Latest podcast Social Life in 2030 - Taken from the new book Tomorrow's People and New Technology

Ranger Ruffins returns this week to talk about the future of social life. How has social life changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? We discuss how technologies have continued to shape the way we interact with each other, from how we make friends to how we date. We talk about the impact of biotechnologies on human society, its advantages in terms of disease prevention and cure, and its ability to create ‘super-humans’. We also look at how social media might continue to evolve over the coming decade and how emerging technologies might help us work towards more equity and awareness in our social lives. Or does the future of social life look more like a Black Mirror episode? Ranger Ruffins is co-author of the new book Tomorrow’s People and New Technology, which we are focusing on in our first seven episodes to imagine what life in 2030 might look like and how the emerging technologies over the next decade fit into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Book description - Tomorrows People and New Technology

"Though many books describe tech and AI’s impact on our future, few paint an intimate and detailed picture of how our lives – at home, work, and with friends – will be completely reshaped by the innovations that are just beginning to take root today. Tomorrow’s People and New Technology is a fascinating forecast at life by 2030 and the ways in which we must change to harness technology’s promise in every facet of our daily lives."

Maria Figueroa Kupcu, Partner and Head of New York Office, Brunswick Group; Chair, Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University

As we witness a series of social, political, cultural, and economic changes/disruptions this book examines the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the way emerging technologies are impacting our lives and changing society.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterised by the emergence of new technologies that are blurring the boundaries between the physical, the digital, and the biological worlds. This book allows readers to explore how these technologies will impact peoples’ lives by 2030. It helps readers to not only better understand the use and implications of emerging technologies, but also to imagine how their individual life will be shaped by them. The book provides an opportunity to see the great potential but also the threats and challenges presented by the emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, posing questions for the reader to think about what future they want. Emerging technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, big data and analytics, cloud computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, the Internet of Things, fifth-generation wireless technologies (5G), and fully autonomous vehicles, among others, will have a significant impact on every aspect of our lives, as such this book looks at their potential impact in the entire spectrum of daily life, including home life, travel, education and work, health, entertainment and social life.

Providing an indication of what the world might look like in 2030, this book is essential reading for students, scholars, professionals, and policymakers interested in the nexus between emerging technologies and sustainable development, politics and society, and global governance.