For Authors For Bloggers Beck Valley Books is an influential book review site and book tour host - Book Reviewer Yellow Pages A dream to work with, professional, helpful beyond measure plus working with her is one of the best things I've done to promote my eBook - author Lisa Consiglio Ryan I love working with you - you're kind, encouraging and effective! Thanks for all you do for all of us authors! - author Kaira Rouda I knew I had met someone who would handle my books like they were her own. Truly a pleasure doing business with you! - author Melissa Foster Your service and perseverance to assure that the tour ran smoothly enabled its success. I cannot express my appreciation enough - author Joyce Strand Amazingly organized, efficient and stays on top of the details. Her professionalism is outstanding, communication skills unparalleled and she's even rather adept at hand-holding when it is necessary - author Barbara Boswell Brunner Thanks so much to you and all of your wonderful reviewers! I've had phenomenal success from this blog tour - author Delia Colvin

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Book Review - The Politics of Emerging Strategic Technologies by Dr Nayef R F Al-Rodham

Book Review
Sustainable History
The Politics of Emerging Strategic Technologies
Implications for Geopolitics, Human Enhancement and Human Destiny
by Dr Nayef R F Al-Rodhan

About the Author 
Nayef Al-RodhanDr. Nayef Al-Rodhan is a Philosopher, Neuroscientist and Geostrategist.
He is Senior Member of St. Antony’s College at Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom and Senior Scholar in Geostrategy and Director of the Geopolitics of Globalisation and Transnational Security Programme at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland.
He holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. He trained in neurosurgery/neuroscience research at the Mayo Clinic, Yale University and Harvard University.
He founded the neurotechnology programme, headed translational research and founded the laboratory for cellular neurosurgery and neurosurgical technology at MGH, Harvard. He was on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, has published extensively on neuroscience research and won several research prizes. These Prizes include: The Sir James Spence Prize; The Gibb Prize; The Farquhar-Murray Prize; The American Association of Neurological Surgeon Poster Prize (twice); The Meninger Prize; The Annual Resident Prize of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons; The Young Investigator Prize of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; The Annual Fellowship Prize of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.


Book Description
Emerging technologies hold great promise but also pose major challenges to global politics, national and international security, human dignity and human destiny. This book examines the latest innovations, key trends and geopolitical and human implications of emerging strategic technologies such as Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence. The potential use and misuse of these technologies in human enhancement (physical and cognitive) is considered to be one of the major challenges of our time. Nayef Al-Rodhan argues that human enhancement and the future evolution into transhumans is inevitable. To prepare for these potential existential threats, the global community is urged to establish strict moral and legal guidelines that balance the need for innovation with the guarantee of dignity for all.

Nayef-Al-Rodhan
Our Book Review
Through the descriptive dialogue the author explains very clearly how with the emerging technologies and human enhancement the impact these changes are having on our lives, not just as individuals but on nations and the environment.  I found this book to be really informative and well researched and easy to understand.

Balanced arguments and logical reasoning is well documented and are represented throughout.  Reading this book has made me aware and also heightened my knowledge of how quickly technology is advancing and how I need to move with it or be left behind.

Nayef Al-Rodhan explains how technology in a developed country can have a negative effect on that developing country and the challenge of emerging technology is dependant on global co-operation to work to it's full potential.

To fully understand this book you need to take your time to read and digest the information.  If you like to read the new scientist and the economist magazines then this will be particularly interesting to you.

I would like to use the final paragraph in the book which explains the book:-
"Technology promises to be one of the major forces in our lives throughout the 21st century.  This will be true for individuals, societies, governments and the global community as a whole.  Because of technology's dual potential to help and to harm, and because of its vast, far-reaching impact, how we approach these issues will shape our geopolitical and human futures.  This book provides a framework for tackling these issues and the key concepts for debating the role of technology in our lives."

I really enjoyed this book, the explanations, the fascination of what technology is going to be in the future is one of excitement, but at what cost?

Our Rating
Photobucket


   
amazon.co.uk              amazon.com


4 comments:

  1. This sounds interesting. I will tell my daughter, who is interested in artificial intelligence, about this book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband would be completely wrapped up in this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds like a great book! I will be reading!

    ReplyDelete
  4. sounds like a very interesting read thanks for the review~!

    ReplyDelete

Always lovely to hear your comments xx

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Welcome to Beck Valley Books
visit our website and search for your books at http://www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk/

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *