs in, 21

mobile phones in, 21

smart phones in, 83–84

social entrepreneurship and, 130

Ushahidi in, 206, 211

violence in, 206, 211

Khan, Osman Ali “Asaf Jah VII,” 134–35

Khan, Salman, 184–85, 186

Khan Academy, 185–86, 205

Khoshnevis, Behrokh, 69

Khosla, Vinod, 169

KickStart, 130

kidney transplants, 201

King, Alexander, 7

King, Martin Luther Jr., 6–7, 233

Kisumu: water in, 247

Kiva website, 130

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), 165

Knight, Tom, 128

“knowledge scarcity,” 82–83

“knowledge workers,” 151–52

Kon-Tiki raft, Heyerdahl sailing of, 41, 45

Kraft, Daniel, 200, 201

Kramer, Rob, 90

Kumata, Ellen, 181

Kurzweil, Ray, 51–52, 54–56, 57, 65, 72

Kurzweil Computer Products, 193

Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC), 23, 70–71, 195–96, 296

Land Institute, 103

laser range finders, 199

Latin America, 47, 254, 274, 279, 287

See also specific nation

law enforcement, 299–300

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), 97, 163

learning

exchange as, 44

fact-based, 20–21, 56

hierarchy of, 20

See also education

Lee, Ivy, 133

Lee, Stan, 297

LEGO Mindstorms robot, 125

Lemelson-MIT Prize, 52

Levy, Steven, 55

life

creation of multicellular, 78

synthetic, 60

life expectancy/span, 17, 33, 40, 42, 43, 44, 189–90, 225, 238, 261

Life Technologies, 202

LifeBank/Anthrogenesis, 200

Lifesaver bottles, 93–94

light/lighting

cost of, 41

Edison invention of lightbulb and, 230

energy and, 155, 156, 172

food and, 256

photosynthetic optimization and, 109

time and, 41

triboluminescence of, 194

vertical farming and, 108, 109

Lillywhite, Bryant, 148–49

The Limits to Growth (Club of Rome), 7

Lincoln, Abraham, 79

Lindbergh, Charles A., 219–20, 221, 231

Lindbergh, Erik, 231

Lindbergh, Morgan, 231

linear perspective. See local and linear perspectives

Linux, 81–82

Lipson, Hod, 69

liquid metal batteries (LMB), 165–66, 266

lithium-ion batteries, 164–65, 166

lives, saved, 40–44

livestock

consumption of products of, 252, 253

See also meat

local and linear perspectives, 34–35, 36–37, 48, 53, 69, 134, 291, 292

Lockheed Martin, 225

London Coffee Houses (Lillywhite), 148

London School of Business and Finance: cell phone-poverty study at, 142

Long Now Foundation, 104

Longitude Prize, 221, 222

Los Altos School District (California), 185–86

loss aversion, 38–39

Lovelock, James, 167

LS9 Corporation, 163

Lunar Lander X Challenge, 223–24

M-PESA, 145–46

MacArthur (John D. and Catherine T.) Foundation, 111, 187

MacGyver triad, 193, 194–96

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 180

Made in Space, 69

Made to Stick (Heath and Heath), 224

make-more-pies approach, 9–11, 239

Maker Movement, 125–27

MAKO surgical robot, 197

Malawi, 40

Malthus, Thomas Robert, 6

Malthusians, 92

mammography, 194–95

Mao Tse-tung, 48

Marine Institute for the Smart Bay, 96

market diversification, 147

MarketShare, 148

Markoff, John, 122

Mars: space travel to, 124, 172, 227–29

Martinez, John, 186

Maryland Department of Diagnostic Radiology, 193

Maryniak, Gregg, 125, 218, 219, 220

Masdar, Abu Dhabi (planned city), 4–6

Maslow, Abraham, 14, 237, 245

Massachusetts General Hospital, 190–91

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

bioterrorism research at, 297

education survey by, 180

Media Lab at, 21, 177, 179

Singularity University compared with, 57

Matheny, Jason, 112

Matternet, 126–27

Mayo Clinic, 71

McCall, Jeremiah, 183–84

McDevitt, John T., 23

McEwen, Rob, 81–82

mChip, 196

MCI, 62

McKibben, Bill, 167

McKinsey & Company, 85, 221

Mead, Margaret, 223, 224

meat

cultured, 112–13, 114, 115

as protein, 109–10

trends in consumption of, 252

Medco, 224

media: optimism-pessimism and, 33, 34, 36

Media Lab, MIT, 21, 177, 179

medical education, 190–91

medical technology, miniaturization of, 88

medicine. See disease; doctors; drugs; health/health care

Mendel, Gregor, 103

metatechnologies, 95

Metcalfe, Bob, 170–71, 172–73

Mexico, 161, 204, 206, 273, 278

microcredit, 147

microfinance, 10, 43, 91, 130, 136

Microsoft, 73, 138, 167, 199

See also Gates, Bill

microtasking, 147

Middle East, 94, 287

Miell, Doug, 96

Miguel, Edward, 87

military, U.S.

food for, 105–6, 107

robo cars and, 64

milk, consumption of, 252

Millennium Development Goal (MDG), 155, 252

A Million voices Against FARC, 209–10

Mills, Arvind, 141

mind-set

importance of, 232

Shiv’s views about, 229–30, 234

miniaturization, 150–51

Minsky, Marvin, 177, 189, 303

Mitra, Sugata, 174–76, 177, 187

mobile devices, 9, 145–46, 148, 196, 202, 204, 206, 283, 284, 285

See also cell phones; iPhones; smart phones

Modzelewski, Mark, 95

Mohr, Catherine, 197–98

money

dangers of exponential technologies and, 302

failure and, 234

freedom and, 206

happiness and, 237–39

possibility of abundance and, 10

See also poverty/poor; rich-poor gap; wealth

Monitor Group, 136

Monsanto, 104

Moon, Nick, 130

Moon

energy and, 172

incentive prizes concerned with, 223–24

Kennedy speech about landing man on, 160

predictions about traveling to, 52–53

Moore, Fred, 121–22

Moore, Gordon, 53

Moore’s law, 53, 55, 80, 88, 144, 193, 280, 281

Morales, Oscar, 209–10

Morgan, J. P., 130

Morocco, 17

Morozov, Evgeny, 212

Moskovitz, Dustin, 139

motorcycles, 143

Mubarak, Hosni, 212

Musk, Elon, 8–9, 139, 231

Myhrvold, Nathan, 167, 168–69

Nairobi, 247

Namibia, 206

Nano (car), 143

Nanobiosym, 71, 195

nanobots, 55, 71–72

nanocomposites, 72

NanoH2O, 95

nanomaterials, 57–58, 71–72, 94

nanoscience, 72

nanotechnology, 10, 57–58, 71–72, 93–95, 150, 152, 293, 294

Napoleon I, 221

Napoléon III, 4

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), 123

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 57, 63, 73, 106, 112, 123, 124, 125, 220, 223–24, 228

National Center for Health Statistics, 198

National Council of Applied Economic Research, India, 42

National Governors Association, 181

National Institutes of Health (NIH), 59–60

National Inventors Hall of Fame, 52

National Medal of Technology, 52, 88

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 111

National Robotics Initiative (NRI), 67–68

National Science Foundation, 72, 94

natural gas, 41, 161, 172, 262, 263

Nature Conservancy, 95–96

Navigenics, 202

Navy, U.S., 163

Nazis: eugenics program of, 8

Near East, 254

needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of human, 14, 245

See also basic needs; pyramid of abundance; specific need

negativity bias, 30–31, 36

Negroponte, Nicholas, 21, 177–79, 186

Nelson, Ted, 122

Nepal, 273

The Net Delusion (Morozov), 212

Netherlands, 96, 112

networks

definition of, 62

energy and, 169–71

as “Internet of things,” 62–63

Moore’s views about, 121

Singularity University programs and, 57–58

as transformation technology, 10, 61–63

neuroeconomics, 229–30

neurology: cognitive biases and, 29

neuroprosthetics, 55

Nevada: robo cars in, 64

New Energy Technologies, 159–60

New Harvest, 112

New York City: food production in, 107, 108

New York Times, 30, 34, 127, 128, 138, 147, 237

New Yorker magazine, 113, 148

New Zealand, 273

Newkirk, Ingrid, 113

Newton (Apple PDA), 230

Newton, Isaac, 44

Niger, 21–22

Nigeria, 18–19, 22, 43, 147, 157, 204, 206

NIIT Technologies, 174

Njima, Mercy, 155–56

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2001), 180

Nokia, 22, 91, 179, 186

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny (Wright), 78

Northwestern University: “Smart Pipe” project at, 96

Norway, 273

Novagratz, Jacqueline, 136

Nuance Communications, 193

nuclear power, 167–69, 262, 263, 265

Nungesser, Charles, 219

nursing homes: robots as nurses in, 198

Nyong’o, Isis, 22

Obama, Barack, 30, 67, 79, 80, 167, 184, 210

obesity, 202

ocean thermal energy, 269

oceans

biofuels and, 162

pollution of, 101

as secret to future, 99

Oersted, Hans Christian, 4

oil

alternatives to, 161

deaths by, 265

DIY and, 128

food production and distribution systems and, 101

limits of growth and, 7

Masdar as post-petroleum city and, 5, 6

in Nigeria, 157

power of, 41

resource curse of, 147

spills, 128

storage of, 164

See also petroleum

Oldfield, John, 17

Omidyar, Pam, 10

Omidyar, Pierre, 10, 136, 139

Omidyar Network, 136, 206

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), 21, 178–79

One Planet Living (OPL), 5–6, 8, 150

open-source design, 126

Oppenheimer, Robert, 60

optimism, 31, 40

See also pessimism

ORBIS International, 197

Orteig, Raymond, 218–19, 220, 221

Orteig Prize, 218–20

Osborne, Adam, 121

Osborne Executive Portable computer, 53–54, 290

Out of Our Minds (Robinson), 179

P4 (predictive, personalized, preventive, participatory) health care, 201–3

Page, Larry, 8–9, 55–56, 66, 73, 231

Pajama Sam (video game), 182

Pakistan, 206

pale blue dot, Earth as, 98–99

Palin, Sarah, 30

pandemics, 23, 26, 70, 71, 110, 113, 135, 137, 190, 196, 295, 296

paper napkins: MacGyver triad and, 193

Papert, Seymour, 21, 177

Papua New Guinea, 273

Pathfinder (spacecraft), 227–29

pathogen-monitoring systems, 297

PayPal, 132

PCWorld magazine, 68, 192

peace

nanotechnology and, 72

progress and, 48

Pearson, Scott, 184

Peccei, Aurelio, 7

peer-to-peer tutoring, 187

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 112, 113

Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act, 299

personal technology. See Do-It-Yourself (DIY) innovators

Peru, 273

pessimism, 31–34, 37, 38–40

pesticides, 101, 104, 107, 109

petroleum

food production and distribution systems and, 100–101, 102, 103

as source of energy, 262, 263

storage of, 165

transportation use of, 161

U.S. demand for, 262

See also oil

Philanthrocapitalism (Bishop and Green), 136

philanthropy

charts about, 287–88

See also technophilanthropy

photosynthesis, 109, 163–64

physical needs. See specific need

physiological needs: pyramid of abundance and, 14, 15–18

Piaget, Jean, 177

Pinker, Steven, 43–44

Plantagon (Sweden), 108

Pliny the Elder, 3

Pokémon (game), 183

Polaris Venture Partners, 170

political liberty/freedom, 24, 43, 205, 206, 238

Pollan, Michael, 104

pollution, 39–40, 152, 156, 172, 190, 260

See also type of pollution

Pony Express, 79

population

charts about, 273–79

consumption and, 43

control of, 8, 17

education and, 275

energy and, 275

fertility and, 92, 276

food and agriculture and, 106, 115

growth in, 16–17, 20, 92

innovation and, 149, 245

Internet of things and, 63

Internet users and, 282

limits of growth and, 6–8

mortality and, 276

predictions about, 40

progress and, 43

pyramid of abundance and, 16–17, 20

rate of technological growth/innovation and, 92, 245

regional change in, 279

water/sanitation and, 16–17, 87, 91, 275

world, 245, 275, 276

and world urbanization prospects, 274

The Population Bomb (Ehrlich), 7

portable infusion pump, 88

positive thinking: need for conversion to, 39

poverty/poor

benefits of technology and, 304

DALYs and, 259

definition of, 12–13

dematerialization and, 152

education and, 174–76, 177, 188, 271

as emerging market force, 10–11

energy and, 155

evolution of technology and, 304

feeding the, 100–115

fertility rates and, 92

gender and, 188

health and, 259

housing for, 130–31

ICTs and, 25

life span and, 190

mobile banking and, 145–46

possibility of abundance and, 10–11

progress and, 42

reduction in, 142, 145, 238

rich-poor gap and, 42–43

social entrepreneurship and, 130

water and, 17, 249

See also rich-poor gap; “rising billion”

poverty traps, 147

PR2 (Personal Robot 2), 66–67

Prahalad, Coimbatore Krishnarao “C.K.,” 140, 141–42, 195

predictions

and creation of yourself as way to predict future, 226

about exponential technological, 51, 55

about famine, 40

of Kurzweil, 55

about population, 40

about technological trends, 51, 55

prefrontal cortex, 34

Prescription for the Planet (Blees), 168

PricewaterhouseCoopers, 23

Primus Power, 165

Pritchard, Michael, 93–94

privacy: dangers of exponential technologies and, 297

problem-solving skills: video games and, 182–84

Procter & Gamble, 163

productivity, 67, 115, 144–45, 147, 301

progress

cumulative, 44–46

exchange and, 44–46

rate of, 48

Rosling study and, 48

specialization and, 44–46

understanding of exponential rate of, 48

Progressive Insurance Company, 224

Prohibition, 295–96

Project Masiluleke, 204

Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, 172

proprietary systems, 67

prosthetic limbs, 68–69, 88, 303

protein, 109–12

Proteus spaceship, 124

prototyping, 69, 234

psychological immune system, 31

push-pull system, 114

PV (photovoltaic panels) cells, 158–60, 164, 266, 267

pyramid of abundance

basic survival and, 15–18

chart for, 245

levels in, 14

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and, 14, 245

pursuit of catallaxy and, 18–20

See also specific need or level

Pythagorean theorem, 151

QuadCopter (UAV), 125–26, 127

Quadir, Iqbal, 144–45, 147

Qualcomm, 196

quality of life, 13, 40–44, 190, 206

Quantified Self, 203

Quest2Learn, 184

questions: asking the right, 181–82

Quirk, Patrick, 25

RadioShack, 127

Ramakrishna, Sri, 230–31

Rand, Stephen, 160

RAND Corporation, 191

Rapid Innovation Method, 234

The Rational Optimist (Ridley), 18, 40, 44

Raven (UAV), 125, 126

Rayport, Jeffrey, 148

reality

abundance as perspective shaping, 239

cognitive biases and, 29–31, 37

dangers of exponential technologies and, 298–99

Kahneman’s studies about, 27–28

prevalence of pessimism and, 38–39

role of brain in perceiving, 27, 29–31, 32–34, 37

Rees, Martin, 295

regulation: of exponential technologies, 295–96

relationships

Dunbar’s number and, 36

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and, 14

remote sensing technology, 96

renewable energy, 127, 152, 157, 158, 167, 262, 263, 269

Republicans: health care reform and, 30

reputation, 14, 234, 235

resource curse, 146–48