Exponential: How to Thrive in an Age of Accelerating Technology
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- Create Date：2022-08-12 09:51:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Azeem Azhar
- ISBN：184794292X
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Summary
The Times and Financial Times Book of the Year
'Enticing' Sunday Times | 'Excellent' Amol Rajan， BBC News | 'Engaging' Financial Times
As technology accelerates， the human mind struggles to keep up - and our companies， workplaces， and democracies get left behind。 This is the exponential gap。
Now， a leading technologist explains how this exponential gap is rewiring business and society。 Exploring corporations and the workplace， diplomacy and big tech， Exponential makes sense of a period of dizzyingly fast change - and reveals how we should respond。
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'Valuable and timely 。 。 。 The importance of the book lies in its diligent and comprehensive definition of a new phase in human affairs' Sunday Times
'As a primer on our latest multi-dimensional technological revolution and how it is rewriting the rules of society， economics and politics， this book is hard to beat' Financial Times
'Azhar speaks powerfully about how we need to shape technology to put it back in the service of society' Guardian
'A convincing case that something extraordinary is taking place in business and society' Economist
'Enticing' Sunday Times | 'Excellent' Amol Rajan， BBC News | 'Engaging' Financial Times
As technology accelerates， the human mind struggles to keep up - and our companies， workplaces， and democracies get left behind。 This is the exponential gap。
Now， a leading technologist explains how this exponential gap is rewiring business and society。 Exploring corporations and the workplace， diplomacy and big tech， Exponential makes sense of a period of dizzyingly fast change - and reveals how we should respond。
___
'Valuable and timely 。 。 。 The importance of the book lies in its diligent and comprehensive definition of a new phase in human affairs' Sunday Times
'As a primer on our latest multi-dimensional technological revolution and how it is rewriting the rules of society， economics and politics， this book is hard to beat' Financial Times
'Azhar speaks powerfully about how we need to shape technology to put it back in the service of society' Guardian
'A convincing case that something extraordinary is taking place in business and society' Economist
Reviews
Paul Bard
，
I'm going to DNF this book。 The entire first chapter describes Moores law。 This idea takes a single sentence。 One image。 Less because it's common knowledge。The next two chapters describe in excruciating detail the difference between exponent and increment。 Two。 Whole。 Chapters。The rest of the book says: optimism。 But gives no ACTUAL solution。 Ooh， and 3D printers exist， who knew？ It's an Economist magazine explainer。 I'm going to DNF this book。 The entire first chapter describes Moores law。 This idea takes a single sentence。 One image。 Less because it's common knowledge。The next two chapters describe in excruciating detail the difference between exponent and increment。 Two。 Whole。 Chapters。The rest of the book says: optimism。 But gives no ACTUAL solution。 Ooh， and 3D printers exist， who knew？ It's an Economist magazine explainer。 。。。more
GM
，
easy to read but I'm already pretty familiar with the messages in this book。 easy to read but I'm already pretty familiar with the messages in this book。 。。。more
Francois Chalifour
，
Good overview of how recent innovations have converged together to accelerate change to an "exponential" level Good overview of how recent innovations have converged together to accelerate change to an "exponential" level 。。。more
Jules
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Read the first couple of chapters and decided not to continue。 I found this book too waffly and unstructured for me， with way too much extraneous commentary that I didn't care about。 Read the first couple of chapters and decided not to continue。 I found this book too waffly and unstructured for me， with way too much extraneous commentary that I didn't care about。 。。。more
alexander
，
This was really pretty good。 I first came to know of AA through his high-quality podcast that is frequently fascinating， and this book is no different。 Really well written on par with any b-school literature， and with a clear-eyed view of the problems and their potential solutions from a standpoint that mixes technology， business and societal lenses。Maybe one of the best accounts of the period roughly following 2017 out there。
João Cortez
，
Somewhat interesting analysis of exponential technologies and winner take most companies。
Rossco
，
Tons of unoriginal material （done first and better with Wikinomics， Second Machine Age， etc。）。 If you have a decent Twitter feed， you will probably have more of the same info。 No original thoughts。 Only good for executives who have no clue about technology and want buzz words to spout。
Suby Bala
，
An exceptionally well-written book， after in-depth study and research。 If one wants to understand our world swamped as we are by technology， social media， and the fast changes in high tech impacting not only the world of computers but by the use of technology both old and new and evolving fast into cheaper and affordable with each iteration。 A very powerful and thought-provoking book and a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in the social fabric of society and how economics， financ An exceptionally well-written book， after in-depth study and research。 If one wants to understand our world swamped as we are by technology， social media， and the fast changes in high tech impacting not only the world of computers but by the use of technology both old and new and evolving fast into cheaper and affordable with each iteration。 A very powerful and thought-provoking book and a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in the social fabric of society and how economics， finance， and technology are constantly intersecting as we race along in the 21st Century。。。。 。。。more
Nicky Chalabi
，
Super interesting content that makes you contemplate while reading it。 The author managed to lay down an amazing groundwork by depicting the perils and dangers of the exponential age and its potential amplified effects。 However， I do disagree with certain thoughts and topics。 In certain magnitude， the interoperability already exists。 It is highly leveraged by the blockchain technology and various layer 1 platforms do address the issues pertaining to the likes of facebook， twitter， and other soci Super interesting content that makes you contemplate while reading it。 The author managed to lay down an amazing groundwork by depicting the perils and dangers of the exponential age and its potential amplified effects。 However， I do disagree with certain thoughts and topics。 In certain magnitude， the interoperability already exists。 It is highly leveraged by the blockchain technology and various layer 1 platforms do address the issues pertaining to the likes of facebook， twitter， and other social media。 You can in fact transfer your data between various types of social media within the realms of web3。 All you need to do is to establish a connection to your wallet。 Moreover， within the realms of web3， job-seekers get rewarded fairly based on their work and requested remuneration。 With web3 becoming more user-friendly and succeeding in attaining mass adoption， the issues imposed and created by corporations such as Amazon and Uber will not exist。 In addition to that traditional public institutions will either seek complete transformation and operate in a different shape or form， or will cease to exist。 I do believe that our and upcoming generations are more than ready to embrace and make such changes。 。。。more
Michael Brown
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I didn’t think this was that good。 The fundamental concept is ok but there were few really insights about how we might bridge the exponential gap for example。 Full of lots of examples but many of them I’d heard before。 Lots of points were crying out to provide an obvious counter argument but the relative short length of the book compared to the topic at hand meant they were never addressed。 On robotics I felt the writer disparaged the excellent book Rise of the Robots and then proceeded to reite I didn’t think this was that good。 The fundamental concept is ok but there were few really insights about how we might bridge the exponential gap for example。 Full of lots of examples but many of them I’d heard before。 Lots of points were crying out to provide an obvious counter argument but the relative short length of the book compared to the topic at hand meant they were never addressed。 On robotics I felt the writer disparaged the excellent book Rise of the Robots and then proceeded to reiterate many of its main conclusions。 I like this type of book but this one I wouldn’t recommend。 。。。more
Joachim Viktil
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A highly interesting book about the times we’re living in。 I highly recommend this one as exponentially is a wider concept than many might think and has a broader relevance than what I thought before reading this book。
Shawn Liu
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We live in an age where key backbone technologies （computing， biology， energy， manufacturing） advance exponentially， but our collective mindsets and institutions that shape and guide how these technologies impact our lives progress much slower。 The delta between these two is what Azar calls the “exponential gap。”Azar does a good job of explaining and demonstrating the existence of the exponential gap。 It is a useful way for describing the increasing level of disruption we seem to be feeling in e We live in an age where key backbone technologies （computing， biology， energy， manufacturing） advance exponentially， but our collective mindsets and institutions that shape and guide how these technologies impact our lives progress much slower。 The delta between these two is what Azar calls the “exponential gap。”Azar does a good job of explaining and demonstrating the existence of the exponential gap。 It is a useful way for describing the increasing level of disruption we seem to be feeling in every aspect of our lives。 The book is much weaker on what to do about this， though that’s not his fault because part of his observation is that we as humans are just very bad at dealing with exponential growth， even “experts” like him （ :） ） who’ve called it out， know it’s happening， and know to watch for it。 。。。more
Daryl Feehely
，
A masterful look at how technology and its inherent exponential growth is impacting society and heralding the exponential age， where technology advances will redefine， destabilise and/or demolish existing and traditional institutions， within a very short timeframe。 While the book lays out the staggering pace of technology adoption that is already dividing society， it also offers a framework for society and its institutions to adapt using transparency， resilience and flexibility， in order to avoi A masterful look at how technology and its inherent exponential growth is impacting society and heralding the exponential age， where technology advances will redefine， destabilise and/or demolish existing and traditional institutions， within a very short timeframe。 While the book lays out the staggering pace of technology adoption that is already dividing society， it also offers a framework for society and its institutions to adapt using transparency， resilience and flexibility， in order to avoid being left behind in obsolescence。 。。。more
Andrea
，
La mia valutazione estremamente positiva di questo saggio è inevitabilmente influenzata dal fatto che il libro affronta e approfondisce alcuni temi che mi interessano molto dal punto di vista professionale （detta così， sembra quasi che io sia una persona seria）。 Metto dunque le mani avanti per dire che sono consapevole che non tutti lo possono apprezzare allo stesso modo。 Exponential parla infatti dell’incredibile accelerazione che le nuove tecnologie stanno imprimendo alle nostre società e dell La mia valutazione estremamente positiva di questo saggio è inevitabilmente influenzata dal fatto che il libro affronta e approfondisce alcuni temi che mi interessano molto dal punto di vista professionale （detta così， sembra quasi che io sia una persona seria）。 Metto dunque le mani avanti per dire che sono consapevole che non tutti lo possono apprezzare allo stesso modo。 Exponential parla infatti dell’incredibile accelerazione che le nuove tecnologie stanno imprimendo alle nostre società e delle conseguenze che ne derivano: per noi come cittadini， utenti e consumatori， per le aziende， per i governi。 Ricco di esempi e aneddoti， riesce a essere contemporaneamente un libro ricco di contenuti e spunti di riflessione， ma anche pratico e concreto。 Un ottimo modo per pensare all’immediato futuro in modo ragionevole。 。。。more
Charlie Rogers
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An awesome overview of the factors driving change in the Exponential Age。 Well summarised with useful examples and thoughtful analysis， Azhar builds a thesis for how and why the world is continuing to change so quickly and what we can do about it。 Lots of highlights here and will definitely be referring back to it！
Pavel Kasperovich
，
Better to read a summary， too much “water” with random examples （not all even logical） with quite a lot of them being known already for years。
Brian
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This book is much better than I expected in that it wide ranging in scope and very well argued。 The book covers the impact of exponential technologies on economies， work， trade， geopolitical conflicting， and the broader relationship between citizens and society。 The author， Azeem Azhar， says that 'new technologies are being invented and scaled at an ever-faster pace， all while decreasing in price'。 If the adaptation over time of these technologies were plotted on a graph the adaptations would fo This book is much better than I expected in that it wide ranging in scope and very well argued。 The book covers the impact of exponential technologies on economies， work， trade， geopolitical conflicting， and the broader relationship between citizens and society。 The author， Azeem Azhar， says that 'new technologies are being invented and scaled at an ever-faster pace， all while decreasing in price'。 If the adaptation over time of these technologies were plotted on a graph the adaptations would follow an exponential curve。 He argues that these technology advances are bringing massive changes with them。 The author says that institutions are changing more slowly， —in a linear fashion over time— and risk being left behind by the speed of technological change resulting in what he terms an 'exponential gap'。 He believes that gap could erode the fabric of society。 The book is intended to help us get to the future we want。 。。。more
David
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A very thought-provoking book looking at how the exponential growth of technology has and will impact us。Azeem explores how business are affected， how geopolitics is influenced and how our relationships are impacted by exponential tech。
Nicholas Gates
，
Really good early bits， wonderful articulations of the speed of change and how the world is changing。 Feels a little bit like a grab bag of tech policy towards the end and loses it’s a way a little， but still interesting throughout。 Sharp observations and lessons keep the book afloat。
Weldon Regan
，
This book was an exceptionally insightful examination of ever accelerating technologic advances as contrasted with the gap in individual and societal institution advancement。
Saul Brennan
，
Thought I was going to love this one， in the end fairly apathetic。 Expecting more original thought leadership on the ‘gap’ highlighted， not details that it persists and will grow。 Reflecting on this I doubt I’m the target reader and hope others get more from this book。Lost some credibility early on with Energy Vault appreciation。 Similarly with Uber I agree on technology enabling exponential growth， but the fact the competition can also catch-up （exponentially） was ignored。 Understand this isn’t Thought I was going to love this one， in the end fairly apathetic。 Expecting more original thought leadership on the ‘gap’ highlighted， not details that it persists and will grow。 Reflecting on this I doubt I’m the target reader and hope others get more from this book。Lost some credibility early on with Energy Vault appreciation。 Similarly with Uber I agree on technology enabling exponential growth， but the fact the competition can also catch-up （exponentially） was ignored。 Understand this isn’t central to the argument but demonstrates a more egalitarian future。 。。。more
Fleur Pom
，
Some interesting insights/thoughts but could have flowed in a more engaging way
Frank Calberg
，
Notes taken while reading the book:What are examples of technological innovations？- Page 64: Smartphones。 In 2010， 300 million smartphones were sold。 In 2015， 1。5 billion smartphones were sold。- Page 64: Social media。 An example: In 2020， https://twitter。com/TheEconomist had more than 25 million followers。 In 2020， the Economist had 900，000 readers of the print version。- Pages 3 and 7: Computing。 Quantum computing。 - Page 3 and 8: Artificial intelligence。 Machine learning。- Page 38: Solar power Notes taken while reading the book:What are examples of technological innovations？- Page 64: Smartphones。 In 2010， 300 million smartphones were sold。 In 2015， 1。5 billion smartphones were sold。- Page 64: Social media。 An example: In 2020， https://twitter。com/TheEconomist had more than 25 million followers。 In 2020， the Economist had 900，000 readers of the print version。- Pages 3 and 7: Computing。 Quantum computing。 - Page 3 and 8: Artificial intelligence。 Machine learning。- Page 38: Solar power has become the cheapest source of electricity in 2/3 of the world。- Page 39: From 2010 to 2019 the cost of generating electricity from wind turbines declined 13% per year。- Page 39: From 2010 to 2019 the cost of lithium-ion storage dropped by 19% per year。- Pages 43 and 176: 3D printing。 Most 3D printing methods develop at a pace between 16。7% and 37。6% per year。 The global market for 3D printing was USD 10 billion in 2019。- Page 88: Manufactured products such as household conveniences or houses will soon be produced by 3D printers。- Pages 3 and 7: Innovations in biology。 - Page 3: Innovations in manufacturing。- Page 7: Innovations in electric vehicles。- Page 7: Innovation in space flight。- Page 127: Machine vision systems scan photos of damaged cars to evaluate the likely cost of repairs。 - Page 170: Vertical farms - using AI to control lighting， water and heat - as well as solar energy on the roof of the building。- Page 172: Electric vehicles will lend their stored electricity to homes when it is dark。What are other examples of exponential growth:- Page 75: The spread of the H1N1 virus that caused the Spanish flu followed an exponential curve in its growth phase。- Page 75: The inflation rate in Weimar Germany in the 1920s as well as the inflation rate more recently in Zimbabwe and Venezuela followed exponential curves in their growth phases。- Page 78: The COVID pandemic followed an exponential curve in its growth phase。 Between mid February 2020 and the end of February 2020， 60 new cases were discovered in the US。 In the next two weeks there were 3，753 new cases。 The two weeks after that 109，995 new cases。 By mid November 150，000 cases were being added per day。What are examples of companies - based on digital technologies - that succeed？ Why do they succeed？- Page 55: https://www。lemonade。com/， an American insurance company， uses satellite imaging to estimate the risk of forest fires before it offers home insurance policies。- Page 57: A new mobile app might thousands of lines of code。 Developers writing the apps don't type that code themselves。 Rather， they will find standardized components developed by others。 Examples: Someone developing a travel-booking app might use a calendar component developed for a meeting-scheduling app。- Page 59: https://github。com/ lets 56 million software developers collaborate across 60 million different software projects。- Page 64: By the end of 2016， 6 companies based on exponentially developing digital technologies were among the 10 largest companies on earth: Apple， Tencent， Alphabet， Microsoft， Amazon and Facebook。- Page 66: At the heart of Amazon's success is an annual research and development budget that reached USD 36 billion in 2019。- Page 88: Every interaction with a company or government is， or soon will be， handled by software powered by a machine-learning algorithm。- Page 88: Our education and healthcare are increasingly delivered through AI-enabled technologies。- Page 90: Tackling climate change requires more radical tech， not less。- Page 96: The network effect， which means that the addition of every new member of the network increases the value of the network for everyone is， is one reason why some digital technologies / digital platforms grow very large。 People go to the platform where everyone is。 That platform then becomes the dominant choice of people to go to / use。 Digital technologies / digital platforms benefit more from network effects than earlier innovations， because the Internet is easily accessible for everyone。- Page 102: Digital platforms are very capital-efficient。 Example: Airbnb hosts more overnight guests than any hotel chain， yet owns no hotels。- Page 103: Strong values of digital technologies / digital platforms are intangible - not physical。 Examples: For Google it is the search engine。 For Facebook it is the data that represents the network of friends。 For Apple it is the designs and the brand identity。 For Netflix it is the algorithms that recommend what users should view next。- Page 117: Breakthrough inventions are more likely to come from individual inventors and small teams。- Page 137: Manufacturing companies that adopt technologies become more profitable and more productive。 They also create more jobs。- Page 141: Automation leads to more jobs， not less。- Page 176: AI and other technologies make it possible， for the first time in decades， to manufacture products in places where labour costs are high。 Example: Robotics， automation and 3D printing made it possible for Adidas to produce shoes in Bavaria， Germany。- Page 241: The UK Biobank collates the medical and genomic data of 500，000 people。 Each person has consented to researchers using their data to better understand and prevent serious disease。 Any legitimate researcher can access this resource。 The goal of the UK Biobank is to enable novel scientific discovery with the consent of those who have contributed their data。 What challenges does strong technological development bring for governments？- Page 9: Technology companies， which become bigger than was previously thought possible， dominate markets。 Monopoly situations develop。- Page 82: Institutions such as branches of government， international organizations and churches are not made to adapt to rapid societal change。 They move slowly。- Page 116: Economies， which are dominated by large companies， become progressively less dynamic。- Page 147: In the exponential age， formal employees are relatively decreasing in number。 The technologies of this age create new ways of working - with the smartphone and the task matching algorithm allowing firms to rely on pools of freelance talent。 As the labor laws have not caught up， there is a growing inequality between gig workers and official employees。- Page 151: Methods of surveillance are increasingly common。 People do not know when they are being watched。- Page 156: In 2020， the average pay of a software engineer working for Uber was USD 147，000 per year。 The average pay of a driver was USD 20 per hour。- Page 159: In times of rapid change， a safety net becomes critical。 An experiment in Helsinki showed that people receiving universal basic income increased wellbeing and lowered levels of food distress。- Page 234: Greater transparency would allow people to observe how decisions by tech elites are made and identify what effect they have on us。- Page 238: Pricing and compensating people for our personal data would help reform the data economy。- Page 238: People need rights for their data。 We need control， authority and oversight over our data。- Page 253: We are moving towards a world dominated by platforms。 These platforms will increasingly manage workers by algorithms optimized for output and efficiency。 Workers need to be guaranteed dignity， flexibility and security， so they can continuously adapt to the rapidly changing workplace without their lives becoming unbearable。What challenges does strong technological development bring to human beings？- Page 4: When rapid， technological change arrives， it first brings turmoil。 Then people adapt。 Eventually， we learn to thrive。- Page 9: Increasingly， people do work via gig platforms。- Page 11: Increasingly， people communicate with each other over privately owned platforms。- Page 86: Is it reasonable to use a smartphone during dinner？- Page 137: To use new technology， it is necessary for people to continuously learn about how to use technology。- Page 158: Work in the exponential wage is volatile。 Continuous learning is necessary。 。。。more
Michael Wiley
，
Very good read。 Provided a historical perspective while describing a valuable description of current society
Mico Go
，
Loved the insights here - especially those challenging trends that have developed in recent history due to the rise of technology。 1。） Technology will reduce the labor force， and lead to job scarcity。 Although true to some extent， much of AI and machine learning's integrations （thus far） has been surrounding two things:a） The enhancement of tasks - making human labor much more efficient and effective （think Wazefor gig-workers in the transport economy）。 b） The elimination of menial tasks - leadi Loved the insights here - especially those challenging trends that have developed in recent history due to the rise of technology。 1。） Technology will reduce the labor force， and lead to job scarcity。 Although true to some extent， much of AI and machine learning's integrations （thus far） has been surrounding two things:a） The enhancement of tasks - making human labor much more efficient and effective （think Wazefor gig-workers in the transport economy）。 b） The elimination of menial tasks - leading to the up-skilling of the workforce （and the subsequent push for governments and policy-makers to incentivize mass education in underdeveloped societies） and the creation of complementary new jobs （the secondary market of maintenance and repair for new technology - again， jobs that see a higher baseline of understanding）。 Although this may be a reduction in labor， the immediate effects serve as further motivation for economies to up-skill their workforce， thus minimizing the disparity between high and low income earners， essentially providing a blueprint for a more sustainable and financially-healthy economy。 2。） The law of diminishing marginal returns。 - An Economics 101 （or Econ 100。2 for that matter） principle that， in simple fashion， explains why some corporations can't expand larger than， say， 20% market share。 There comes a turning point wherein excess production leads to declining benefits - mostly due to the sheer size of the corporation。 As much as this is true for traditional corporations， the exponential age introduces firms that， often times， reap 90% of the market - the likes of Google and Facebook operate in an almost monopolistic fashion， acquiring any small fish that threaten their reign。 This is because， unlike traditional firms， technology is heavily scalable; the advantages brought about by getting so much more returns through increasingly efficient processes is unheard of， with the regulations and policies that control them even more difficult to come by。 。。。more
James Yoon
，
A Must ReadGreat book and analysis。 The author provides an solid overview and framework for understanding exponential technology and its impact on society。 While I may disagree with certain points， I agree with his main point of human agency and choice in the face of rapid technological change。 Nothing is inevitable。 Of course， nothing can be done without first understanding the issues and challenges。 The book is a great start。
Zhenia Vasiliev
，
an extremely persuasive argument！ and also great in terms of writing。 Hoping to be able to revisit this over and over again。
Philip Chaston
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How to plot the Singularity without mentioning the Singularity。 A near term yet optimistic view。
Filip Rygg
，
Great！
Simon Eskildsen
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