The Society of Exponentiality

At first glance, progress in artificial intelligence, waves of infection, and the climate crisis may seem to have little to do with each other, but they are often interrelated. And they follow a similar, exponential pattern: one variable – computing power, people infected with COVID19, or CO2 molecules in the atmosphere – increases by a constant factor over a set unit of time. At first, these developments can seem harmless, but then the curve suddenly starts to move almost vertically, with potentially uncontrollable consequences.

Emanuel Deutschmann has analysed a huge amount of data for this highly topical book. He demonstrates that developments have reached this rapid dynamic in an astonishing range of areas. We live in a society of exponentiality, which is why crises and social conflicts are becoming more frequent. We really ought to be flattening the curve and stabilising growth at sustainable levels. But while the stabilisation camp is campaigning for appropriate measures, the expansionists are pushing for more speed, more cars, more profit. And the outcome of this tussle could decide the future of humanity.