Tim Dunlop was a pioneer of political blogging in Australia. He ran the internationally successful independent blog The Road to Surfdom and was the first Australian blogger to be hired by a mainstream media organisation (News Limited, for which he wrote the political blog Blogocracy). He has a PhD in communication and political philosophy, teaches at Melbourne University, and writes regularly for a number of publications, including The Drum. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and son

Automating technologies threaten to usher in a workless future. But this can be a good thing—if we play our cards right. Human obsolescence is imminent. The factories of the future will be dark, staffed by armies of tireless robots. The hospitals of the future will have fewer doctors, depending instead on cloud-based AI to diagnose patients and recommend treatments. The homes of the future will anticipate our wants and needs and provide all the entertainment, food, and distraction we could ever desire. To many, this is a depressing prognosis, an image of civilization replaced by its machines. But what if an automated future is something to be welcomed rather than feared? Work is a source of misery and oppression for most people, so shouldn’t we do what we can to hasten its demise? Automation and Utopia makes the case for a world in which, free from need or want, we can spend our time inventing and playing games and exploring virtual realities that are more deeply engaging and absorbing than any we have experienced before, allowing us to achieve idealized forms of human flourishing. The idea that we should “give up” and retreat to the virtual may seem shocking, even distasteful. But John Danaher urges us to embrace the possibilities of this new existence. The rise of automating technologies presents a utopian moment for humankind, providing both the motive and the means to build a better future.

This major new manifesto offers a “clear and compelling vision of a postcapitalist society” and shows how left-wing politics can be rebuilt for the 21st century (Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism) Neoliberalism isn’t working. Austerity is forcing millions into poverty and many more into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in stagnant political practices that offer no respite. Inventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism. Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitalist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms. This new edition includes a new chapter where they respond to their various critics.

‘A powerful and realistic message of hope for the future’ - Professor John Quiggin, University of Queensland We are in the middle of the greatest technological revolution in history. Its epicentre lies in Silicon Valley, but its impacts are felt in all corners of the earth. It could give all of us a better quality of life and new, more cooperative ways of living. Or it could further entrench inequality, with even more of the world’s wealth in the hands of a few. This book offers a bold vision for ensuring that we achieve the former. A world that is fairer, less violent and most radical of all, more joyous. Tim Dunlop spells out his ideas for reclaiming common ground systematically, arguing the case for more public ownership of essential assets, more public space, a transparent media system, and an education that prepares us for the future, not the past. His vision for democracy and society is practical and inspiring, based on ideas about what we are doing well and what we must do better. His is a vision for handing political power back to we-the-people so that we can stop playing defence and start changing the ground on which decisions about our lives are made. Welcome to the future of everything….

An accessible analysis of the new forms of work whose seismic changes will increasingly determine the future of capitalism Automation and the decline in industrial employment have lead to rising fears of a workless future. But what happens when your work itself is the thing that will make your job obsolete? In the past few years, online crowdworking platforms - like Amazon's Mechanical Turk and Clickworker - have become an increasingly important source of work, particularly for those in the Global South. Here, small tasks are assigned to people online, and are often used to train algorithms to spot patterns, patterns through machine learning those same algorithms will then be able to spot more effectively than humans. Used for everything from the mechanics of self-driving cars to Google image search, this is an increasingly powerful part of the digital ecomomy. But what happens to work when it makes itself obsolete. In this stimulating work that blends political economy, studies of contemporary work, and speculations on the future of capitalism, Phil Jones looks at what this often murky and hidden form of labour looks like, and what it says about the state of global capitalism.

"Rest is such a valuable book. If work is our national religion, Pang is the philosopher reintegrating our bifurcated selves."---Arianna Huffington, New York Times Book Review Overwork is the new normal. Rest is something to do when the important things are done—but they are never done. Looking at different forms of rest, from sleep to vacation, Silicon Valley futurist and business consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang dispels the myth that the harder we work the better the outcome. He combines rigorous scientific research with a rich array of examples of writers, painters, and thinkers—from Darwin to Stephen King—to challenge our tendency to see work and relaxation as antithetical. "Deliberate rest," as Pang calls it, is the true key to productivity, and will give us more energy, sharper ideas, and a better life. Rest offers a roadmap to rediscovering the importance of rest in our lives, and a convincing argument that we need to relax more if we actually want to get more done.

The most significant domestic issue of the 2004 elections is unemployment. The United States has lost nearly three million jobs in the last ten years, and real employment hovers around 9.1 percent. Only one political analyst foresaw the dark side of the technological revolution and understood its implications for global employment: Jeremy Rifkin. The End of Workis Jeremy Rifkin's most influential and important book. Now nearly ten years old, it has been updated for a new, post-New Economy era. Statistics and figures have been revised to take new trends into account. Rifkin offers a tough, compelling critique of the flaws in the techniques the government uses to compile employment statistics. The End of Workis the book our candidates and our country need to understand the employment challenges-and the hopes-facing us in the century ahead.

This book examines the challenge of accelerating automation, and argues that countering and adapting to this challenge requires new methodological, philosophical, scientific, sociological, economic, ethical, and political perspectives that fundamentally rethink the categories of work and education. What is required is political will and social vision to respond to the question: What is the role of education in a digital age characterized by potential mass technological unemployment? Today’s technologies are beginning to cost more jobs than they create – and this trend will continue. There have been many proposed solutions to this problem, and they invariably involve an educational vision. Yet, in a world that simply doesn’t offer enough work for everyone, education is clearly not a panacea for technological unemployment. This collection presents responses to this question from a wide spectrum of disciplines, including but not limited to education studies, philosophy, history, politics, sociology, psychology, and economics.

Today's children will be an unprecedented global force—are they ready? The Next Generation maps out the world of possibilities ahead for today's young people, and reveals the skills and habits they'll need to take full advantage of their unique futures. Around 35% of the world's population is under 20 years of age; known as Generation Z and Generation Alpha, these children are coming of age in a world that is safer, healthier, wealthier and more productive than ever before. Opportunities fan out in the distance for today's kids—a world of possibility awaits, and they will be the ones to shape the future for us all. Right now, it's the job of parents and educators to prepare these kids for what awaits. They need an instinctual adaptability, quick thinking and comfort with change. They need to be technologically literate, and ready to take on whatever challenges arise. This book explores the evolution of "coming of age" in a world where teens are already an entrepreneurial force, and shows you how to instill the talent, skills and instincts today's children will need to make the most of their future. Explore the unique opportunities that exist for today's children Discover the three capabilities that will prepare them for their dramatic journey Learn three ways in which kids can help create a worthwhile future for themselves Give them the skills they need to successfully navigate rapid, never-ending change Continuous technological advancements combined with our children's unprecedented levels of involvement will unleash humanity's next major social and economic evolution—will your child be ready? The Next Generation helps you prepare them for their journey to success.