In “The Inevitable” Kevin Kelly, the author, talks about the technology trends that have started today and will dominate in the future. This book includes 12 chapters, which I have summarized below, and each chapter discusses one technological force.

While these forces are technological, they will affect many aspects of our lives. As Kelly claims, despite some issues, we will have more convenient lives with more opportunities and precisely personalized services.

1. Becoming

We are living in a protopia, a world that continually is changing and improving. Put it differently, it’s always in a state of becoming. We are constant newbies in this protopia and need to keep learning and adapting to the fast-changing environments.

I agree with the point that the author makes. I remember connecting to the internet via personal computers when I was in high school, and now I’m connected to the internet on my mobile phone and can pay my bills on my mobile and even set them up to be paid automatically. Recently I had a debate if robots will have rights. I believe I’m living in a protopia, and it’s exciting. It has enormous advantages and some disadvantages. The standards of living are increasing, and we are receiving personalized services and products. At the same time, there is not enough time to master any technology, and we always feel like a newcomer, which some people might find inconvenient.

2. Cognifying

Artificial Intelligence and online filters will define how things work and who we are in the future. AI will cognify objects. It means it will make them intelligent. Therefore, an enormous amount of data will be produced by these devices. In order to benefit from this data, we would need to filter it. Tools like Google search engine help us to filter and make use of big data. Kelly then raises the question if robots would replace all human intelligence. His answer is no. He explains, although AI can enhance some industries such as healthcare, it won’t replace human specialists. According to the book, physicians will be the ones to make the best diagnosis by combining intuition with some diagnosis software.

I would like to agree with this statement. However, I think if we don’t manage it properly, we might be replaced by robots. The ideal would be humans working together with AI. We should keep growing with technologies and determine what we can do better than computers. This way, we can maintain control, perform human tasks, and assign redundant tasks and memorization to computers.

3. Flowing

In this chapter, the author talks about the flow of content and shareable material. By digitizing any goods, we can copy and share it. Ownership is transforming into the use of services and products. We prefer to use things when we need them instead of owning them. Users in this era are producers themselves. They create content. This can be seen in the music and film industries, as well as in web blogs. Streaming is the running trend now, and Kelly anticipates that the role of consumers as producers will tremendously increase in the future.

This is a real fact that even today, we are experiencing. The amount of data we produce, and access is immense. If we don’t master how to filter and manage data, we would not be able to be efficient enough.

4. Screening

In chapter four, Kelly talks about screens. He explains that we share information and communicate through different types of screens. In the future, we can access any data on demand. He compares the Britannica encyclopedia to Wikipedia, an online and dynamic encyclopedia. Another example is future wearable devices like smart glasses adding a layer of information on real objects, like information on an actual street while walking.

It seems logical that the screens, this communication material, to be enhanced, more advanced, and convenient. We used to interact with each other and share information via fixed screens like books and newspapers. Today, we use websites and blogs which are more dynamic, easy to access, and edit. Having interactive screens like glasses or contact lenses in the future doesn’t seem very unlikely to me. Interactive devices will enable us to access any data at any time and at our convenience. We would need to learn how to filter and manage the data appropriately.

5. Accessing

Dematerialization and Decentralization will be dominating trends in the future. Possession will yield to access. Anything you need will be available immediately. You would need to pay to access, and not own things. Thus, you can access the latest and best services available. The author discusses Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, the largest providers of content, delivery, and accommodation, as examples that don’t own any physical instruments required for their services.

The success of subscription-based models shows that consumers prefer to pay for the services they use while they are updated and access the latest available services and technologies. Hence, the possession is not needed anymore. I think in the future, even the subscription models won’t remain the same. Instead, people will be creating content. They will collectively review and rate each other. The best service or content will get credited and paid. It shows the role consumers will play in the future and their power. Like the author, I am optimistic that it will positively affect other aspects of our lives, like the politic and the economy.

6. Sharing

After “Accessing” the author discusses “Sharing”. Statistics show, consumer desires to share. It could be any ideas, expression, or thoughts. He then discusses cooperation, collaboration, and collectivism.

The results of crowdsource and opensource models like Wikipedia and Github prove that the results of collaboration and collective intelligence are significant. When people collaborate, the outcome is beyond a project goal or an idea. New ideas are created, assessed by experts around the world, and hence improved in the shortest possible time. This also implies that anyone can access and contribute to anything she/he desires from anywhere at any time.

7. Filtering

In this chapter, the author lists 8 existing filters as 1. Gatekeepers, 2. Intermediates, 3. Curators, 4. Brands, 5. Government, 6. Cultural Environment, 7. Friends, and 8. Ourselves. He states that “with the infinite hall of options in the near future, we would need more filters.” Machines will help us to create filters for what we desire. They keep learning about users/consumers and enhancing the filters.

Despite all personalization, there would be one problem, that even after filtering all, there would be still too many. For example, there are more super great five-stars-for-me movies that I can ever watch in my lifetime. The author says some filters already exist, like the personal filter, which is called recommendations. Amazon and Netflix, and many other applications use recommendation engines to increase sales.

As the author says, we are at a very early stage of filtering. With all the data being created daily and with all smart devices that we use, as well as with IoT coming in a near future, the generated data would be infinite, and filtering will become essential. AI will help us in this matter, and we will receive highly customized products and services. Kelly anticipates that while the cost of every technological service/product will decrease, the value of user experience will rise. In the flow of massive data and content, people would need to filter the filters. In such a market, success would be measured by user experience. This cannot be copied, and thus, its value will be increased.

8. Remixing

In chapter eight, the author states that “all new technologies derive from a combination of existing technologies.” He calls this process “remixing”. This means that the ability to create and invent is limitless. Every invention would be mixed and transformed into something different or different versions. Basically, remixing will become a key source of innovation.

Kelly explains that remixing is much easier to create. And, the more powerful the invention or creation, the more likely and more important it is that it will be transformed by others. Like Filtering, the success in Remixing depends on user experience too.

9. Interacting

This chapter starts with this sentence: “Virtual Reality (VR) is a fake world that feels absolutely authentic”. The author talks about the devices with senses so that we can interact with them. Interacting with technology will be more intimate, everywhere and all the time. The devices get less expensive and accessible to more people. As he states, the interaction expansion follows three thrusts: More senses, more intimacy, more immersion.

We get so close to the computation that we leap into it. We will interact with each other within a virtual world. In the not too far future, we might not have privacy. However, it will bring us more convenience and opportunities. Many of these benefits have been discussed in previous chapters.

As Kelly anticipates, we might start sensing that we have superhuman senses, such as x-ray vision. We might consider them as our regular human senses, and it definitely will change our self-perception. On one hand, we imagine the comfort that these technologies will provide, but on the other hand, we can ask ourselves if we will live our lives in unreal and virtual worlds. Would we believe that we got superhuman powers? What would we be without VR or other future technologies? Empowered or disempowered? Would we use them, or the other way around?

10. Tracking

Data in the new gold in business! And certainly, companies will collect more. Kelly mentions in this chapter that all that was unmeasurable is becoming digitized, quantified, and hence trackable. Ubiquitous tracking will be the new norm. In other words, we will be tracked and track all the time.

Tracking would affect many aspects of our lives, such as transportation, finance, health, career, personal and social life. Every activity will be recorded and copied through digital eyes and ears. He says that all the ideas that once seemed unrealistic might be real soon. In this chapter, he mentions a short story by Philip K. Dick, “Minority Report” and the idea of pre-crime detection. In the book, the crime is detected through surveillance, and the criminals are arrested even before committing any crime. We can use these capabilities to be to our benefit. However, I think it needs to be proactively considered before it gets impossible to control. We should be prepared for a smooth and successful transition to the new era. Our regulations and laws should be aligned with new coming norms.

11. Questioning

In the last two chapters of the book, Kelly tries to provide some advice about the best approaches to thrive in the new era. As mentioned in chapter 10, he talks about social communications, and collectivism, as well as the endless answers that we might receive for any questions. He states that there will be answers to any questions. Now we should think about what a good question is.

Kelly claims that “…Even the most angelic technology can be weaponized, and will be. Criminals are some of the most creative innovators in the world. And crap constitutes 80 percent of everything.” He explains how both virtue and vice are following the technological forces mentioned in the previous chapters. He also talks about data-driven and decentralized spams, crimes, and other negative forms of technology. The brightest part of this chapter to me is when the author optimistically states that “every harmful invention provides a niche to creates a brand-new never-seen-before good!” He believes that the technological circle has sent us up to an entirely new world of endless and unknown opportunities and choices.

12. Beginning

We are the first inhabitants of this planet first linked ourselves into one very large thing. Then he defines a new concept: “holo”. As he explains, holo includes the collective intelligence of all humans combined with the collective behavior of all machines, plus the intelligence of nature, plus whatever behavior emerges from the holo. He then adds that all these twelve forces are leading us to an era that we cannot yet imagine.

By finishing the book, I’m mostly hopeful and inspired for the era after the fourth industrial revolution. I’m as optimistic as Kelly for the interdependency of humans and machines in the future. I hope for us to become better humans and capture new dimensions of our existence. We are just at the beginning!