Perceiving the Future Through New Communication Technologies

Book excerpt: This book updates a long standing problem: how do people understand and prepare for the future using the technologies at hand and that they expect to have imminently? Drawing on experts from a variety of fields, the volume provides novel and penetrating insights that reflect innovative research on both headline-gripping and historical problems. Organized in three sections, the first examines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mobile communication as they both cause disruptions and solve problems at both personal and society-wide levels. The second section explores specific technologies in social contexts. Here the focus is on AI, robotics, and even smart speakers in real-world scenarios. The third and final section addresses deeper implications for how emerging media has been used to come to terms with the problem of what will happen next. At no other time in recent memory have people been so concerned about how to move from the disturbed current situation into an improved future state, one that promises a brighter future for all; in this regard, these timely and penetrating studies offer sound guidance. James E. Katz is Feld Professor of Emerging Media at Boston University's College of Communication, USA, where he directs its Division of Emerging Media Studies. His publications on the effects of artificial intelligence, social media, mobile communication, and robot-human interaction have been internationally recognized and widely translated. Among his recent volumes are Journalism and the Search for Truth in an Age of Social Media (with Kate Mays, 2019) and Philosophy of Emerging Media (with Juliet Floyd, 2015). Juliet Floyd is Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, USA. Her publications, translated into several languages, span the history and philosophy of logic, mathematics, language, symbolism, and new media, focusing especially on the history of twentieth century philosophy and philosophical aspects of emerging media. Her recent books include Wittgenstein's Annotations to Hardy's Course of Pure Mathematics (with Felix Mühlhölzer, 2020) and Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Mathematics (2021). Katie Schiepers is Division Administrator for Emerging Media Studies at Boston University, USA. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Classics and Master of Science in World Heritage Conservation and is currently pursuing advanced studies in educational policy.