

Discover more from Overcoming Bias
Eighteen months ago I asked here for readers to criticize my Em Econ book draft, then 62K words. (137 of you sent comments – thanks!) Today I announce that Oxford University Press will publish its descendant (now 212K words) in Spring 2016. Tentative title, summary, outline:
The Age Of Em: Work, Love and Life When Robots Rule The Earth
Author Robin Hanson takes an oft-mentioned disruptive future tech, brain emulations, and expertly analyzes its social consequences in unprecedented breadth and detail. His book is intended to prove: we can foresee our social future, not just by projecting trends, but also by analyzing the detailed social consequences of particular disruptive future technologies.
I. Basics
1. Start: Contents, Preface, Introduction, Summary
2. Modes: Precedents, Factors, Dreamtime, Limits
3. Mechanics: Emulations, Opacity, Hardware, Security
II. Physics
4. Scales: Time, Space, Reversing
5. Infrastructure: Climate, Cooling, Buildings
6. Existence: Virtuality, Views, Fakery, Copying, Darkness
7. Farewells: Fragility, Retirement, Death
III. Economics
8. Labor: Wages, Selection, Enough
9. Efficiency: Competition, Eliteness, Spurs, Power
10. Business: Institutions, Growth, Finance, Manufacturing
11. Lifecycle: Careers, Age, Preparation, Training
IV. Organization
12. Clumping: Cities, Speeds, Transport
13. Extremes: Software, Inequality, War
14. Groups: Clans, Nepotism, Firms, Teams
15. Conflict: Governance, Law, Innovation
V. Sociology
16. Connection: Mating, Signaling, Identity, Ritual
17. Collaboration: Conversation, Synchronization, Coalitions
18. Society: Profanity, Divisions, Culture, Stories
19. Minds: Humans, Unhumans, Intelligence, Psychology
VI. Implications
20. Variations: Trends, Alternatives, Transition, Aliens
21. Choices: Evaluation, Policy, Charity, Success
22. Finale: Critics, Conclusion, References, Thanks
23. Appendix: Motivation, Method, Biases
Added Sept2015: The book now has a website.
Oxford To Publish The Age Of Em
The publisher will be in charge of that decision, but I'd definitely support it.
Are you considering an audiobook version, hopefully unabridged, for people with long commutes or running/jogging? I'd definitely love it!