Includes index.

Introduction: Meet megatech / Daniel Franklin -- Part 1. The fundamentals -- A toolkit for predicting the future / Tom Standage -- Physical foundations of future technology / Frank Wilczek -- Biotechnology's possibilities / Robert Carlson -- Beyond Moore's law / Tim Cross -- Tech generations: the past as prologue / Ann Winblad -- The great innovation debate / Ryan Avent -- Part 2. Megatech by sector -- Farming tomorrow / Geoffrey Carr -- Health care meets patient power / Gianrico Farrugia -- Energy technology: the rise of the renewables / Anne Schukat -- Manufacturing's new materials / Paul Markillie -- Military technology: wizardry and asymmetry / Benjamin Sutherland -- Personal technology gets truly personal / Leo Mirani -- Part 3. Megatech and society -- The ethics of artificial intelligence / Luciano Floridi -- The data-driven world / Kenneth Cukier -- Imagine all the empowered people / Melinda Gates -- Megatech versus mega-inequality / Adrian Wooldridge -- Work and the rise of the machines / Lynda Gratton -- Visiting hours: a short story / Alastair Reynolds -- Ma Ganga: a short story / Nancy Kress -- Concluding reflections: lessons from the Industrial Revolution / Oliver Morton.

Technology moves fast - so where will it have taken us by 2050? How will it affect the way we live? And how far are we willing to let it go? -- The writers predict the vast changes that technology will bring to everything from food production to health care, energy output, manufacturing and the military balance. They also consider the impact on jobs, and how we can prepare for the opportunities, as well as the dangers, that await. Thought-provoking, engaging and full of insight from the forefront of tech innovation, Megatech is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand tomorrow's world.