Cybernetic Revolution and Global Aging: Humankind on the Way to Cybernetic Society, or the Next Hundred Years (World-systems Evolution and Global Futures)

This book explores the global technological transformations that have shaped development of society for eons, from the emergence of Homo sapiens to the modern day. Looking at a potential future for all of this century and the beginning of the next, the book explores how society is changing as a result of the two most powerful trends: technological advances and global aging. It studies the forthcoming technological wave – the Cybernetic Revolution, which will encompass AI, medical technology and biotechnology, robotics, cognitive, nanotechnology etc. In turn, it shows why and how global aging will become one of the most powerful factors, influencing the evolution of society and the World System as a whole. Lastly, the book demonstrates how technological innovations can change the way people live and the society of the future, assessing both the new opportunities and threats posed by uncontrolled technological progress. Accordingly, it will appeal to social scientists, political scientists, economists and historians who are interested in technological transformations and their social and economic impacts.

Leonid E. Grinin is a Russian political anthropologist, sociologist, philosopher of history, economist, and a scholar of historical and technological trends and future studies. He is a senior research professor at the Center for Stability and Risk Analysis at HSE University, Moscow, Russia. He is an editor-in-chief of the journal Age of Globalization (in Russian), co-editor of the international journals Social Evolution & History and the Journal of Globalization Studies, as well as co-editor of the yearbooks Evolution, History and Mathematics and Kondratieff Waves. He is the author of more than 600 scholarly publications, including 30 monographs in Russian, English, Chinese, Spanish and German.

Andrey V. Korotayev heads the Center for Stability and Risk Analysis at HSE University, Moscow, Russia. He is also a senior research professor at the Eurasian Center for Big History and System Forecasting at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as a full professor at Moscow State University’s Faculty of Global Studies. He is a co-editor of the journal Social Evolution & History and the Journal of Globalization Studies, as well as a member of the editorial boards of Cliodynamics and Age of Globalization. He is the author of over 400 scholarly publications, including 27 monographs.

Anton L. Grinin is a Russian scholar of modern technological trends and future studies, as well as an evolutionist and philosopher. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology and works as a senior research fellow for the Faculty of Global Studies of the Lomonosov Moscow State University as well the International Center for Education and Social and Humanitarian Studies, Moscow, Russia. He is the author of more than 100 publications in Russian and English, including2 monographs.