Wise Animals
How Technology Has Made Us What We Are
Published on 22. February 2024
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-5290-7974-6 (ISBN)
Description
A Science Book of the Year in The Telegraph
'Timely and wide-ranging . . . ambitious in its scope' - New Scientist
'One of the best books on technology and culture I have read' - Matthew D'Ancona, The New European
'Powerful, profound and completely engrossing' - Michael Bhaskar, co-author of The Coming Wave
Wise Animals explores the history of our relationship with technology, and our deep involvement with our creations from the first use of tools and the taming of fire, via the invention of reading and printing, to the development of the computer, the creation of the internet and the emergence of AI.
Human children know no more of modern technology than their ancestors did of older technologies thousands of years ago, and develop in relation to the technologies of their time. We co-evolve with technology as individuals as we have as a species over thousands of years.
Rather than see technology as a threat, this deeply humanist contribution to the debate proposes that we are neither masters nor victims of our technologies. They are part of who we are, and our future - and theirs - is in our hands.
'Timely and wide-ranging . . . ambitious in its scope' - New Scientist
'One of the best books on technology and culture I have read' - Matthew D'Ancona, The New European
'Powerful, profound and completely engrossing' - Michael Bhaskar, co-author of The Coming Wave
Wise Animals explores the history of our relationship with technology, and our deep involvement with our creations from the first use of tools and the taming of fire, via the invention of reading and printing, to the development of the computer, the creation of the internet and the emergence of AI.
Human children know no more of modern technology than their ancestors did of older technologies thousands of years ago, and develop in relation to the technologies of their time. We co-evolve with technology as individuals as we have as a species over thousands of years.
Rather than see technology as a threat, this deeply humanist contribution to the debate proposes that we are neither masters nor victims of our technologies. They are part of who we are, and our future - and theirs - is in our hands.
Reviews / Votes
Timely and wide-ranging . . . Ambitious in its scope * New Scientist * Quite simply, one of the best books on technology and culture I have read . . . An extraordinary saga that is given coherence by his formidable intellect and beautiful writing style -- Matthew d'Ancona, <i>The New European</i> Combining compelling storytelling with erudite, compassionate and often profound insight about the human condition, this book will transform how you navigate the world. -- Richard Fisher, author of <i>The Long View: Why We Need to Transform How the World Sees Time</i> Tom Chatfield is one of the smartest and most original tech thinkers writing today. Both thought-provoking and startlingly original, Wise Animals is his magnum opus. -- Roman Krznaric, author of <i>The Good Ancestor</i> Powerful, profound and completely engrossing, this is a multitudinous meditation on not only technology but also history, culture, ideas, ethics, psychology and, above all, what it means to be human. It brims and fizzes with insight and argument, but never loses touch with that core attribute of its title: wisdom. In an age of intelligent machines, Tom Chatfield has written an essential handbook we will return to again and again -- Michael Bhaskar, co-author of <i>The Coming Wave</i> A timely reflection about historical and technological time that is worthy of your precious hours, as erudite and thoughtful as a reader might expect from a leading philosopher of technology. -- Jonathan Rowson, author of <i>The Moves That Matter</i> Writer and 'tech-philosopher' Chatfield is my go-to thinker on making sense of humanity's relationship with technology. Wise Animals is a highly readable exploration of just that relationship, from the emergence of our species to now. -- Caroline Sanderson, <i>The Bookseller</i>More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5290-7974-6 (9781529079746)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2024
Picador
€15.99
Available for download
Person
Dr Tom Chatfield is a British writer, broadcaster and tech philosopher. His books exploring digital culture have been published in over thirty languages. He has spoken about AI, tech ethics and the future of authorship at venues ranging from the UK and European Parliaments to Google, Meta, the US National Academy of Sciences and TED Global. He lives in Kent.