The bestselling authors of The Virtual Corporation describe how the rise of AI and virtual environments are ushering in an epic cultural transformation.

We are at the dawn of the Autonomous Revolution, a turning point in human history as decisive as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. More and more, AI-based machines are replacing human beings, and online environments are gathering our data and using it to manipulate us. This loss of human autonomy amounts to nothing less than a societal phase change, a fundamental paradigm shift. The same institutions will remain—schools, banks, churches, and corporations—but they will radically change form, obey new rules, and use new tools.

William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone go deeply into the enormous implications of these developments. They show why increases in productivity no longer translate into increases in the GDP and how zero cost, one-to-many communications have been turned into tools for cybercrime and propaganda.
Many of the book’s recommendations—such as using taxes to control irresponsible internet behavior and enabling people to put their data into what are essentially virtual personal information “safety deposit boxes”—are bold and visionary, but we must figure out how we will deal with these emerging challenges now, before the Autonomous Revolution overcomes us.  

“Lots of books talk about what’s happening. This book talks about the why behind the what. It will transform your view of the future.”  —Geoffrey Moore, bestselling author of Crossing the Chasm

“A provocative work combining historical inquiry, present-day technology crises, and possible future solutions.”—Library Journal

The coauthors of the seminal book The Virtual Corporation describe how the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual environments are ushering in an epic cultural transformation--and how we can thrive in this new era.

We are at the dawn of the Autonomous Revolution, a turning point in human history as decisive as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. More and more, AI-based machines are replacing human beings, and online environments are gathering our data and using it to manipulate us. This loss of human autonomy amounts to nothing less than a societal phase change, a fundamental paradigm shift. The same institutions will remain--schools, banks, churches, and corporations--but they will radically change form, obey new rules, and use new tools.

William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone go deeply into the enormous implications of these developments. They show why increases in productivity no longer translate into increases in the GDP and how zero cost, one-to-many communications have been turned into tools for cybercrime and propaganda. Many of the book's recommendations--such as using taxes to control irresponsible internet behavior and enabling people to put their data into what are essentially virtual personal information "safety deposit boxes"--are bold and visionary, but we must figure out how we will deal with these emerging challenges now, before the Autonomous Revolution overcomes us.

“Lots of books talk about what’s happening. This book talks about the why behind the what. It will transform your view of the future.”
—Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and Zone to Win
 
“Successful business leaders, especially in finance, will have to deal with the challenges of phase change. If they do not, their businesses will evaporate into virtual space.”
—Sandy Weill, philanthropist and former CEO, Citigroup
 
“Terror and war have undergone phase change. Future battles will be fought with new tools using new rules. The winners will leverage many of the ideas in this book.”
—Admiral B. R. Inman, US Navy (Ret.), former Director, National Security Agency
 
“Davidow and Malone offer an original and exquisite explanation—a new lens into history—as to how new technologies have brought the Industrial Revolution to an end and ushered in the Autonomous Revolution.”
—Amy Webb, Professor, Stern School of Business, New York University
 
“None of us can yet be sure whether the Autonomous Revolution, now dawning, will turn out to be the third great transformation in human organization and existence, following the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. But William Davidow and Michael Malone argue convincingly that we should start acting as if it will be so we can steer its consequences toward their beneficial potential rather than being victims of each new technological surprise.”
—James Fallows, author, writer, and National Book Award winner