The Economic Singularity: Artificial intelligence and the death of capitalism Paperback – July 18, 2016

I picked up this book over the weekend after seeing an ad on reddit. Wasn't sure what to expect because I haven't read any Calum Chace books before. Until seeing the ad I hadn't even heard of him. Anyway, economic survival is something I've been thinking about, and despite trying to find predictions, forecasts and timelines I mostly found nothing. So I gave this book a chance and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of thought put into it. Chace does a good job at keeping things simple enough to understand while providing a fair amount of information and references for further reading.Chace doesn't adapt any position as the end-all-be-all and explains arguments from several view points. I like that his focus is more on drawing attention to the fact that economic issues need to be addressed rather than blatantly stating what is/isn't the best approach. I'm not sure how those who study future economics will view this book, but as someone who is relatively new to the subject, It gave me most of what I wanted. The one thing I would have liked more of is predictions and timelines. I realize those are just speculation, but it's really fun to imagine the future as it might be, and to read about how others who are likely far more experienced in the topic view the future from the present.Overall I was pleased with the length, structure and information. Would love to read more books like this in the future.

A good overview of the future trends in technology and the implications on the economy and people (jobs) in the near future. We researched and categorized. I felt it a bit dry, but maybe this was the purpose of the author, not to imply the sense of being biased.For someone who have not read anything in the topic (such as Matrin Ford's Rise of the Robots, Harari's Homo Deus, and Kevin Kelly's The Inevitable) this may be a great start.Somehow I expected slightly more (surprises), but as I look back, it was a solid summary of trends.

Calum Chace has given the world Fair Warning ⚠️ that cognitive automation will likely create a tidal wave of unemployment across the planet. His advice to spend a small amount of time, energy, and money on scenario planning for how to build a bridge from today to the future of flourishing abundance could help us avoid a catastrophe of starvation and death. The transition from our necessarily narrow focus on work in order to survive today to the future state of all work being performed by artificial intelligence and robotics could be fraught with chaos without a well thought out plan.

This is really just half a book, as the first half is a decent review of current technology and trends, and the second half contains unsubstantiated, poorly rationalized prognostications. The predictions are not really credible because the author expresses lack of understanding and abundance of shallow thinking, undermining the entire second half. For example, the author seems compelled to mention Bitcoin and 3D printing, without grasping their true impact or tractability in future economies. They are among the latest tech buzzwords, so rah, rah. Another case, did you know that Google + Wikipedia = omniscience? A really absurd idea when you think about it, the left hand side being passive, hidden, non-relational, and effortful, while omniscience is of course none of these. The author makes many shallow statements like this. Most people will be satisfied with full time VR entertainment without being employed (or depressed), for example. The digital divide is not significant. The economic singularity implies an event horizon, so it is nearly impossible to know what's going to happen (how convenient that the author generated the metaphor). And so on. Since many futurists predict the loss of most jobs to automation and AI, and some futurists predict human creativity will continue to create new and more interesting jobs, anyone making economic predictions needs to first prove him or herself to be logical and thorough and second weigh-in on this issue with the best thoughts they can muster. This book is very weak in these aspects.

If you believe that the technological Singularity will happen during our lifetimes, The Economic Singularity is a must read. Calum Chace offers a plausible scenario for the transition period that will take place within the next 30 years. There are many futurist that have focused on possible chain of events beyond the Singularity, but what makes this book interesting, is that Chase explores how the realization of this momentous event might impact the economic system and society in the medium term.Chase did his homework and the first part of the book presents a comprehensive synopsis of automation and the robotics revolution landscape. In the second part of the book, the author develops his Economic Singularity thesis. The book overall is well structured and fun to read. Too bad that a hardcover edition is not available....

Calum is extremely objective and predictive, and I understand his point beacue I'm a machine and IT engineer and this is the reason that this book means to me as a part of my life. I also recommend this book to all who are technitian and economists and special to all whos jobs are under the risk and are aware of unemployment or are yet unemploy or with lower incomes. To all who do not understand reality, present and what happening round them all over the world. This is the book you must read it if you have children and want to help them to change the world - and to survive in their future.He inspired me to write a blog: [...]

Good summary of other thinkers, but not enough of Calum's own thinking.

thanks to Calum Chace for writing "my" book:-)... and especially that he also writes a summary of the book - chapter by chapter - so it can be used as a quick refresher. I wish all non-fiction writers would follow this format. It's more than an executive summary.the word Singularity attracted me to read this book, especially since we are on this path for many years and because changes are happening at exponential rates - the Economic Singularity should have been looked at long ago.

This is a great read. Although a few years old now, it’s forecasts still hold up very well.If you’re struggling to understand the implications and potential impact of AI on society then this book is for you.

La IA y su crecimiento exponencial pondrán en jaque a nuestras sociedades. Las dos visiones que el autor muestra en su predicciones podrían ocurrir. Pensar que la política pueda dar soluciones a esto sin instaurar ciertas formas autocráticas, en mi opinión es un enorme error. De los mejores libros que me he leído.

Excellent book on AI. A MUST READ. I say this not only because Calum is a friend, but because it actually is. Being myself conversant in these issues (and a trained political scientist / economist, etc.) and having read quite a bit on AI, this stands out as a very good and concise presentation of all of the main issues and how they will impact the future -- a future which is actually a lot closer than people realise. It is written for the general reader, so one need not have a background in economics or even IT to understand it. Calum has done an excellent job of making what is actually quite a complex subject readily accessible to anyone. A real credit to him. I highly recommend this, especially for teenagers or Millennials, as this is their world we are talking about and they should be prepared for it... basically, don't read it at your own peril!

I liked the beginning and felt that I got good and up to date information about Artificial Intelligence and how it will raise unemployment. But later on the book turned into a PR bible for techies. A couple of grains of pseudo daubt in between didn't help to give his view of the soon to be here singularity a more complex feel. Optimism might be good for business but in art and writing it is boring. All in all a good start to think about what AI will do to our idea of "working for a living". AI will do the work, basic income will make most people happy, they will tend to their gardens and play clarinet, the AI elite will donate their wealth. (Sorry for spelling, grammar and translation errors. Google translate is just not what it is cracked up to be.) Will now return to my audiobook "Superintelligence" by Nick Bostrom. Ah, and a note to the author from the only area mentioned in the book that I have a faint knowledge of: no, we won"t send our "pheromones" in to find our perfect partner and thus curb divorce rates (Guess, that was more of a joke anyway). Come to think of it, funny, in his singularity future everything changes, but not old fashioned institutions such as marriages.

Excellent book!!! For those who have already some previous knowledge about the subject or not, the book is a great reading. Totally worth it if you are somehow worried (or curious) about the future.