The future factor

The Future Factor offers an inspiring, optimistic vision of the human future. Sociologist Michael G. Zey shows how breathtaking innovations in fields such as biotechnology, computing, robotics, medicine, energy development, and space technology are catapulting global society into a new era of unlimited abundance and prosperity. As the third millennium begins, technological breakthroughs provide each of us unprecedented opportunities for growth, profitability, and organizational and personal reinvention. However, to stay ahead of the curve of change and anticipate future developments before competitors and peers do, leaders, companies, and individuals must be equipped with the right information to, make informed decisions. In The Future Factor, Zey provides the sophisticated cutting-edge knowledge companies need to achieve competitive advantage and individuals require to make career and life choices. Zey masterfully paints a "big picture" of powerful new forces -biogenesis, cybergenesis, species coalescence, and dominionization-that are subtly impacting society and the global economy, and changing forever the way we live. Among the subjects explored in this wide-ranging and always surprising book are:

• Cybergenesis and the role it will play in making humans smarter and healthier
  
• The universal communication network based on the Internet and virtual reality
  
• Biogenesis, gene therapy, and the complete decoding of the human genome
  
• "Next generation" robots and smart machines, and their impact on economic growth
  
• The colonization of space and the advent of "space tourism" >
  
• Fusion-based energy and its effect on the environment and the global economy
  
• The global transportation grid-the Skycar and the worldwide superhighway
  
• Biotechnological breakthroughs in agriculture and food production
  

And much more!

Throughout the Future Factor Zey pushes the envelope, challenging our conventional notions about the human species, its future and its ultimate purpose. What emerges is a compelling and radically novel vision of humankind as a species destined to place its indelible stamp on our planet and reshape the cosmos itself. The Future Factor exhorts the readers to embrace this bold vision of humankind's destiny and shows them how to participate in its achievement.

Contents

• Prologue : Creating the Human Future
  
• Dominiozation : Humanity Ventures Forth and Learns Nature's Ways
  
• Biogenesis : Creating the Prototype for the Next Human Being
  
• Cybergenesis : Of Men and the Smart Machine
  
• Species Coalescence
  
• Vitalizing the Universe : In the Heavens as It Is on Earth
  
• The Expansionary Vision of Human Development
  
• The Creation of the Humaniverse
  
• The Battle for the Future
  
• Epilogue : At the Threshold of the Expansionary Age
  
• Appendix : Related Web Sites